My quarter horse has a long wavy mane that I love and don’t want to cut. Along with his feathered feet, I think it gives him a mustang-ey look. Unfortunately it’s not super neat looking for dressage. Could I do the running French braid for shows? It’s just a schooling show, so braiding is optional, but I think it would give him a tidier appearance. Anyone else have a long mane that they kept or will I be hopelessly out of fashion and dorky looking?
You should be fine - you could do a running braid if you did not want to cut it. There is no rule about braiding, though people keep the mane short for presentation. If you want to keep your horse’s appearance a certain way, that’s your god-given right as his owner… though the cynic in me finds it fairly amusing you’d embrace the phenotype of a different ‘breed’ (are mustangs even a breed?) rather than your horse’s actual heritage :winkgrin:
My guy’s is a little longer than average, though I would do the cobra braids when I show again. You can get away with the mane being longer for dutch/cobra brains than you can for hunter braids, I feel.
Yes, a running braid is totally fine. I compete a little Paint mare for someone who didn’t want her mane pulled and I have given up on trying to get it to stay in a braid. Luckily it lies nicely on one side except when she’s jumping https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/v/t1.0-9/10489796_10205961437462717_7635203607646829712_n.jpg?oh=3366a73b8de48d1bcad26c89f1ab6302&oe=5624FBEB (and after a lifetime of TBs I find it kind of adorable!)
I don’t know how to post a picture but my boy is a well built quarter horse with a big booty. My only other horse was an eternally skinny TB and so having a QH is a breath of fresh air because he stays fat with minimal effort. I’ve learned to love the shorter, stockier look. I used to be a bit of a TB snob. As for looking like a mustang, they are considered a breed now. I grew up on the Outer Banks of North Carolina riding Banker Ponies, descendants of Spanish horses that were abandoned by explorers or that managed to swim ashore from shipwrecks on the shoals off Cape Hatteras. The Banker Ponies on Hatteras were genetically tested in the 1960’s and determined to be eligible for registry in the Spanish Mustang Registry. There are no more wild horses on Hatteras, but there are on Corolla, Ocracoke Island and Shackleford Banks. So yes, it makes me happy that my boy resembles the mustang descendants I grew up with that are a beautiful part of the history of my hometown!
I competed for years with a long name and a running plait.
Eventing, Showjumping, Dressage, Combined Training, Hunter Trials, Showing.
Let your riding shine.
OP, a running braid that is neat and tight to the neck would be just fine.
I show my horses in a variety of events, including western and ranch horse, so I am also not about to cut their gorgeous long manes. I just braid it for the English classes.
Yes, and they have their own registries too.
I like manes short, but I refuse to trim my horse’s cute little feathers! Hair styles won’t be held against you by the judge.
LOL, I’m the opposite of Mango–I like my Morgan’s mane long, but think her feathers look messy so I trim them 
And we show either loose or in a running braid.
[QUOTE=beau159;8221310]
OP, a running braid that is neat and tight to the neck would be just fine.
I show my horses in a variety of events, including western and ranch horse, so I am also not about to cut their gorgeous long manes. I just braid it for the English classes.
Yes, and they have their own registries too.[/QUOTE]
I know they have their own little registry when you pick one up from the BLM and decide to breed it… but that does not a breed make. Interesting. I would not have thought they were regarded as an actual breed, being feral/wild and their breeding “stock” is largely out of the control of any stud book… so two wild QHs culled by the BLM could in theory be a mustang… if only the real stud books were that easy to fool!
I do a four-part running braid for shows–it will even stay in for cross country if I use yarn and sew it in. The longer the mane, the better it will stay in.
[QUOTE=SuzieQNutter;8221301]
Let your riding shine.[/QUOTE]
Best advice possible. I’m perpetually exhausted & am sure not getting up early to play Barbie, so I roach both of mine & then trim it up if we show. With practice, it’s actually pretty sexy & we always get compliments, it’s clean & sharp & always ready!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/shadowfx01/Encore/FenRidgeFHTPortraitCropAdj_zpsb9d4c0f6.jpg
(Ya, I do braid his forelock b/c he has mega-surfer bangs!!)
But BFF is an Arabian person (50-mi endurance racer), so I know some people just like the hair waving. It’s your horse, so do what makes you happy as long as it doesn’t hurt him. 
The rulebook is your friend. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS read it. Braiding is NEVER required at any level as long as the horse is tidy & the judge can see the crestline of the neck. So take that running braid & go show off your
[QUOTE=lecoeurtriste;8223520]
I do a four-part running braid for shows–it will even stay in for cross country if I use yarn and sew it in. The longer the mane, the better it will stay in. :-)[/QUOTE]
HOW?! I love this. Is it a double running braid (one on each side)? or four running braids sewed together?
[QUOTE=GraceLikeRain;8227412]
HOW?! I love this. Is it a double running braid (one on each side)? or four running braids sewed together?[/QUOTE]
Here is a video that shows the braiding pattern. It’s one braid, but if the mane were really think, I’m sure you could do one on each side.
To keep it in for XC, I run a very long piece of yarn or waxed thread the whole length (in two sections) and then sew it in with light weight thread. The sewing is a figure 8 pattern under and over, making sure to catch each section. The longer the mane and thinner the sections, the better it stays in.
