My daughter’s new pony has a perfectly nice mane that lays entirely on the left side of his neck. I know normally you do your braids on the right side but given his mane naturally lays to the left, how should I braid him? Does it really matter which side of the neck the braids are on? FWIW, we’re talking about a 4-H qualifying show, so not exactly A circuit but turnout is still very important.
You should braid him on the right side, regardless of where his mane falls 
Depending on how far away the show is, I would work on training the mane to the right, immediately.
You can wet it and brush it over several times a day, and you can also braid if over on the right with out pulling the braids up and knotting them, and wet the braids periodically. There’s also something called a “mane tamer” which you put on after bathing that helps with getting the mane to lie on the right side.
Braids on the left would just look wrong on several levels. (Silly, I know, but there it is.) I think you’d be better not braiding than braiding on the wrong side.
Given a good braider, you shouldn’t have any trouble braiding on the right despite a mane which lays to the left.
You state , “… turnout is important.” - braid on the right side of the neck.
I agree with HunterRider992, a good braider can braid a mane laying on either side. Just be sure you pull the mane on the right even if it wants to flop back over to the other side. If you pull it on the left it will make braiding it correctly a little difficult.
In summary, pull and braid on the right, don’t worry about what the mane does between shows
You said 4H qualifying. Around here, that means horses that show both Western and English. Many western horses have manes that lie to the left. It also means that kids have to do ALL the prep work themseves, so no braiders.
For our county, 4H just asks kids to do turnout to the best of their ability. Braids look like they were done by 12 y/o kids… because they were. They are nice, but not pro.
I would NOT worry about it for this show, unless you are in a particularly competitive county. Even around here, where it can be competitive, people usually save the intense prep for fair and state. That is where I would do the braiding on the right… at State Fair.
Pull the mane from the right and braid on the right. Whether it is an important show or not, if the mane is pulled properly and wetted down it shouldn’t be any harder to do the braids on the right, so why not?
It may be more “correct” to braid on the right, but really truelly it does NOT affect the score! And, in my opinion, if people are being that busy body to comment on a lovely set of braids that just happen to be on the left side because that’s the way the mane falls and braids better, then they aren’t paying enough attention to their own horse!
If you want to “fit in” braid on the right. If you don’t care, then braid on the left. There is no rule about braids, it’s just tradition.
It may be more “correct” to braid on the right, but really truelly it does NOT affect the score! And, in my opinion, if people are being that busy body to comment on a lovely set of braids that just happen to be on the left side because that’s the way the mane falls and braids better, then they aren’t paying enough attention to their own horse!
For some of us, it just plain looks off. And when something looks off, perhaps we find ourselves scrutinizing the horse a little more closely, wondering what looks NQR. I know I wouldn’t want the judge to do the same thing.
In terms of giving yourself every turnout advantage in the show ring, why WOULDN’T you braid on the right? It isn’t particularly more time consuming, in this case, to just do it correctly.
It seems like a lot of effort to go through to deliberately do something incorrectly.
But Trixie, I think that’s the point.
It’s not “correct” or “incorrect” - it’s tradition. There is no rule stating you will be penalized for having the braids on the off side.
I find it’s hilarious we are such sticklers about tradition when it comes to braiding, but practically throw it out the window when it comes to tack/clothing.
Just shows, like someone else said, just how much time we spend criticizing everyone else instead of just RIDING.
ETA: and wasn’t the braiding just done one either side to differentiate a stallion or a greenie or something like that?
It isn’t any more difficult to braid a mane that lays left naturally than one that lays right.
The hair will go where you braid it to go.
In fact if the hair naturally lays on the other side you will have less “extra hair on the side” getting in the way. Even with the most judiciously applied hair clips wisps can get caught up.
[QUOTE=RxCate;6427921
Just shows, like someone else said, just how much time we spend criticizing everyone else instead of just RIDING.
[/QUOTE]
Yes.
Dear God, can there possibly be ANYTHING of less import on the entire planet than which side a horse’s mane is braided on?
NO.
No one’s actually “criticizing” anything here. The OP asked a question.
Also? There are a lot of things that are not explicitly written into the rules that fall under “tradition.” For instance, show bows, square saddle pads and short sleeve shirts all fall under the rules as being legal. And same as I wouldn’t braid on the left, I wouldn’t walk into the hunter ring in any of the above.
There is a difference, of course, between what is actually written into the rules and what is typically seen and done.
The whole point of good turnout is to demonstrate that you have paid attention to every detail. Braiding on the correct side is not so much a matter of rules, as it is an indication that you understand the expectation for proper turnout, and are able to meet it.
In other words, braiding on the “wrong” side might lead the judge to believe you simply don’t know any better… and lead them to wonder what else you don’t know. Not the way I would want to walk into a competitive situation.
Agree with Lucassb.
I know it doesn’t “matter,” however I would still braid to the right. Even my current horse, whose mane can’t decide to decide. I pull to the right and then deal with the icky punk rocker look, which gets worse as the short hairs on the right side grow out and the rest lays over on the left (except the bottom six inches, of course).
I actually find it easier to braid the mane on the right when it normally lays on the left. It means you can pull over only exactly what you need for the braid you’re working on, and all the other hair is out of your way while you do it.
yes - it matters imho
[QUOTE=Lucassb;6427980]
The whole point of good turnout is to demonstrate that you have paid attention to every detail. Braiding on the correct side is not so much a matter of rules, as it is an indication that you understand the expectation for proper turnout, and are able to meet it. .[/QUOTE]
THIS! That’s just as important in 4-H as it is at HITS, so don’t slight what you’re doing! I remember as a kid and having one of those kid space out moments, I started braiding my horse on the wrong side and got about half way down the neck before my Friend’s mom caught it. Needless to say, I started unbraiding & started over. :lol:
Be thankful. Didn’t there have to be a specific number of braids for mares & geldings “back in the day”?
BTW, you’re an awesome mommy for braiding!
