Cobra Braids

[emipou]

[QUOTE=honeylips;8349116]
These are the big ‘cobra’ braids on the pony men.
Showing the option of just doing about 4-5 of them or doing 7-9 of them. Depends on the mane…

The above video is GOOD - in that it shows the same way I do them. Sections about 4 inches across. Braid down but stop before it tapers. Use rubber bands to turn the bottom under and make a loop or knob at the bottom. Then I roll mine under but make them sit up on the crest of the neck (she lets hers be more like big knobs) and sew top to bottom (in about the same place she puts her hair pins)

http://s184.photobucket.com/user/melissamulchahey/library/Cobra%20Braids[/QUOTE]

Wow!!! I LOVE THESE!!!
I’ve never seen a 4-5 option before. Absolutely love that first photo. How gorgeous!!

Okay, I really wish I could do cobra braids on a friesian. Her dang mane goes past her chest and is on the thinner side. It sucks. I am so envious of every horse sporting big, bulbous cobra braids!!!

[Somantu]

[QUOTE=honeylips;8349160]
I’ll try this weekend. No time during the week with work and all that.[/QUOTE]

[flight]

Honeylips thanks for sharing!! My horse has quite a thick mane and I’ve tried thinning it but I only get a heap of uneven whispy bits.
I tried the cobra braids but I think I did too many and didn’t go wide/few enough for that cobra effect. I was worried they would be too bulky. But think I’ll have to try again after seeing your pics

[MelanieC]

I love the few-braid look. I’ve gotten into the middle of arguments in some other social media regarding how many braids is “appropriate” with people swearing up and down that if you don’t put in at least 12 your horse’s neck will look super short and fat. I make my braids using about 4" sections of mane (the width of a pulling comb) and end up with about 7 on average, but I might play with doing fewer just to see how it looks. My horse’s mane is long and silky (in color and texture we basically have the same hair, which is why I can’t pull his mane because I am vain about our hair) but not super thick so it isn’t an unwieldy amount of hair to work with. I’m not particularly concerned with making his neck look short, as he is an Arabian and therefore gifted in the neck department. His neck is so pretty I could sit there and stare at it all day; it would look gorgeous even if I shaved all his hair off.

[beowulf]

Alright friends… here was take 2, well… technically 3… On Wednesday night I got the entire mane braided (but not folded/sewed) and then had my plastic needle break on me :mad: so… I had to wait until last night to do the sewing. So the braids were kind of loose, but here is the end result - tips, critique?

http://www.antifaro.com/images/isengrim/img3719.jpg
http://www.antifaro.com/images/isengrim/img3718.jpg

[DressageChic2]

[IMG]http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i390/nikkimariet/_MG_4769_zpspvajagd9.jpg)

these are mine

[GraceLikeRain]

[QUOTE=Dressa![](eChic2;8352679]
[IMG]http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i390/nikkimariet/_MG_4769_zpspvajagd9.jpg)

these are mine :)[/QUOTE]

Do you have a photo of this horse unbraided? I’d be curious to know how long the mane was to achieve that amount of volume.

[beowulf]

[QUOTE=Dressa![](eChic2;8352679]
[IMG]http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i390/nikkimariet/_MG_4769_zpspvajagd9.jpg)

these are mine :)[/QUOTE]

dang!! way to shame me! :winkgrin: beautiful braids and beautiful model!

[Gestalt]

[QUOTE=beowulf;8351097]
Alright friends… here was take 2, well… technically 3… On Wednesday night I got the entire mane braided (but not folded/sewed) and then had my plastic needle break on me :mad: so… I had to wait until last night to do the sewing. So the braids were kind of loose, but here is the end result - tips, critique?

http://www.antifaro.com/images/isengrim/img3719.jpg
http://www.antifaro.com/images/isengrim/img3718.jpg[/QUOTE]

Hey, your horse is a gorgeous hunk and he is being good about modeling all these doo’s. Your braids look great… as button braids! They don’t look loose enough. Not criticizing!!! I can’t do braids, they always end up a disaster.

[Gestalt]

Beowulf, maybe do less braids. Like six???

[beowulf]

thanks! We will try again tomorrow.

Okay one more question… How the flip do you undo them? Any tricks? I’m just pulling them out with a comb but it’s not as easy as hunter braids with a seam ripper!

