I can’t get one of my horses manes to lay on the right, it lays perfectly neatly to the left.
I know traditionally manes are supposed to be on the right…
Who has horses with left sided manes? Do you braid them to the right if they are hunters?
Please feel free to share your best mane training tips please! I’ve been told if I shave the underneath of the mane on the right side and braid over to the right, I’m skeptical of shaving the mane…
When I got my horse, his mane had been meticulously groomed (probably pulled) and all of it was perfectly on the right side - this changed over time (I don’t pull his mane, only trim), and sometimes now half of it lies left, and half lies right. I am planning to do the Baby Greens this year, so I started “training” it to go back to the right - I dampened it and brushed it a lot, and for a couple of days, I made a bunch of little pony tail sections to encourage all the hair to go to the right side. Now I just dampen with a little Cowboy Magic and brush down, before riding, or wet it down and brush before turnout. Seems to have mostly worked for us!
That being said, I would ask my trainer about a mane that sits completely to the left - seems like it would be much easier to just braid the whole mane left, and I don’t think it would change anything about quality of show turnout. But ask!! 
Always braid on the right for hunters. The best way to train is setting gel and braid it to the right in loose braids. Make sure the braids lie flat against the neck. You van also band to the right. Youtube has a many videos to help you.
I have one that has the most perfect mane on the left. I don’t try to train it over. If I were to braid it, (he would currently show without braids unrecognized) I would braid on the right however if the lengths of the mane allow.
I’d try braiding it on the right and see how it looks? The way the hair grows it may end up that the top portion of the mane, once over on the right to braid, may become shorter as it has to clear the crest. But try it and see?
It’s not an issue that I care about. If you ever do a “Hunter Appointments” class (do they even have those classes any more? IDK), I guess it might make a difference to placing in THAT superficial and silly class. But no, you don’t get “points off” from the judge as soon as you enter the ring if your horse’s mane is braided on the left side instead of the right side. If you do, I, personally, wouldn’t want to get a placing from such a silly judge.
I have a mare with a double mane. We don’t show, but I do use QuikBraid to help it all stay to the right for fox hunting. It works well enough to keep us looking neat for most of any given hunt, (and she has a LOT of mane) so I imagine that it would also work for keeping a mane to the right in a show ring when braiding is not required.
I spray it at the root on the top side of the crest and then brush it over to the right. The brush distributes the spray pretty evenly, though I do think the product dulls the natural shine of her mane a little.
One thing to keep in mind is that if it falls naturally to the left but you want it right for shows, you’ll need to pull it to the right. What looks level and even to the left may not be so on the other side of the crest.
I mainly do dressage now (hunters would be schooling shows only), but my horses mane lies on the left and I braid it on the left. I don’t think it’s a big deal either way. If it bothers you, wet it and braid it to the right (about 10 big braids is fine). Once after a bath my horse’s mane switched to the right and stayed there for a short while before reverting back to the left, but I braided him once in the meantime and it was weird for my muscle memory I’ve gotten used to braiding on the left! So to me that’s the biggest concern, it just feels different if your used to doing it on one side.
I have a mare with a perfect left-lying mane. In her first few weeks here I made an attempt at braiding/training it to the right. Yeah, nope. I gave up quickly and decided that she could have a left-sided mane. If I were to braid it I would braid it to the left. If my horseshow braider braided it, I’m positive she would braid it to the “correct” side (right). But she’s a jumper and I haven’t ever braided her for anything…it’s such a lovely “flat” mane, that it looks nicer unbraided then it would jumper-braided (IMO).
But honestly, no one is going to notice the side of the braids or the side of the mane.
I had a pony that had a fly away mane that when it wanted to lay down at all, was usually split with 1/3 on the right, 1/3 on both sides and 1/3 on the left. If i sprayed it with quick braid and combed it to the right side and then used a double or triple folded bath towel laid along the crest it would stay laying on the right and pretty flat for 24-48 hours.
Says who and where is the USEF rule stating this? I ask this question tongue in cheek. 
I am a USEF R hunter judge, and personally, I could care less what side of the neck the braids are on. As long as the braids are neat and tidy, that is all that matters. It has been a long standing joke at my own barn that our “permanent” residents seem to have manes that lie on the left. I have always left those manes on the left and braided on the left. Judges have more important things to concentrate on while a horse is on course.
I have had 3 horses in a row with left lying manes. Thankfully I do dressage and no one cares. My distant past hunters - who knows, I wasn’t “allowed” to braid, we had a resident braider to do those little perfect things.
Never, ever, ever braid on the left in the hunters.
The only time you’d have to really worry about training the mane is if you are planning to show unbraided and it’s all willy nilly naturally. If it naturally falls neatly on the left side, I would leave it there for an unbraided show.
If you are braiding, just braid it on the right and voila. I’ve never had an issue just combing the mane over and braiding down from there.
