Caring for long mane and tail

[MsM]

I havent really dealt with Big Hair before. I bought a palomino Morgan last summer who had a long and full mane and tail. That mane was just too pretty (in a Pretty Pony kind of way) to shorten. However he seems to be trying to remove some on his own. He has rubbed and caught tail hairs in various places. Just found a big wad of hair on his water bucket handle. Think he caught some of his mane there.

So I have put some duck tape over the part of the handle that snared the hair. Now I am pondering what I can do to help preserve the rest. I see people put braids in, but it concerns me that he could get a braid stuck and rip the whole thing out! :eek: Does anyone have experience with this? I dont want to be real fussy, but dont want him to do major damage.

His last owner did not braid, so we may have just been unlucky. It doesnt help that it has been cold and I dont know if my fingers could braid if I wanted to! What do those of you with long-maned and tailed horses do during a cold, snowy winter?

[RoyalRain42]

I have seen some reining horses with manes braided, then wrapped up like you would a tail so to say. They fold the braid over a few times, then wrap them with vet wrap so they pretty much look like huge show braids lol. Those horses had manes down to the knees.

They also kept all small loops, buckets, feeders, and such covered or wrapped. My job was to redo all of these wraps weekly lol. But those horse’s manes were perfection. The braids were generally redone weekly, and only let out long for shows. They were not tight small ones, but somewhat loose large ones so there was less stress on your hands.

Same with the tail, braided, folded, then rubber banded and stuck in a sock. They would make sure the shorter top hairs were not in the braid, but loose to make sure they grew out even and did not get pulled out if the horse swished its tail. Again redone weekly and only down for shows.

Hope that helps!

[CFFarm]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7IIOvqrKhI

[2DogsFarm]

My mini is the BigHair guy here & to keep his mane looking neat - w/o using @RoyalRain42 's very good but labor-intensive advice - I brush often so hairs are separated & less likely to tangle. Using a product like Cowboy Magic Detangler or ShowSheen helps keep hairs slippery too so “stuff” doesn’t get stuck in it or tangled.

Don’t know if you have this problem too, but to avoid the Trolldoll effect I also clip (carefully & minimally) along the crest so the mane appears to fall to one side only & thin his forelock from the underside.
When showing him in harness I sometimes braid the forelock with a piece of ribbon that matches the one on my hat