[CatchMeIfUCan]

Seam ripper. I pull the braid ball up and cut all the thread on the bottom, and then pull them out. I also cut the rubber bands with the seam ripper.

[DressageChic2]

couple of p![](cs to give you and idea of length/thickness
[IMG]http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i390/nikkimariet/goof9_zpsifmp4ccx.jpg)
[IMG]http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i390/nikkimariet/goofmane_zpsixrbqsat.jpg)

[GraceLikeRain]

[QUOTE=Dressa![](eChic2;8353854]
couple of pics to give you and idea of length/thickness
[IMG]http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i390/nikkimariet/goof9_zpsifmp4ccx.jpg)
[IMG]http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i390/nikkimariet/goofmane_zpsixrbqsat.jpg)[/QUOTE]

Thank you! The mane is actually shorter than I anticipated but it looks quite thick all the way down. Seeing the length/volume and final product is extremely helpful for trying to visualize braids on another horse. I think for this specific horse it would need to be kept longer to achieve the same volume but her mane is not as thick.

Do you razor it at that length to maintain so much thickness?

[MelanieC]

Fewer bra![](ds, looser at the bottom so they can be bumped up higher. But I think they look great the way they are too.

Here’s my guy. This is the second time I tried braiding, on an unpulled, untrimmed mane. His mane is straight, silky, of average thickness, and falls about 2/3 of the way down the width of his neck. I tied these braids into knots and then wrapped the ends around before sewing them in with yarn, but I’m going to try the folding/sewing technique next time because taking these out is a chore. They are nice and tight, though, and don’t bounce.

[IMG]http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g238/SoloRiver/11025790_10153118251558664_450909246760918098_n_zpsy4x8hyly.jpg)

[enjoytheride]

Well, I tried the braids in the video I originally posted. They are very fast to put in but you need either a much longer or much thinner mane or both. Mine didn’t knot around all the way and came undone eventually.

Could be just because I suck

[DressageChic2]

[QUOTE=GraceLikeRain;8354379]
Thank you! The mane is actually shorter than I anticipated but it looks quite thick all the way down. Seeing the length/volume and final product is extremely helpful for trying to visualize braids on another horse. I think for this specific horse it would need to be kept longer to achieve the same volume but her mane is not as thick.

Do you razor it at that length to maintain so much thickness?[/QUOTE]

yes. I comb it all out really well then cut the bottom edge level with scissors, then i nip up in to that edge at an angle to soften it a bit without thinning the mane at all.

he does have a very thick mane, same thickness more or less all the way down, there isnt much of a scraggly end to turn under and an almost fluffy texture which i think helps hold the volume/hood.

i do have to straighten the very top layer with straighteners before i can plait though, or the fluffiness gives me too many frizzies and i get grumpy!!! Fortunately he is a dude and just goes to sleep.

[CatchMeIfUCan]

[QUOTE=enjoytheride;8354429]
Well, I tried the braids in the video I originally posted. They are very fast to put in but you need either a much longer or much thinner mane or both. Mine didn’t knot around all the way and came undone eventually.

Could be just because I suck[/QUOTE]

No, you don’t suck! Those braids are just very confusing! I find they take way longer than just rolling them up like normal button braids.

[rjr]

[QUOTE=emipou;8349171]

Okay, I really wish I could do cobra braids on a friesian. Her dang mane goes past her chest and is on the thinner side. It sucks. I am so envious of every horse sporting big, bulbous cobra braids!!![/QUOTE]

There is not reason you can’t do cobra braids on a Friesian. I think it would look great, though not traditional. There is someone in my area who cuts her Friesian’s mane short, does regular braids, and trims off all the feathers. (I think she happens to do buttons, not cobra, but you could really do it either way.) It is actually a very elegant look. A lot of people do not realize right away what breed the horse is.

[BetterOffRed]

[QUOTE=Arzny;8348427]
Has anyone tried this technique using bobby pins? I am thinking I am going to try it this weekend at the show. Will report back! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTNdWhgdIIY[/QUOTE]

DO NOT DO THIS FOR A RATED SHOW! YOU CAN’T HAVE METAL IN YOUR HORSE’S MANE! Use waxed thread or yarn instead.