It pains me to say this, but mane cutting?

[AmmyByNature]

As a die-hard hunter girl, I can’t even believe that I’m saying this, but - here it goes.

My current horse is a jumper with a thin-ish mane that lays well on the proper side of the neck. It’s just gotten super long, and she really hates me pulling it. In addition, it’s not really thick enough to require pulling. I don’t want to thin it out any more, I just want to make it shorter but NOT bang cut for gods sake.

What technique or tool do I require for this task? How do I get it shorter but not (much) thinner without it looking like a bang gone bad?

[SugarCubes]

My geldings mane is too thin to pull…he ends up with just a few wisps of hair left! I cut it with scissors, then I use a pair of thinning shears (I bought them at Sally’s) and cut along the bottom of the mane over and over until it looks pulled. It always turns out perfect, and you’d never be able to tell it wasn’t pulled.

[Belmont]

I was always taught to back comb and then cut with thinning shears (or worst case, scissors). There are also special mane pulling magic combs with blades in them. It really doesn’t look terrible if you don’t rush yourself.

[Frivian]

^ Same! My horse absolutely refuses to have his mane pulled. We’ve been using the thinning shears technique for several years now and no one can tell the difference!

[witherbee]

I had one like that too - an appy with a very thin mane. I used those thinning shears that you can buy at CVS etc. They look like scissors with teeth like a comb and are used by hairdressers to add texture to a cut (instead of a blunt cut). Works well for manes as it gives a more natural line.

[Stitch_In_Time]

Use an old clipper blade. Tease the hair up like you would to pull it, but use the clipper blades to cut off however much you need from the bottom.

Another method is to use scissors, but cut up into the mane.

[GoneAway]

[QUOTE=Stitch In Time;7679858]
Another method is to use scissors, but cut up into the mane.[/QUOTE]

That’s the method I use for my gelding’s mane, as his can only be pulled once or twice a year. Just tease up like you are pulling and use your preferred equipment (thinning shears, clipper blades, or normal scissors). Regular scissors require a little bit of artistry, patience (don’t rush), and a good eye, because if you’re not careful the section of “pulled” mane you’re trimming can end up shorter at the end than where you started snipping. Whatever method you prefer, just take your time and it’ll look fine.

[Dewey]

This is the technique I regularly used with a horse I rode who had a really wispy mane. I did it when the trainer wasn’t around, and no one ever knew!

Seriously, he had hardly any mane. It was so thin that there wasn’t enough to pull.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

If you take your time, it can look the same. Only time I can tell when I’ve cut my horse’s mane v. pulling is when I braid them (which really isn’t often for a jumper–but I have to deal with it more with my event horses). It isn’t that big of a deal braiding either but it does make a difference.

I use a clipper blade or razor and a comb. Comb back a small section like you would pulling and then cut the mane. Trick is to change where you cut with each little section that you take and to take SMALL sections at a time.

Cutting like this actually takes me longer than pulling. But it does look good and keeps their mane a bit thicker. It is really critical to NOT cut near the base when you are shortening a really thin mane…and critical to keep sections small small small…otherwise because the mane is thin, you will see where you cut. Not as big of a deal with a decent thick mane as you can fudge it more. A thin mane shows it all…

[vxf111]

Different tip for a slightly different issue… I have struggled with this mmanes my entire life. I seem to have a penchant for buying good-boy chestnuts with mane pulling hatred who I hate to torture.

This go round, I think I finally-- after 20+ years, found the solution.

1. Ambesol from the dollar store, 2 tubes, squirted all along the mane lin and rubbed into the skin to dull the sensation.

2. Going in small sections, brush/tease mane up so you’re holding the longest pieces.

3. Take a dullish, small, serrated kitchen knife (the kind for cutting steaks etc.) lat it flat against the crust. Hold the mane you want to “pull” against it. Pull very very gently over the blade of the knife and it will cut off the mane rather than it pull out. Because it’s a little dull and serrated, it won’t leave a blunt cut the way scissors would. If you hold it very very tight and flush against the crest, you can get a look/feel very close to pulling out from the roots.

