what would you do with this mane and tail?

[NeverSayNever]

ive had this horse about 6 weeks and his mane and tail were pulled - although his mane was sticking up vertical when i got him.

ive let it grow so far in the hope i can get it lying better, but this is it after soaking it and brushing it down... you can just see its gonna go *ping* any sec

his tail was nice when i got him, but i cant do pulled tails and admit to trying to tidy it up with scissors and now i think it looks awful

what should i do

 

[Archiesmummy]

Be patient! His mane is starting to fall over. And his tail ... will soon be covered in a rug for the winter and you could always get a hi-viz tail cover for your trips out Honestly, in no time at all his mane will be lovely and his tail will have grown.

Love your horse by the way, if you ever get fed up of him let me know xxx

 

[peaceandquiet1]

Get one of those rake things for his tail, much kinder than pulling and easy even for me to make a passable job. Or let it grow out? Are you planning to plait his mane?

 

[BigRed]

never mind the mane and tail - what a fabulous looking horse - you lucky thing.

 

[NeverSayNever]

Get one of those rake things for his tail, much kinder than pulling and easy even for me to make a passable job. Or let it grow out? Are you planning to plait his mane?

thanks both -

i prob will plait at some point yes...

see the tail rakey thing... you can achieve pulled look tail with it? how often do you need to do it to keep it looking nice? cos dont they start to grow back quite quickly and go all bog-brush again?

 

[hannah87]

leave his tail alone and let it grow ! long tails are much nicer imo and easier to keep looking nice. Plaiting the mane will help train it.

 

[alfiesmum]

the rakes are the business, just use when required, so quick too and not been kicked yet-so it must be good x

 

[JoJo_]

What a beautiful colour he is! But try to avoid the urge to use scissors again. I used a solo comb like scissors before and it made my mare's mane terrible for plaiting.

My mare had a sticky up mane when I got her and a pulled tail. I let both grow out and then mane does lie over. Her tail got too thick so I bought a mane/tail rake and just tidied her tail up rather than trying to achieve a pulled look. This is the only pic I have of her tail, could be thinner but at least its sort of tidy.

 

[ThePony]

If you can't pull the tail then I would leave well alone and let it grow out - I don't think you can really mimic the pulled look on the tail, just makes it hard to deal with. With the mane, I think it's looking loads better already! If you struggle to get it to lay over then after a bath I would just put it in plaits laying flat to train it, also when it gets cooler you could use a snuggy hood or similar to help it to lay flat.
He is a really gorgeous looking chap!

 

[Katie__Connie]

No advice re mane and tail (given up trying to get my mare's mane down and my friend pulls her tail for me )

But just wanted to say GORGEOUS horse

 

[ShaydenFred]

hiya my horse (pony really :S) was like that for a while and i've just left it to grow. We plaited his mane over onto the right side just to make sure it went the right way and his tail was pulled too when we got him but i've just left it to grow out. All we have really done to his tail is cut it to his hocks and kept it at that length to try and grow it out and so far it's working and is nearly there. It's annoying because i use him as a showjumping pony as i'm trying to retrain him as he was a nervous wreck when we first got him (he had been mistreated in the past but can jump for england) so i want to plait him up but it looks so silly because the plaits are only tiny and i can't plait his tail because it's still growing out. GRRR lol still the person who hogged his mane and pulled his tail must of thought it was a good idea at the time but it is thouroughly annoying for me! So yeah, just wet it and then plait it over and then just keep cutting his tail as short as you dare reguarly and it should eventually grow out. I'll be interested to see if you get anymore answers because i could do with a few more ideas myself. I must say though - GORGEOUS horse x

 

[dotty1]

My four year olds mane is the coarsest white hair you could possibly imagine and it has a kink in it and is REALLY thick. She understandably wasn't keen on it being pulled so I razored it, just to get it shorter. It now looks like a bottle brush along the top of her neck. I have bought a new 'smart tails rake' (the other broke uder the pressure of such a thick mane) and will attempt to thin it out over the next few days.
The rakes are very good for achieving a pulled tail look but don't get carried away as its a bit easy.
His mane will look great, at least its nice thin hair.

 

[Enfys]

Give his mane time, plaiting will help lay it.

As for the tail, personally, I think there is nothing nicer than a well plaited tail, any other time just lay it and bandage if you want to look tidy. I'd jolly well kick someone in the teeth too if they tried to pull my tail, don't see the fascination with pulled tails myself.

This from someone who considers the 'au natural' look a huge bonus in my chosen breeds, thankfully I don't do halter where QH manes are pulled to about 2" and then banded in about 50 bunches.

In the days when I had LR and PC ponies I used the Oster rake for manes and practised very hard to be able to produce a respectable plaited tail. I was also pretty good at running plaits for hunting.