Good length for Dressage "Hair" (Horse)

[cgray0983]

We finally have been cleared to start work and my horse’s mane is horrendous! He has been a jumper his entire life and rocks a jumper doo, but its time to clean up.

Any help with length of mane/tail would be helpful. I used to do a lot of braiding on the A/AA circuit for H/J, but those braids are so tiny compared to dressage braids. Any tricks you all have and preferred lengths on a horse that has a bush for a mane (he HATES having it pulled - in fact, when we imported him the former owners shaved underneath to thin it headdesk that was a nightmare growing out). I also think his tail is banged too short??

Most recent photo of my, um, slightly chubby, just-coming-out-of-rehab boy:
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs084.snc1/4890_524748717521_32000706_31390684_4572591_n.jpg

Thank you dressage hair gurus!

[caddym]

You’ll want the mane quite a bit longer than the hunters. A good rule of thumb is that if you put the tips of your fingers on the crest the mane should be at least as long as your hand. If the mane is really thick, you may find you want it even a bit longer.

I also used to do hunter braids. I still braid with yarn. Each braid is the full width of the pulling comb. I then tie the braid into a simple knot and tie it up - no need for a pull through. I end up with about 10 braids. Takes me no more than 30’ and the braids LAST. I generally redo them daily but I have left them in for 3 days and they still look good

If you are interested, I can send you a link to see my braids.

I think the tail looks fine but short.

[cgray0983]

Thanks Caddy, very helpful, guess his mane isn’t too bad, will just take some time to get that tail down to his fetlocks or somewhere around there. I would love to see your braids… My horse used to take 48 hunter braids when I did some eq classes on him, yuck! And, yes, I plan on sticking to yarn - I have never been able to braid with bands, I always break them >.<

[piaffequeen]

[QUOTE=cgray0983;4252510]
And, yes, I plan on sticking to yarn - I have never been able to braid with bands, I always break them >.<[/QUOTE]

Heck with breaking them! I always manage to shoot myself or my horse with them when I attempted to braid!

[bort84]

Hmm, Caddy, your braids sound like the kind I’ve decided I like a LOT = ) Not too many, relatively quick, and quite flattering on most horses. I’d love to see pictures. I haven’t done these kind before, so I was wondering about approximate mane length too. He doesn’t have a ton of mane (appy) and it likes to stand up at the base, so it can be a bit hard to gauge length. I thought he might need a pull soon, but maybe not = )

Perhaps you could give a little step by step of your process? Or maybe you already have in another thread?

[caddym]

http://www.flatlandsfoto.com/competitionphotos/2009%20albums/GMHA-062009/HTML/index.htm

look for call-1 and call-2

my mare (I’m wearing a short coat and a helmet) has VERY thick mane. The gelding (shadbelly and tophat) has a normal to thin mane

[caddym]

p.s. I normally french braid the forelock, but I didn’t at this show as the bugs were bad and I thought it might help to have the forelock loose

[cgray0983]

Gorgeous. I am a french-braider with the forelock, I prefer it to the button type braid. My guy has practically a stud neck, so I think he will look stunning in dressage braids.

GMHA huh? I am originally from NH and used to show there all the time as a kid. Used to ride with Joe Forest in Grantham for 10+ years. Did my first event there at age 11 Once I got a 4 yo TB my mom freaked out and my eventing career was over. Got addicted to jumpers. But some of my best memories when I was younger was at GMHA, whether it was PC camp, an event, or just utilizing the trail system. The Woodside horse park here in Woodside is awesome, but I much prefer the woodsy VT park

[whicker]

Looks great and big enough my fingers might work

Caddym
This looks very nice! Now I wish I hadn’t shortened my mares manes to quite short. At least it will grow out…

[tazlover08]

Speaking of hating rubber bands…

Once upon a time, I was grooming for my trainer at a show. I looked at her mouth and thought she had been chewing on a pen. I stopped her and told her she should wipe off the “ink” from her lip before her class, and she turned and said “I just don’t even want to talk about it” and went and hid in the tack room. While I laughed at her, I wondered what she really did to herself. Turns out, she smacked her lip with a rubber band when she was trying to hold it in her mouth. It bruised. Dark. It was there for four days.

[shawnee_Acres]

CAnt “Do” teh dressage braids and don’t like them, I just do hunter style braids, but a bit bigger and not so many, everyone I have braided for even at dresage shows loved my braids so sticking with it!

[mg]

I agree with the mane length caddy described. I’m still getting used to it as I spent about 10 years in HJ land and I have a pony, so his tiny neck makes the mane look that much longer. Trying to do dressage buttons with the shorter mane is awful though!

I do the stitched dressage buttons with waxed thread. I can’t braid with bands for the life of me and also based on moral principle. The waxed thread “sticks” nicely and the braids stay in really well (which is fab when I do events!).

If your horse hates having his mane pulled that much and twitching/gum numbing gels won’t work, I guess you’ll have to go the razor blade/thinning shears route. Be VERY careful about doing this correctly though–I had to braid a woman’s horse a couple weeks ago and she had hacked at his mane since she doesn’t know how to pull manes (I offered to do it for her!) and it was a million different lengths so braiding was pretty difficult and didn’t end up looking nearly as good as I hoped I had a mare who hated having her mane pulled. I would get slammed into the wall of her stall by her as I tried to do it fast. Eventually she got over it.

[caddym]

[QUOTE=bort84;4252601]
Hmm, Caddy, your braids sound like the kind I’ve decided I like a LOT = ) Not too many, relatively quick, and quite flattering on most horses. I’d love to see pictures. I haven’t done these kind before, so I was wondering about approximate mane length too. He doesn’t have a ton of mane (appy) and it likes to stand up at the base, so it can be a bit hard to gauge length. I thought he might need a pull soon, but maybe not = )

Perhaps you could give a little step by step of your process? Or maybe you already have in another thread?[/QUOTE]

so you braid just like a hunter braid (I use double yarn) As I mentioned before, each braid is as wide as a pulling comb.

when I’m done with the braids, I take the braid and turn it under (again just like a hunter braid) this makes a loop

then take the knotted end of the braid, cross it over the front and pull it through the loop - a simple knot. the knotted end of the braid should just come through the loop (another guide to how long the mane should be pulled)

now with the yarn, pull the knotted end underneath the braid so that it does not show.

divide the yarn and wrap it around the base of the braid twice ending up with the yarn on top

tie a knot to secure

now bring the yarn back underneath and tie a few knots these knots make it easier to take out later (FYI I’m a surgeon in real life, so it helps that I tie knots for a living)

it sounds complicated, but it is very easy - much easier than finishing the hunter braids with pull throughs etc.