This is obviously not for showing, but what I do is the following: I wear a dark bandana – folded into a triangle, placed over my head with the ends knotted at the nape of my neck, under my helmet, juuuust covering my ears the way hair would. It stays in place, it looks neat, it protects my hair from sweat, and it’s quick. I have very thin hair and this makes it bareable! Anyone else do this? (I do it in winter AND summer)
I really want to get my hair cut short but am not sure about how to get it up in a hair net and over my ears for the shows. If you have any suggestions please HELP me 
Thanks for the suggestions. I tried the knee-hi thing and it worked pretty well except it made my helmet tight.
I have tried the hairnet thing… and even what was suggested on towerheads… to no avail. Luckyily ihaven’t been showing at rated shows yet… but I am terrified of the 2001 show season. Not of my horse going baby green… but of my crazy hair. It is very thick, and while also curly… i can take care of that with blow drying. My biggest problem is getting it all in my helmet, when in the upsidedown pony tail. In the end i usually just make a bun at the nape of my neck and hair net over it all. Doesn’t look too bad… but I know i have to do better. I guess that is my homework for the winter… that and learning to braid my horses mane, to save money at the shows.
ErinB> m yhair did the same thing when I did it with an elastic then I swtich to the clip thing, and It REALLY worked 10x better, try it it may work for you too!
Kachoo-
I love your hair! Id cut mine short like that but I think I’d just look like a q-tip. 
My hair needs weight to keep it under semi-control.
~Erin
Totally pssible, I had short layered hair for quite a while. Just leave enough on the sides so that it will go over your ears. The hairnet (use a thick rider’s one) will give it the correct shape over your ears.
Caution, Rye. We don’t want this thread to get ugly with animal rights people.
Better stick with human or synthetic. Besides where would you ever find MATCHING squirrels?
Raincloud, I hope you are taking this all in good fun. It sounds like you have the solution to experiment with.
There was a previous thread about the proper look for hair. Was it here or on Towerheads? I can’t remember. May have to do some research. It was quite lengthy but very well explained.
barngirl—here’s another trick (for REALLY unmanageable and thick hair)
Make ponytail at nape of neck as already posted… Split it in half, and instead of trying to squish it under the hat, bring each piece up across the sides of your head–over the ears (this also works for people with really thin hair that doesn’t quite cover their ears “enough”), and clip on top—voila! No more headaches!
Well, this thread rivals the thong/underwear topic! Sorry, but I’m laughing so hard at how preposterous our “sport” really is that we have to devise ways of binding our hair to our heads and stuffing it under our demure velvet helmets. Ghazzu and her feed tub hat— what an image! Oh, if spectators only knew that any given well-coifed, preppy-looking blond actually had a knee sock over her head, held in place by a baker’s dozen of bobby pins, why, our haute couture image would be in shambles! It’s bad enough that my husband just stares silently at me while I struggle to pull on my boots, then have to bribe someone to pull them off. Now, if he also witnessed the hair-in-the-helmet ritual, he’d declare me insane and/or a masochist.
Oh, and Chris Errington and the short hair comments… don’t even get me started. (“Reeeer-phit-ah!”: sound of female cat backing up to start fight).
Chris: Ooooh…I just hate it when men make statements like you did about womens’ appearance. You rarely hear women making the same sort of comments about mens’ appearance – and, even if they did, do you honestly think any man would care the least little bit? To all women out there – wear your hair, makeup, clothes, etc. to please YOURSELF, not a man. Your opinion is the only one that counts!
If you have short hair you take a knee stocking in the color closest to you hair color, put it over you ears like a headband and put a pony tail holerto tie it in the back, just like you would with your own hair, do the whole hair net thing and put you helmet on. It might sound silly but it looks like you have long hair while you are showing
I told you I knew where there was a post about perfect hair. Well I have copied it from the Towerheads Professional Riding BB. If you want to follow the whole thread you can check there under Hair, original post by Becca
J Turner starts by talking about hairnets.
J. Turner
Towerhead posted 10-10-2000 02:59 PM
You can use the thin ones, but you’ll have to use two or three. Here’s my long explanation on doing hair:
Hair: (my pet peeve, as many of you know): Hair goes a long way towards making or breaking your “look” and turnout.
The idea is for your hair to cover your ears – only your earlobes should be showing. You put your hair up with a ponytail set at the very bottom of your head (in the nape of your neck), so it shouldn’t interfere with he fit of your helmet as much as if you put the ponytail high up on your head. NO hairs WHATSOEVER should be floating out. I think sticky-outy ears look stupid. I don’t mean to insult the short hair people; I have short hair now, but I kept it long for years, JUST SO IT WOULD LOOK PRETTY OVER MY EARS. A little fussy. . .well, yes. But I was taught that turnout and neatness COUNT. I was told to do my hair like this by trainers before they’d take me to A shows.
Note: this description sounds complicated, but it’s not. I just went into extreme detail to give you all my “tricks of the trade.”
First - buy a bunch of those invisible nets from the pharmacy, or if your hair is really, really thick, use those heavier English nets from a tack store. The heavier ones at the pharmacy have extra big holes, and they’re usually pink or something.
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Brush your hair out so it’s parted straight down the middle and hangs down the sides of your cheeks.
