Fjord mane and neck covers

[BayMoose]

I have a two year old Fjord who grows a coat his ancestors would be proud of. But I also live where it can be often colder than the land of said ancestors. He lives outside year round, with my other three, and has free choice access to hay and a bedded run in to keep warm. That said, I would sometimes like to put a neck cover on his blanket. Once he starts working an a couple of years, I will need to give him a little bit of a clip. I usually clip in September, maybe early October, so they have a good coat back for the coldest weather, but still. He will of course need to wear a neck cover then.

My questions is how to I not ruin his mane doing so? Do I roach it off completely? Let it grow out so it falls over and then roach in the spring? One key is that my other horses all get their manes rubbed out at least somewhat by their neck covers, and I don’t want that to happen to him since the mane just makes him so…fjord like.

Any suggestions?

[RedHorses]

My horse is not a Fjord, but he has a thick mane and I usually trim it to a mohawk. Except in winter. I just let it grow and start trimming it back when temperatures warm up in the spring. It gets a bit squashed over but does start standing up again within a month or so. He wears neck rugs for most of the winter, not just occasionally.

[FjordBCRF]

I roached my fjords mane for blanketing with one of those sheets that goes further up their necks. I let it grow back a bit, but if he needed a hood I would roach it and keep it trimmed down over the colder months. It grew back much fast than I expected!

[goodhors]

You might try a short roach, taking off most of the height, but not tight to the skin. That will “lift”
the neck cover and blanket neck slightly, but leave him more Fjord looking. My horses grow about an inch of mane a month. So you could reclip him each month to prevent hair bending over, or let it go to be reclipped in spring. Mine (not Fjords) had a LOT of length by spring, it was laying over nicely, but too long for good braiding, after being roached tight in Oct.

Mine are not blanketed, no covers except on the old horse to prevent wind chill. No neck covers at all.

[BayMoose]

I’m amazed with how fast my guy can grow hair!

Sounds like a roach it is then!

[FjordBCRF]

I was shocked! I know it grows fast with how often I have to trim, but I had never roached it before. I felt a little dejected after doing it because the mane is THE MANE, but I survived and he was more comfortable