Boarder pulled my horse's mane

[BAY_WITH_CHROME]

Jumping back on COTH just to vent. I know it grows back, it’s a first world problem, YADDA YADDA…

I went out to grab my horse today and did a double take at his total makeover. A fellow boarder converted my gelding’s six inch long thick-but-tidy mane into a mane that is so short (two inches) and wispy I am seeing daylight on his crest!! This gal didn’t even leave me enough hair to do a small button braid!

I know she is an eventer and probably thought she was doing me a favor but Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!! I kept it this long because it’s so easy to do cobra braids and they look better with more material to work with.

If I didn’t have a show this weekend I probably wouldn’t as histrionic.

OK vent over. Boy am I glad it grows back… lol!!

[poltroon]

Ugh. That’s just not okay!

[Libby2563]

Yes, hair grows back, but people with no respect for boundaries are forever.

[soloudinhere]

but like…why?

I mean…would she body clip your horse if she felt like it? what a weird thing to do.

[mmeqcenter]

I think it’s perfectly reasonable to get histrionic whether or not you had a show. WHY do people think they can do whatever they want to other people’s horses??? So not okay. I’d definitely be having words with her.

[BAY_WITH_CHROME]

Oh trust me, there are going to be words!!!

[trubandloki]

There is a very lengthy list of things one should never do to another person’s horse with out having very sure permission to do so… this is 100% one of them.

You have every right to be upset/annoyed/just plain angry. Heck, even if you wanted a shorter and thinner mane, still every right to be angry.

I look forward to reading whatever excuse this person gives for thinking this was OK. Hopefully they are young and made a learning experience mistake.

[SusanO]

Tell her she has to come along and braid your horse this weekend. On her dime! And to never touch your horse again. Who has time to mess with other people’s horses manes?

[see_u_at_x]

I would absolutely lose my $*&%, and yes, I know there are far worse things, too! Also, my horse hates having his mane pulled, so I can only imagine how awful it would end up looking or just how badly he might bash someone in the face with his head tossing and shaking during this attempt to make him look “pretty.”

[BAY_WITH_CHROME]

I was thinking of telling her SHE needs to braid my horse when I see her!

And telling my HORSE not to be so good about mane pulling. Apparently he stood there sleeping!!

[soloudinhere]

So there were witnesses, none of whom were like “hey Susie, what are you doing with BAY_WITH_CHROME’s horse?”

[hybriseris]

Oh my gosh I am fuming just reading this. Yes, it grows back. Maybe I’ve just come up at barns where it was anathema to halter and take someone’s horse from turnout/stall period unless it’s an emergency, but I think I’d pop a gasket if I showed up and someone had just…decided they needed a haircut!?

Yeah, she can come braid your horse’s mane thank you very much. Definitely would love to hear her rationale.

[BAY_WITH_CHROME]

Yes, there was a witness! For some context, I loaned my horse a few times to “Susie” over the winter for lessons while her horse was sidelined with an injury. I don’t think the witness thought anything was out of the ordinary when she saw “Susie” with my horse. I’m hoping I catch her tomorrow.

[trubandloki]

@BAY_WITH_CHROME

For some context, I loaned my horse a few times to “Susie” over the winter for lessons while her horse was sidelined with an injury. I don’t think the witness thought anything was out of the ordinary when she saw “Susie” with my horse. I’m hoping I catch her tomorrow.

Heck, even if Susie was half leasing Dobbin right now, pulling the mane should still be a question asked first.

[Mander]

So true. I know people have different opinions on leases and how far your “rights” go, but it’s one of those things that I would probably just ALWAYS ask before making a radical change to the horse’s appearance.

There’s a young girl at my barn who is leasing a lovely QH mare for the summer. She was telling me how as soon as the lease is official she’s going to cut this mare’s mane short (it was a nicely kept, long, western style mane) and alarms started going off in my head.

If she were leasing for a year, I probably wouldn’t have said anything, but she’s only leasing this mare for 3 months and not even showing. I made sure she knew she needed to ask first because, lease or no lease, taking scissors to a horse’s mane (especially one whose mane wasn’t already kept short) when you aren’t the owner is not always something people take kindly to. Best case scenario, the mare’s owner doesn’t care. Worst case scenario she says no, a crisis is averted and little girl just has to deal with it.

[Tarlo_Farm]

Holy H___, I would go ballistic!!!

[Clover5]

Oh man I’m so sorry this happened to you!!

I’m glad your boy was ok with it… my first horse’s previous owners hired braiders for a show and they tried to pull his entire mane in one go; he completely lost it and they had to roach it because no one could touch his withers/crest without him freaking out (and it took months for him to even let me brush his mane after I bought him).

Obviously this won’t help for the show at the weekend, but maybe consider requesting (demanding) that she buy some false plaits to tide you over until everything grows back (and the pulled bits will not look good when they come back in… speaking from experience, when someone in the barn hired a braider for a horse I was half-leasing and the braider cut off/pulled any wispiness instead of using hairspray… total mess when it came back in…) Like these plaits here.

If you can’t braid it maybe roach it so it all comes in at the same length and thickness?

[trubandloki]

@Clover5

Like these plaits here.

I learned something new today. Who knew you could buy fake braids…

[cayuse]

I’d yank out her hair and see how she liked it.

[BigMama1]

WTF? If it was a part/boarded, leaser, or even barn staff whose regular duties include grooming your horse I could maybe see why they might think it was ok. But is this just some random person who also boards at the same barn, who took it upon herself to take your horse out of its stall and give it a makeover? I would lose my effing mind…