My little mare, who is sweet to handle and ride otherwise, is a monster to braid. Once braided, her life’s mission is to rub them out. As you can imagine, that adds a layer of stress to shows.
She doesn’t mind being “plated” like jumper braids, but tight sewn in hunter braids are a problem. Other than braiding at home and telling her to toughen up, any suggestions of products or techniques to make getting and being braided more tolerable for her?
Obviously they irritate her. Can you do a braid that looks OK but actually has a bit of slack underneath?
Anbesol or Neosporin Plus Pain Relief applied at the roots of the mane will help her, but both are illegal if you are doing rated shows.
Is she a beast during the actual braiding process and after? Or just determined to itch them as soon as they are done?
One of the horses in the barn is braided as close to class as possible, and then pulled out after. He is ninja-quick with the hind hoof to itch them, we’re all convinced he waits for the 10-second window that you walk away to do as much braid damage as possible.
There are a few horses around here that show with roached manes. They have necks that can pull it off and look fabulous.
I can’t hunter braid at all. I’ve always hired it out. I can plat, or rubber band braid. She’s still pretty fidgety about those going in but it’s not as much of a fight because we’re at home and I’m probably not pulling so tight.
I don’t really have the hours to learn how to hunter braid well. I also don’t want to make her and the braiders life horrible in order to show.
In the hunters?
She’s a head flinging witch to braid, then she’s determined to rub them out. She’s also pretty “up” in her stall at the show. She’s fine once you’re on.
I don’t ride with a barn that has grooms, so getting and managing her braids is on me and it’s sucking the fun out of showing.
Yep. They look gorgeous too.
Roach.
Your horse is telling you that tight, perfect hunter braids are not fun going in, nor are they ok later.
Is she a good pony when her mane is pulled?
Roach. You will save money and she will be much happier.
Check your rules, but I believe it says : may be braided.
I know… I know… Traditions…
If it were me, I would tidy up the mane quite short and thin and leave it unbraided.
And if it was really, really impeding my scores, then I would find another solution.
It has to be fun.
I agree with @alibi_18 , it’s much better to have a very neat, perfectly trimmed mane, than unkempt (rubbed, mushed, etc.) braids going everywhichway, and MUCH easier on you and the horse. Showing should be fun and not involve so much stress for you and the horse that it makes you not want to go.
Roaching is another option. This was fairly normal back in olden days - lots of ponies and some horses had that type of mane that just stood straight up and some horses had such thin, sad manes, that roaching was just the thing to do. I was also around a lot of polo ponies when I was younger, so I guess it just looks normal to me.
I would roach as well. I had one who came from Europe roached and had a beautiful neck. I thought it looked really sharp. We ended up growing it out but I agreed with my trainer if he had been the kind to destroy braids, we would roach it once more. we . To me, it’s in in the same family as rust breeches and mud knots… a bit old fashioned but nice when done well.
Wow, that wasn’t even on my radar. What an interesting idea!
OK here is the NO ROACH!!! post. Just get her mane looking good, right length, laying flat, and leave it down. Have you ever tried a professional braider??? They may have a few “tricks of the trade” that you do not and one of them just might work for your mare. I don’t mean anything nefarious at all, just obviously they have done wwwaaaayyy more braiding than you so have different techniques to use. Might be worth hiring one or even two to try doing some braiding on your mare when there is not a show.
OP says she IS using a pro braider now
OP what would she do if you threw in a braid or two at home for a ride… slowly building up to 4, then 6, then more. Don’t make them crazy tight and take them out after the ride. Just sort of make “braiding light” a part of her everyday routine?
In the 1970’s Jimmy Williams decided that braiders were costing too much. So he roached every horse’s mane. Including Conformtion hunters, open and Jr hunters, jumpers — you name it, the mane was roached.
. (I was there when the decision was made, and I threw my arms around my horse’s neck and threatened to live in his stall if I had to, so he would not roach Moolah’s mane. Did I mention that he did not ask his clients if it was OK? Well, he didn’t…
There was much excrement on the fans when the clients discovered what he had done.
The manes did not seem to affect the horse’s placings. In fact, the idea actually gained prestige because Jimmy was king of the W Coast shows.
I tried doing this with the rubber band jumper braids I know how to do and she was a little fussy the first couple but then didn’t care. I’m sure I’m not getting them in as tight though. I’m wondering if I can just do a bunch of tidy jumper braids to show. I think braiding is mostly to show respect to the judge, that should do it, right?
I really don’t think I can roach this mare. She’s already 15hh, chestnut, and probably QH/Arab cross, so we already have not being a big bay warmblood gelding working against us 😉. I know these things shouldn’t matter much, but I think we should try to look the part.
What level/circuit are we talking about?
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