It’s been a long while since I have pulled a mane. Is it better to pull before or after washing? Thanks!
Before, because the hair will be less slick.
After work and the horse is warm and only a little at a time.
THEY say it doesn’t hurt the horse. Just ask Sim who will let us comb his mane but get upset if we start doing anything else like plait.
or the pony I once knew who used to turn and try and double barrel unless twitched.
LONG manes I say.
Or a Solocomb.
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I use thinning shears, easier on everyone and still braids up nicely.
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Another vote for the solocomb!
Thank you for the video! That’s exactly what I was looking for.
I do this too, I can confirm it works very well. Brush mane, very lightly dampen it (not much though), flip mane to other side, brush it through, and then run scissors at an angle down length of mane. Brush out again, angle-cut any hair that sticks out/is too long, and then flip - when you flip back over, you will notice that the top strands of mane are significantly shorter - don’t panic! Simply brush through and go through light, small angled snips on the bottom layer to tidy up. Viola!
It looks great IMHO and is way quicker, painless, and easy to braid.
I am also a cutter these days, not a puller. I can make the manes look pulled, and horses are MUCH happier with cutting over being pulled. My hands don’t hurt either after shortening 5 or 6 manes.
Count me among the mane cutters. Super quick and painless compared to pulling. Full disclosure: I ride dressage, so I do button braids, not hunter braids, but having done hunter braids in my youth, I think unless your horse has a super full mane, hunter braids will work fine too.
I really like this thing: Solo Rake. It actually DOES pull hair from the roots, but even my most unwilling about actual pulling horse doesn’t mind it. It’s awesome at thinning the mane quickly, without complaint.
Amazon just makes it too easy - my Solo rake should be here Saturday. I have done ok with a Solo comb in the past, but this seems to take it to the next level, and my sensitive snowflake TB is direly in need of some work on his incredibly thick double-sided mane. $30 bucks is better than finding a reason for the vet to sedate him…
I hope you like it as much as I do! 
:yes: I use it to thin, and then pull to shorten. You could easily scissor to shorten, too.
It’s also awesome on the barn cats!
Interesting. TBs don’t have double manes. In the mane swaps side thread it was stated that long thick manes get heavy and stay on one side. Is your horses mane long?
I don’t know if my horse’s mane is double-sided in the true sense of the word, but it is double-sided in the sense that right now it is 4-5 inches long and he always has some hanging on each side of his neck in spite of the fact that when I brush it, I always brush it all to the right side.
When I say long I mean past the bottom of the neck!
My TB gets a double mane if left alone. I’ve managed to control the bottom half, but the top half needs more work still! Luckily he’s pretty good about letting me pull it, I’ve just been lazy.
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I also cut the mane because I like it thicker for braiding. About every 6 months I have to braid the mane back over to the right side and leave the braids in for a couple weeks. It just does not want to stay where I tell it to!
I use that scissors technique with my QH mare, who has a naturally thin, straight mane. It works very well.
My gelding has like 3 horses worth of mane. I’ll roach it from time to time. But he grows hair like it’s his job!
I used that video technique on a moderately thick mane. Apparently I am too precise with my scissors as I ended up with what looked like a blunt cut mane. I get better results by taking hairs as if I am going to pull them (grab a few hairs, back comb) and then cutting on an angle slightly above the finished length. As I get closer to the final product I make my cut closer to the desired length . This gives a nicely tapered edge as if pulled. A Solocomb can be used instead of scissors provided the comb is held at a 45 degree angle to the topline rather than parallel. I managed a blunt cut end with the Solocomb held parallel to the topline (as the instructions advise) as well - I guess my eye is far too precise for length.
My younger horse doesn’t mind his very thick mane being pulled at all, but I keep it cut down to a tiny mohawk.