4. Repeat, going in small sections all up and down the mane.

I feel like I’ve discovered a miracle. This was the first truly hassle free mane neatening experience I’ve had and it looks very very VERY close to a genuine pull. The secret is a kind of dullish serrated knife that you pull gently against. Although it’s cutting, not pulling out the mane, the uneven/dullness/serated edge gives it a more natural look.

[RugBug]

I almost exclusively use old clipper blades to shorten manes. My horse’s don’t have extremely thick manes, so it works just fine…and you can’t tell the difference, IMO.

This is my gelding with a recently bladed mane. I’ve owned him for 6 years and have never pulled his mane. another one. I call him Mr. Perfect Mane. It always stays ont he correct side and it really is super easy to deal with.

This is my mare with a recently bladed mane. Her made does get a bit thicker in the middle , the top does flip to the other side and as you can see…it stands away from the neck when it is short (not a bad thing…it means it looks good for a longer time. I do her mane every 3 months or so. The gelding is every 6 weeks or so). When the middle is too thick, I pull a bit out, but the majority of the time I just blade.

Process is pretty much the same. Grab the long hairs, back comb with the blades and then “cut” the end off with the blade where you want. It takes me about 15 minutes if I keep up on it.

[supershorty628]

I cut Nikki’s mane. I don’t have thinning shears, so I use a wee pair of scissors that I have in my braiding kit and just cut up into the mane. Works a lot better for me than pulling it.

[ToTheNines]

I use thinning scissors as the others have suggested. I cut along the bottom to the general length I want, maybe a bit longer. Then I flip the mane to the other side and cut off the longest hairs on that side. Then flip back over to the correct side.

This type of mane looks great unbraided. However, the braiders hate it because they like the ends to taper more when they get to the end of each braid.

[poltroon]

I also use the clipper blade. You tease the mane apart just like you would with a comb to pull it, then push the blade against a small section of hair at a time to cut it. The end look is totally natural and indistinguishable from a pulled mane, except that the mane may be thicker. This technique is essential for a horse with a long, thin mane, or for sections of a mane that are thin, like near the withers.

[norcalammie]

I use the old clipper blade much like RugBug and have never had a problem having the mane look pulled versus cut. Once you get an idea how to do it, you can easily do a mane in 15 minutes. Did my gelding’s mane last night as I like a nicely “pulled” mane so I do it every couple of months.

[gypsymare]

I have a way easier method than clipper blades. Find a generic Mars Coat King in 16+ blades. The MCK is about $40 but I’ve seen generics now for $10. Brush mane to opposite side and start combing. Super easy. It does a nice job thinning tails, too. Smart Manes sells the same thing marketed to horses and has a video out there to see how it works. No teasing needed which immediately puts my pulling sensitve horses on edge.

http://www.amazon.com/smart-tails-professional-thinning-comb/dp/B00GQZQSA4

[RugBug]

[QUOTE=gypsymare;7680047]
I have a way easier method than clipper blades. Find a generic Mars Coat King in 16+ blades. The MCK is about $40 but I’ve seen generics now for $10. Brush mane to opposite side and start combing. Super easy. It does a nice job thinning tails, too. Smart Manes sells the same thing marketed to horses and has a video out there to see how it works. No teasing needed which immediately puts my pulling sensitve horses on edge.

http://www.amazon.com/smart-tails-professional-thinning-comb/dp/B00GQZQSA4[/QUOTE]

Why would you EVER want to thin a tail?

Also, OP is trying to figure out how to shorten the mane without thinning.

[Dewey]

Somehow, what started out as a thread about shortening the manes of horses with ultra-thin manes has turned into a thread about shortening/thinning manes without pulling. That is OK–threads morph and evolve all the time–but there are actually a lot of threads about thinning thick manes w/o pulling in the archives. I remember one about using the Nair technique, for example. However, horses with wispy manes that are too thin to pull are less common.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

[QUOTE=RugBug;7680079]
Why would you EVER want to thin a tail?

Also, OP is trying to figure out how to shorten the mane without thinning.[/QUOTE]

Eventers and dressage often “pull” or clip the top of tails. It isn’t really thinning…as much as shaping. This is done instead of braiding tails. I know how to pull a tail…but never do. I get the same look by clipping. You can really butcher it if you don’t know what you are doing.

I don’t do it on green horses that could be sold into the show world.

[VCT]

I use thinning shears and cut upwards to desired length. Have no problem braiding.