long mane, turnout for different classes

[jonem004]

@appendix100

They are trying to keep the ranch riding from becoming just another pleasure class. The purpose of the class it to show a horse that could do well working aross a ranch. Would take you a month to check fence or get to a calf at a WP lope.
And although the rules state that the horse is to be shown at a forward gait, they also state that 4beating, peanut rolling, etc are to be penalized in WP. Look where that has gone. They want the hard core WP people coming in & pushing the ranch class that direction. Unfortunately, politics count.

That totally makes sense. It’s wild watching different divisions and disciplines get “stylized” over time. Love the idea of a horse winning a show based on how useful it would be actually working!

[Montanas_Girl]

Definitely do a running braid if you’re working with a truly long/natural mane. Scallops only work/look neat, in my experience, on “in between” manes and tend to flop around more when the horse moves. DO NOT do a lattice for a hunter under saddle class, especially at an AQHA show.

Properly done, a running braid should not come loose or bulge just because the horse moves its head around. Most people make this braid MUCH too loose and tend to let it droop down away from the crest as they braid; that’s when/how the braid loosens up. To do a running braid well, stand on a stool so that you are above the level of the horse’s neck and can keep the braid right up against the crest. With very thick manes, I will often part the mane and put in two running braids, one stacked directly on top of the other. That will hold better than a single very thick braid and also has the advantage of making the braid look more like hunter braids from a distance. This is a photo of my old gelding at a hunter show years ago - he was braided first thing in the morning, schooled, did two flat classes, and jumped four courses without his braid budging. This photo was taken at the end of the day.

[lorilu]

@jonem004

I did not know there was a rule against cross entering those two divisions. I thought versatility was the name of the game.

As someone who knows just about nothing about this, I would guess it’s because they want to distinguish between the working horse (Ranch) and the “classic” show horse (WP).

[enjoytheride]

I do a french (not running) braid. You take hair with each hand, not just the one on top. It makes a tighter braid that stays on the crest. Then I go back and sew it in. Stays in all day.

You can also do dressage style button braids, my arab has a very long mane and I can do a modified button braid that stays in pretty good.

[poltroon]

I’m surprised at how many people are dissing the scallop braids - IME they’re very neat and very tidy. You can tie them up to a braid two or three braids later down the neck too, to keep the whole look close to the crest. They’re a very good choice for a mane that is thin and long. They don’t move once they’re tied down. IMHO, the end result is closest in appearance to regular hunter braids.

Back in the 80’s we even did them on horses with pulled manes for hunters for fun, and IIRC it seems to me some famous jumpers like Abdullah and Corsair wore them sometimes for some very big classes.

Alternately, you can hide a lot of hair in button braids. I braid down, tie the braid itself in a knot, and then pull the end through the base of the braid. If the hair is really long, you can hide the end more by tying it under the neighbor braid like a scallop. I braided a thick, full pony mane this way, and while it didn’t look like hunter braids (this was dressage) it was very tidy and I wouldn’t be embarrassed to show a hunter that way.

[MzCarol]

My Ayah is Arabian and I just won’t pull her mane. Here’s what I do…

Braid the first one only about 3-5 crossovers of the way down. Band. Use hook to pull tail up through top of braid. Move on to second braid. As you make the 3 sections of the braid, you will add the tail of the previous braid in one of your new braid sections (I usually use it in the middle section for tightness). The hardest part is judging thickness and consistency but that’s just practice. I don’t have a pic handy but it’s very elegant looking as they look like buttons overall.

[MissAriel]

@MzCarol

My Ayah is Arabian and I just won’t pull her mane. Here’s what I do…

Braid the first one only about 3-5 crossovers of the way down. Band. Use hook to pull tail up through top of braid. Move on to second braid. As you make the 3 sections of the braid, you will add the tail of the previous braid in one of your new braid sections (I usually use it in the middle section for tightness). The hardest part is judging thickness and consistency but that’s just practice. I don’t have a pic handy but it’s very elegant looking as they look like buttons overall.

Great suggestion! This video shows how to do it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFgNcbJ-pNI

@poltroon - I think that people have seen scallops done not very well are the ones dissing them. As you said, done well you can hardly tell they aren’t regular braids so they might not have even “seen” the good ones.

[beau159]

@appendix100

And although the rules state that the horse is to be shown at a forward gait, they also state that 4beating, peanut rolling, etc are to be penalized in WP. Look where that has gone.

I agree with you on that one. I went to my first AQHA show earlier this month and there was one horse in particular that was really bad. I am serious when I say his poor nose was dragging on the ground most of the time. He didn’t win any classes, but he still placed and sometimes above others. Be definition, he should have been an easy disqualification.

[PREconvert]

If you want a single long braid that stands up on the crest, you don’t want to French braid, you want to Dutch braid. Which is just instead of crossing over the side over the middle, cross UNDER. It stands up and stays tighter. But you’ve got to keep it tight. When people do French braids, it looks great the first 6 inches then starts to drape down onto the neck, and that’s how you lose the “chess piece” look and make the neck look small or irregular. Keep pulling up not sideways. Pull, hold, pull more. The second you let it loosen a centimeter, it wil, just get looser. But done right, it pulls out in 5 seconds for a natural mane class. If it doesn’t matter if the mane is a little curly for the natural class, Quick Braid helps a lot.

Also, if you have time, once you are done, putting just one or 2 yarn or thread stitches every 6 inches will help it hold and still make taking it out easy and fast, just grab a seam ripper.

[otterhound]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but it may well solve your problem. www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFgNcbJ-pNI&t=11s