Does it really matter which side of neck for hunter braids?

[Kryswyn]

I get anxious just remembering how I felt when I was 14 years old showing my bright buckskin foundation style BUCKSKIN in a sea of black, bay and chestnut TBs here on Long Island. How my friend and I sewed a ‘cooler’ out of white bed sheets because my parents wouldn’t buy me an expensive wool cooler (and I didn’t know enough to know why coolers weren’t made out of cotton bed sheets), or showing up in a brand new london colored bridle I didn’t know enough to oil before using.

The LAST THING your daughter wants at this time of her life is to NOT LOOK like everyone else. We adults can pontificate about how it doesn’t really matter, but trust me. KIDS KNOW IT ALL MATTERS. They know there’s a time to standout and be unique (like when you WIN) and the rest of the time you should look like everyone else so the mean girls (and their parents) don’t make fun of you.

[outside_line1]

From a 4-H volunteer (and 4-H show judge)/former county 4-H educator: (and you probably know this, but just in case…)

Your child should most definitely be encouraged to braid the mane herself. This is not a show-day only thing, she should be practicing now! (Help from an adult is okay for younger kids, not so much for teens and up.)

If braiding on the left is what she can do most easily/successfully, then that’s probably fine. If she can braid it on the right and have it turn out nicely (and remember, practice is the key here) than that would be preferable. But the key is to have your daughter do it herself to the best of her ability, and learn what she can in the process. A 4-H show judge should be quite appreciative of a project that a child has done by themselves, to the best of their ability.

And even if the judge doesn’t reward the honest effort… the point of 4-H is to learn from your experiences and to continually improve yourself. Having mom do it/paying a braider is fine for open shows but it is not the intention or procedure for 4-H. If you want your daughter to get the “youth development” aspect of the program… help her learn to braid the best she can, encourage her to practice, make it fun and rewarding, whatever it takes… but don’t do it for her.

(I grew up in 4-H. My mother did not braid my pony for 4-H events. 20 years later, I cannot remember what we did or did not win… but I can pull and braid a mane like nobody’s business. That’s what 4-H is for.)

[GrantanaKC]

[QUOTE=outside__line;6428167]
From a 4-H volunteer (and 4-H show judge)/former county 4-H educator: (and you probably know this, but just in case…)

Your child should most definitely be encouraged to braid the mane herself. This is not a show-day only thing, she should be practicing now! (Help from an adult is okay for younger kids, not so much for teens and up.)

If braiding on the left is what she can do most easily/successfully, then that’s probably fine. If she can braid it on the right and have it turn out nicely (and remember, practice is the key here) than that would be preferable. But the key is to have your daughter do it herself to the best of her ability, and learn what she can in the process. A 4-H show judge should be quite appreciative of a project that a child has done by themselves, to the best of their ability.

And even if the judge doesn’t reward the honest effort… the point of 4-H is to learn from your experiences and to continually improve yourself. Having mom do it/paying a braider is fine for open shows but it is not the intention or procedure for 4-H. If you want your daughter to get the “youth development” aspect of the program… help her learn to braid the best she can, encourage her to practice, make it fun and rewarding, whatever it takes… but don’t do it for her.

(I grew up in 4-H. My mother did not braid my pony for 4-H events. 20 years later, I cannot remember what we did or did not win… but I can pull and braid a mane like nobody’s business. That’s what 4-H is for.)[/QUOTE]

THIS a thousand times over. It’s about what your daughter can do well, but if she can braid the right side, she should and be proud of it. I don’t braid for myself much these days, but I can. The first time I showed at an A with a BNT, they looked at me like I was beyond crazy when I went to braid my mare. But I did it and they turned out well. I was 17, and that was longer ago than I care to mention, but I can so clearly remember my feeling of accomplishment when I braided that horse, I didn’t have the A show experience at that time, and I felt so good about myself to have at least that one skill (I could ride well as well, but I was there as a working student, so if I couldn’t ride, I wouldnt have been there, lol). So have her practice now, so when the big day comes, she’ll be able to tackle it!