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Take one net and put it over your head, stretching it down over your forehead, below your ears. The front seam of the hairnet must contain the hair, thus it must be in front of it. It’s easier to pull the net down over your forehead or eyes, actually, then push it up later.
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Then take an elastic (no scrunchies) and pull your hair back (along with the hair net) in a very low ponytail that nestles in the nape of your neck. (The elastic should ultimately fall below the hard hat. Your hair should be covering your ears. DON’T PUSH IT UP.
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Now take a second net, stretch it out straight (as if you were stretching a balloon before blowing it up) and tie a knot at the bottom of it about an inch from the end. Open up the net. Tuck the knot on the inside.
Then, lean over, flipping the ponytail so it hangs over the back of your head. Put the second net on while leaning over. The knot should be in the back, tucked on the inside of the net. Pull the net from back to front (you’re still upside down) making sure you scoop up any stray hairs. Pull it firmly towards your forehead taking care NOT to pull the back out from under your ponytail. -
STAYING UPSIDE DOWN, take you helmet and turn the harness inside out so it doesn’t get caught in your hair. Put the helmet on from back to front just like the hairnet, cooping the back of the ponytail so it sits at the base of your neck. As you bring the helmet forward, push the hairnets that are over your face up towards your hairline. DON’T LET ANY HAIR ESCAPE. Push your helmet down on your head. Stand up. Go look in mirror.
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Make sure no hairs have gone astray. Your hair should run smoothly down over your ears, SHOWING ONLY THE LOBES OF YOUR EARS, where your earrings are (or would) be. The nets should be taut. Use bobby pins to catch any strays or to tighten the hair running over your ears. Use the bobby pins behind your ears and push them firmly up underneath your helmet.
Voila, neat, conservative, proper.
By the way, those little nets with bows are fine for dressage, but I wouldn’t wear them doing hunters or equitation. They’re a definite FAUX PAS. Even if you’re doing unrated shows, sometimes AHSA judges are there. They’ll take your turn-out into consideration. Right or wrong, people really up there might think you don’t know what’s proper at hunter/jumper shows and take offense. I just wouldn’t want to offend the judge if I were spending all that money.
Look at Ken’s Capital Challenge pictures. There’s a closeup of a girl near the top that shows great hair, minus a few fuzzies.
Puff, puff, puff - that’s my spiel!
[This message has been edited by Cactuskate (edited 11-15-2000).]
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JumperEq:
My hair is just no good. Check out this mop: http://www.geocities.com/erinbu/meboat.jpg
I HATE IT! And that’s it with long layers and thinned out. And I have a big head on top of it all… 
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Are you crazy, JumperEq? You’re darling, and your hair is beautiful!
Well, I got my hair cut today, I got it layered so the longest layer is about 1" above my shoulder and the shortest layer is between my eyes and nose. I have tried many of your suggestions and personally like the thong one the best(LOL). I think I will just use a lot of hair nets and bobby pins.
Thanks
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Wendy:
This is obviously not for showing, but what I do is the following: I wear a dark bandana – folded into a triangle, placed over my head with the ends knotted at the nape of my neck, under my helmet, juuuust covering my ears the way hair would. It stays in place, it looks neat, it protects my hair from sweat, and it’s quick. I have very thin hair and this makes it bareable! Anyone else do this? (I do it in winter AND summer)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yes, I do the same thing. The only time I don’t wear a bandanna is when I am competing.
Oh, is that how you do it daytimedrama? Oops… tried it last night with a pair of full pantyhose on my head, didn’t work too well. I have long enough hair anyway so don’t know why I bothered. Oopsies.
I am doomed. In hand, that’s for me. Carriages, Yes, Mr. Wings must provide for me a set of Freeman’s harness and a new marathon cart. Sorry, I can’t take this anymore.
Kennett Square, allow me to pour a libation and check out the hors d’oeuvres! This is too too much.
ok I have an even better way for any hair.
- draw your hair back over your ears
2.take one of those metal clips that is shaped like a arc. - make a ponitail with that clip upside down
- Flip your hair onto your head, now the clip is contured to your head
- put the heavy duty hir net on over the ponitail and the earpuffs
6.helmet on! I know it sounds complicated but it is really very easy!
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[This message has been edited by daytimedrama (edited 11-16-2000).]
[This message has been edited by daytimedrama (edited 11-16-2000).]
For thick, curly hair, Barngirl, try the following. My dtr has thick, curly hair, too.
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Immediately after washing your hair the morning of a show, use lots of hair gel combed through the entire length of your hair. Hair must be wet in order for this to work.
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Make your pony tail at the back, low, of course, with an elastic band. (Make sure you put your hair over your ears!)
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Take your first hairnet (it can be the kind you find at a grocery store) and put it on the ponytail only. Secure it under the elastic band. This is hard, but will get easier with practise.
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Then take your wrapped pony tail and secure it to your head with bobby pins. You can make it pretty flat, too, by spreading it some underneath the net. The net helps to hold it in place.
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Take your final net, I prefer the heavier ones at the tack stores, and place over your hair, front to back, going over your ears. Secure with bobby pins in front, behind the ears, and below the pony tail.
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Hair spray…spray lots and lots. Don’t forget to take a breathing break inbetween. LOL!
Yes, your hair is like cement, but who can tell underneath the net and the helmet? Lasts all day on my 14 yr old.
PS - what circuit do you ride in MI? MHJA?
