My horses (not Gypsies) have a lot of mane and tail – think Iberian breed quantity – but don’t have the feather of some other hairy types. My personal gelding has mane past his shoulder, which can reach his knees – think reining horse – and a thick tail that reaches the ground and a little past.
It’s genetics; I do practically squat – no special feeds (although they look great on Renew Gold), no special conditioners or handling. I seldom brush and/or comb out manes and tails, or use product. With my gelding, on warmer days, I’ll often do a somewhat loose running braid (not tight to the crest, instead hanging down from it at least a few inches) before working him.
Every once in a (longish) while, I’ll use a detangler on any snarls, let it set, then pick the hairs apart by hand (not that hard, just let the product soak in sufficiently first), and follow with a brush out. On the rare occasions I bathe the horses, I make sure to work shampoo down into the base of the mane, at the crest, then rinse the mane and tail very, very well, followed by air-drying.
In the winter, they turn into plush animals – think stuffed toys – so get clipped (high trace clip) roughly the first week of October, more or less; depending upon the weather, and how much work they’re in, they might be clipped twice more during the season. Never have to clip lower legs. Never have had skin issues or diseases or funk of any type, but we don’t have a mud season.
Kinda benign neglect school of hair care, and it works well. Have to say, though, that nobody has anymore white than a moderate face marking, so I’m never dealing with that.
Back when I used to board, I came out one day to find, to my great dismay, that the Pony Clubbers had taken my then horse (without my permission) out and practiced their mane-pulling skills on him!. He’d never before had his mane pulled or trimmed! I was perturbed, to say the least, that liberties had been taken with my good-natured horse, while the youngsters made it clear that they thought they’d done me a favor. Took several years to grow his mane and forelock back out.
So, if you do want to satisfy your inner desire for a My Little Pony type (one of mine was frequently compared to MLP by strangers when I had him out in public ), I’d recommend selecting a relatively clean-legged horse with minimal white (not a grey, either), so the upkeep won’t be too bad.
(though if I were to win the lottery…)