Are you trying to be funny? Show me one example of a hunter at a rated show where braids are on the left. Hunters are braided on the right and no professional braider would ever braid on the left.
Do you know the history behind why riders traditionally braid on the right? Interestingly enough, it is the same reason why we traditionally also mount on the left. Soldiers carried their swords and scabbards (sheaths) on the left. They mounted on the left so that the sword would not get in the way while mounting. Manes were traditionally laid on the right so as not to interfere with the sword being drawn or put away. Last time I checked, show hunters do not carry swords while on course.
Once again, please show me the rule that states braids must be on the right. Right or left braids don’t matter. What matters is that you put in a good round.
I bet more husbands and dads would come to shows if they did!
No she’s not trying to be funny…Daventry is a highly respected hunter judge…pretty sure she knows the rules inside and out! Personally, if it ever came down to which side your horses mane was braided on, that would be a hell of a class to see! In fact, I’d bet it would be shown worldwide and not just in North Ameriica (yes that last part was sarcasm, because even though I ride in the hunters, I just cannot wrap my head around all the ridiculous little things Americans obsess over!)
I know its not written anywhere that braids must be on the right, but it is nice IMHO to keep tradition “alive” (coming from the Pleasure Driving world where tradition rules!). I know we don’t carry swords anymore so it really doesnt matter, but we still mount on the left And I agree that I don’t really think many judges would care if the mane is braided to the left or right, I just couldn’t personally do it.
For one, to me it looks funny. I could never stand on the left side of the horse to braid - it would just feel “wrong” to me. Awkward I guess would be the best term. Its so easy to just braid it to the right, no matter what side the mane lays on, I just comb it over and braid it. Easy peasy!
I have “trained” my wild ponies manes over, and I will braid it about a week in advance before a show, so it lays flat on the right, then I can pull it neatly. It does work but only for a short time. It just tends to go back to the left after a month or so. But It doesnt bother me too much since I only see it at home.
I think it more comes down to looking the part, than that the judge would actually refuse to use a hunter with the mane braided to the left. If I come into the ring looking conventional (for lack of a better term), I sort of start on the same level of playing field as the rest of the class. If I come in having turned myself and my horse out within the rules, but look odd (again, for lack of a better term), it wouldn’t really come as a surprise if I put down a less-than-stellar trip.
I’ll use myself as an example… As a kid, I showed a number of times (at a level where either I or someone looking after me should have known better!) in hunter classes with either an unbraided mane or a braided mane and unbraided forelock (I was in love with the fancy European horses that showed at Spruce Meadows with an unbraided forelock and braided mane, so my horse got the same). I also had rubber Aigle boots, a hunting breastplate, a bridle that wasn’t quite right, and a horse that needed about a million more miles before he was going to lay down a nice hunter trip. Of course, it was the slightly wild horse with no lead change that kept me out of the ribbons, but the rest of my turnout made me look like my rounds were typical of my riding instead of like I was just having a bad day. If that same slightly wild horse had been turned out to the nines, he would have just been classified as fresh instead of back yard. A mane on the left is not as an extreme example of unconventional as my younger self was, but it’s an easy thing to make look correct by just flipping the mane over to the right for braiding.
I have a feeling that has more to do with the fact that as a braider it’s easier to stand on the “correct” side (i.e. the side you ALWAYS stand on to braid) and pull over a left-lying mane than it is to stand on the “wrong” side and try to braid in the opposite direction.
And I couldn’t provide an example, NOT because no one does it, but because it’s such a minute detail when done well that I doubt anyone would notice unless it was pointed out to them. I do know a couple of horses who show in the hunters with roached manes, and same story…unless someone pointed it out to you, you would never notice.
These are the kinds of details that so many people think are important, but really aren’t.
Also, someone with a better memory (or more time to google) can probably tell this more accurately than me. But wasn’t the conventional way to braid, to braid on the right for stallions and geldings and on the left for mares (or vice versa)? I thought the side the braids went on was supposed to be telling, and we just kind of blew by that in the hunter world because it was more difficult to do??
There is actually no rule in the USEF rulebook that states that hunters must be braided. The only mandatory braiding is for side saddle hunters. That being said, a show may state in their prize list that braiding is mandatory for specific divisions. If that is the case, the local show rule would trump USEF rules.
A judge scores a hunter in the United States on even hunting pace, manners, jumping style together with faults and way of moving over the course. This is directly from the USEF rulebook. In Canada, the hierarchy of importance is jumping style, manners and way of going. I know you were just using an example, but you mentioned your horse needed a million more miles before he was going to lay down a nice hunter trip. Even if you had turned him out to the nines and he had the most expensive hunter tack imaginable, a good judge would not have simply written him down as being fresh. A knowledgeable judge can see through the turnout and determine whether a horse is well trained, polished and ready to be in the ring. While high end and appropriate tack helps paint a picture, it doesn’t tell the whole story about the horse. In a nutshell, fancy tack and attire won’t turn a poor quality horse into a good quality horse.
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