[merrygoround]

Does anyone know why the braids “should” be on the right. There is a reason. Archaic, no doubt, but there.

Does anyone know why tails are braided, again there is a reason.

All of this from a wrong-maned dressage rider. :lol:

[nlk]

For what it is worth. There is a reason that we braid and band on the right.

When you enter a class you ALWAYS are suppose to entire tracking left first. If the mane is on the left then the judge does not get a clear profile of your horse. There fore it can be a distraction of your horses over all conformation.

Not to long ago it was customary in jumping classes when your starting fence was from the opposite end coming home on the right lead, you approached by entering left and tracking across the diagonal. When doing a similar approach off your left you simply used the rail or quarter line tracking left. Now I see people doing all sorts of things including diagonals for both approaches and tracking straight on both approaches…

While it is not a HUGE show it is important to teach pride in ones sport NOW by doing things properly and appropriately. You can certainly braid and band a mane to the right that lays on the left. I would suggest a sleazy after doing so, it will help it stay flat.

[fair_judy]

on the right. no question.

the reason manes are braided on the right is the same as why you carry the bight of the rein on the right shoulder, it had to with the use of the horse in military applications…

[merrygoround]

Nik-----Sorry, too young an answer.

These are hunters!!! Not that you’d dare take them hunting. :lol:

fair judy-It also kept the bight and the mane out of the way when mounting.

[RxCate]

Okay I’m confused. When entering the ring and tracking left, how does the mane being on the left not give a clear profile?

I would think you’d get a better profile with the mane out of the way…

All I can say, is though I do miss it sometimes, I am so happy I am not showing and caught up in these sort of politics anymore. I am all about tradition (strictly a foxhunter now), but give me a friggin’ break.

[litlhponies]

Thanks for the comments! I do have a sleezy and about a month before the show so I guess we’ll just start training it to the right. His mane is due to be pulled so that was part of the reason I was asking. In the back of my brain I was wondering if I should pull it to the right if I was going to braid to the right. Sounds like I had the right idea.

My daughter is 10 and while she does practice her braids, she’s not quite ready to do show braids for this show. We’re in a competitive area and every little detail helps. Everyone braids manes and most do tails so not braiding would stick out like a sore thumb. I’m far from a pro but my braids are usually presentable.

[RedHorses]

I had a horse who had a perfect mane for braiding - thickness, perfectly lying on one side of his neck. The left. My coach gently chewed me out for braiding on the left at our first show. I didn’t see any reason to braid a perfect mane on the opposite side from which it grew, but I humored her and started braiding on the right.

What I learned - you can braid the mane over to the right for a few days (big braids, only braided 1-1 1/2" down, not all the way) then do the pulling, thinning and trimming to length needed, Then go ahead and ignore it when it flips back over - it’s going to look like crap when it flops back to the left side, but it will be fine when braided. Trust me, it’s more effort than it’s worth to try and keep it trained over all the time, but always do the thinning/pulling/trimming to length after a few days of training to the right. It tended to stay to the right for a few days after each show, and if we were showing often it mostly stayed over until a couple weeks after the last show of the season.

And maybe it’s silly, but I remember how happy I was the day I realized I didn’t have to have a crappy pulled on the wrong side mane any more, and could make his mane look good on the natural left side. :lol:

[englishcowgirl]

Judges look for a smooth round. No one cares where the braids are, maybe the railbirds but offending them is really the most fun you can have At 4H I assume that there will be stock horse breeds participating and it is breed standard for them to have manes on the left. You should see both there but if it is really concerning then would it be possible to talk to a trainer or the show association to see if they have a preference?

[McGurk]

No one cares where the braids are

Nope, I disagree. As lucasb, Trixie and some others said early, good turnout is about attention to detail and convention as much as what’s “allowed.”

As a judge, I would immediately notice a horse with the mane braided on the wrong side. It’s really not that hard to braid it over, so my thought would be, why didn’t they bother? If the braided on the left horse laid down a better trip than anyone else, of course they’d still win, but as someone else said, a horse that doesn’t look quite right gets more negative scrutiny, a beautifully turned out horse and rider set the positive expectation of “Oh!
This is going to be good!” Who wouldn’t want they latter rather than the former?

