Knots in mane

My 2 year gets terrible tight knots in the bottom of her mane. Her mane is very long for a 2yr old and quite thick. I have brushed it out many times but gif I leave it for several days the knots are back. Any thoughts on why?Ive had horses with long manes before but they never tangle this badly so quickly.
Any product that might reduce the knots? Do you think it could be ‘baby hair’ that is causing the tangles?
I could do single braids which would help.

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Hi there! I can give you some suggestions on my fav products. First you want really clean mane so I use vetrolin shampoo and I do two lathers. Make sure you really scrub the roots to get the grease out! Then I use eqyss double repairs conditioner and I comb the the mane with wide tooth comb with the conditioner in it. Since it seems like it super dry I would let it sit for 5-10 mins. Then make sure you rinse it out really good with WARM water. You have to use warm water or it won’t come out right. Then I use cowboy magic when it’s dry/wet and boom you’ve got nice mane! You can also use this routine on the tail. Hope this helps! (I also recommend braiding it I think biomane has good tutorials on that)

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EQyss survivor detangler is the best product I’ve found for keeping manes and tails knot free for days at a time. It’s a concentrated gel so you only need around a dime sized dab. It also doesn’t attract dirt as some leave in products tend to do. Anything that attracts dirt will definitely make tangles worse.

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Another vote for cowboy magic! I used to care for a mare whose mane would twist into knots immediately after being brushed, no matter what I did. Had she been my horse, I probably would have just trimmed her mane short. I didn’t know about cowboy magic back then.

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Yes, it’s probably due to the super fine baby hair at the tips. Shortening the mane to get rid of those ends is likely to help.

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Any tips on how to shorten without it looking like a bob?

Tomorrow will be wash day!
I have not heard of EQyss products, I will check out the tack store and see if they carry them.

Thank you.

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Do you know how to pull a mane? I mean the pinching the tips of the longest hairs and backcombing the rest to get it out of the way part. Instead of then pulling the hairs, cut them with scissors held on about a 45 degree angle, slightly shorter than you want the finished length. Repeat until the whole mane is at the length you want. The end result is a feathered edge as if it had been pulled.

If you’re making it a lot shorter, do it over several days as it’s a bit tedious for both horse (especially young horses) and human. I just started with a two year old needing to lose at least half his mane length, and I’m kind of dreading it. I’m teaching him other stuff first. :wink:

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ditto the scissor technique. My horse has an incredibly thick mane, but I manage to keep it pretty short - maybe around 5" or so. Unless the breed “requires” a natural mane, less is more, lol.

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Use WD-40 once a week.
It will detangle what yo have and keep it from re-tangling.

I will check out the scissor method.
Is your young one a redhead? Maybe a before and after picture? I will try to take some pictures too.

I LOVE EQyss and Cowboy Magic products.

I ride jumpers, so my mare’s mane is never THAT long, even when I keep it on the long side, but her tail can be a nightmare. I now exclusively use a Wet Brush on it (and her mane) after my hair stylist recommended it for me, and it’s a game changer. Works on wet hair, or dry. Until last week, did wonders on my Sister Wives down-to-my-butt hair (cut it off above shoulders!) that constantly knotted, tangled and dreaded a few times a day. Takes out tangles with minimal hair loss and pain.

Won’t use anything else for myself or my horse, and have ditched combs. Bonus? Cheap on Amazon.

ETA, took 4 edits to get the preview to show! Gah!

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