[nlk]

[QUOTE=RxCate;6428556]
Okay I’m confused. When entering the ring and tracking left, how does the mane being on the left not give a clear profile?

I would think you’d get a better profile with the mane out of the way…

All I can say, is though I do miss it sometimes, I am so happy I am not showing and caught up in these sort of politics anymore. I am all about tradition (strictly a foxhunter now), but give me a friggin’ break.[/QUOTE]

In hunter land that is confusing as judges sit in a box off the rail. In 4-h and most western type shows the judge stands in the middle of the ring ALL day long…so therefore the first thing they see is the left side of your horse…

Also that is the SHOW reason to braid on the right…I would imagine there is a traditional reason such as keeping the mane out of the way while hunting or even farther back with knights and swords much like why we mount and lead on the left.

[RxCate]

If you came in tracking left, they’d see the right side of your horse…

That’s my confusion.

Unless my tracking left and your tracking left are totally different LOL which is possible!

[nlk]

[QUOTE=merrygoround;6428328]
Nik-----Sorry, too young an answer.

These are hunters!!! Not that you’d dare take them hunting. :lol:

fair judy-It also kept the bight and the mane out of the way when mounting.[/QUOTE]

Ha I didn’t even see this when I posted! The answer has already been put out there but I did know that was the traditional answer!!! I was speaking of strictly a show reason since so many are "why do we stick with tradition? we don’t wear swords!’

[Sing_Mia_Song]

[QUOTE=merrygoround;6428311]
Does anyone know why the braids “should” be on the right. There is a reason. Archaic, no doubt, but there.

Does anyone know why tails are braided, again there is a reason.
:[/QUOTE]

I know you already know this but for the good of the order…

Manes and tails were braided in the huntfield to keep briars and branches out of them when one went headlong after hounds. Roached manes and pulled tails were acceptable for this reason as well (but the two are supposed to go together, i.e. roached mane + pulled tail or braided mane + braided tail).

[Hinderella]

I suppose if you braid on the left you can always tell the judge that you handle your sword with your left hand

Yes, the tradition of braiding, and of having the bight on the right, came about so that you could easily pull your sword from your scabbard (which was laid over your left leg) without getting entangled in the mane or your bight.

I do agree, though, that many other traditions have fallen by the wayside, so it’s amusing that this one has survived.

[RAyers]

You realize your logic just gives a GOOD reason to braid on the LEFT. If I want to be noticed then I damn sure will braid that way (actually I already do for dressage). If I pay attention to the DETAILS of TRAINING, RIDING, HORSEMANSHIP, then your issue with braiding on the left will get me noticed and a better chance to win (by your own admission).

Then again, it is this type of conversation that makes me never want to go back to h/j.

Reed

[QUOTE=McGurk;6429372]
Nope, I disagree. As lucasb, Trixie and some others said early, good turnout is about attention to detail and convention as much as what’s “allowed.”

As a judge, I would immediately notice a horse with the mane braided on the wrong side. It’s really not that hard to braid it over, so my thought would be, why didn’t they bother? If the braided on the left horse laid down a better trip than anyone else, of course they’d still win, but as someone else said, a horse that doesn’t look quite right gets more negative scrutiny, a beautifully turned out horse and rider set the positive expectation of “Oh!
This is going to be good!” Who wouldn’t want they latter rather than the former?[/QUOTE]

[vineyridge]

Okay, I’m totally backwards. Is the mane supposed to be on the near side or the off side?

I don’t do right and left very well, especially when I’m looking at the horse from the front or rear. But near side and off side are always the same.

[MintHillFarm]

Several years ago a friend had the former owner of her horse braid for a special, local show. The horse had a mane that was a frizzy-both-sides-of-the-neck mess!

For some reason, the former owner had a spaced out moment and incorrectly braided on the left. She realized her mistake at the horse show (and probably because I was standing there with an odd look on my face)…

I have to say, the braid job looked weird! The braids themselves were fine, but it threw the entire picture off!

So in my opinion I would braid the pony on the correct side