Sweat patterns after a ride, and do they mean all that much?

[SuzieQNutter]

A double mane is in some horses with a very thick mane that parts down the middle. Not a tb or wb.

I had a look today. Stars has cowlicks at the top of his neck on both sides in the middle of his neck. Dodge has one on one side. I forgot to check the other side and haven’t checked Sim or Twiggy yet.

Stars’ and Dodge’s cowlicks do not affect their mane in any way.

I bought a horse called James who was broken necked. His mane was on one side near the poll. On the other side in the middle and back on the other side in front of the saddle. It takes about 6 months to a year of correct work and the mane is on one side. It does not happen overnight. That was many decades ago when I was learning so the process may be quicker now.

Dodge’s mane was on both sides when he came. He was a little broken necked as the riding school puts on Market Harbourers to protect the horses a little from beginner hands. He was not bad as he would ride with the poll the highest immediately and his mane is now on one side.

Stars was ridden on the forehand before he came here. The mane was forward rather than being on either side. He still does not have a long mane yet but it is on one side and is pointing down now.

Twiggy came with her head carriage horizontal to the sky. To start with we didn’t even know which side of the neck her mane should be on. With dressage training and poll ridden the highest. It is now on one side.

Don’t forget that fit horses sweat. Although on a cold day he does not seem to, but will have a small piece of foam between his hind legs which is still there after leading back to the tack shed and being untacked. Is is actually pretty cute

On a hot day by the time I walk to the tack shed the white lather not foam as it melts with the heat is not as pronounced as leaving the arena. If not a lot it will appear wet. If no actual work done it will be dry. If a lot of work it will be a lot of lather.

I had the loveliest ride on him today. He worked but there was a strong wind today. We had a forward canter out on the trail. Plus a dressage canter where I am now strong enough to sit up and ask for it. I also asked for a dressage trot out on the trail as he was being a bit spooky. Then a canter up a steep hill and a hand gallop. Then the most lovely ride in the arena which incorporated different trots. Trot over caveletties. Different canters. 15m canter circle and counter canter loops. I finished with a couple of long leg yields.

Back at the tack shed and he was wet between the back legs with a bit of white lather. He was full sweat under the saddle with no dry patches and a bit of sweat at the bottom of his flank/stifle area. If he really sweats, around his eyes are the next to sweat! But not today.

You can really tell where he sweats as he is brown and goes much darker where he sweats.

[brody]

I live wth a tb with the fullest double mane I’ve ever seen. Could do full braids on both sides easily.

[eqsiu]

@SuzieQNutter

A double mane is in some horses with a very thick mane that parts down the middle. Not a tb or wb.

So just a thick mane. I was wondering if it was like double coated animals or something. Also, I think you are too obsessed with which way the hair lies. It braids the same for shows in my experience.

[Samantha37]

@brody

I live wth a tb with the fullest double mane I’ve ever seen. Could do full braids on both sides easily.

Me too. I have to pull and pull and pull to get it thin enough to braid respectably. Having the mane lay on one side isn’t a very good indicator IMO

My horse also almost sweats where the reins sit against his neck. I don’t think that is because he is being ridden incorrectly, but rather because there is a piece of equipment touching/moving against his skin.

[SuzieQNutter]

Yes because of the rein touching the skin. No neck reining in dressage. So not seen on my boy.

I am not fixated on the mane on one side. It happens by itself, I don’t train it. It being on one side was told to me by the Instructor from England with James She said it would change as giant muscle changed with correct work. She was right it changed.

it was also told to me in lectures studying to be an instructor and working with a Grand prix Dressage Rider.

My current instructor, an Australian, tells me about the sweat patterns after a lesson. He is the one who says you dont want to see sweat on the neck like I had like OP.

I have a lesson today.

A double mane is genetic. Pepper had a long thick mane that came down past the bottom of his neck. He was part TB, part stock horse. It was all on one side.

[eqsiu]

@SuzieQNutter

A double mane is genetic.

Width of the crest and density of hair follicles is indeed genetic. Which way the hair falls is mostly luck. The wider the crest the more likely the mane is to fall on both sides. However, you seem to be imagining it as some sort of Mendelian trait, which is incorrect.

[JB]

@SuzieQNutter

Yes because of the rein touching the skin. No neck reining in dressage. So not seen on my boy.

:lol: :lol: :lol: So at NO time, while riding with contact, do your reins ever, ever touch the neck. How wide are your shoulders?

[tabula_rashah]

I would seriously find a new instructor if he’s interpreting sweat patterns after you ride. Does he do your tea leaves too? :lol:

[Snowdenfarm]

@tabula rashah

I would seriously find a new instructor if he’s interpreting sweat patterns after you ride. Does he do your tea leaves too? :lol:

Hahaha.

[EventerAJ]

IME, horses sweat where they sweat, as a factor of ambient temperature, level of work, and level of fitness. My stallion is a very heavy sweater, and even standing still in a stall with fan, on a hot day he is frequently damp on his flanks and groin (gotta keep the swimmers cool!). I don’t think that sweat pattern is related to particular use of hindquarters.

Horses’ sweat contains a protein, latherin, that causes sweat to foam with friction. If the skin is wet enough with sweat, any kind of rubbing will cause foam-- thus why you see foam in-between the butt cheeks, on the neck under reins and martingales, girth areas, and on the eyelids of some hairy horses. Rub your hand on a sweaty horse face and you can make it lather-- a sure sign the horse needs a rinse.

The only time I pay attention to sweating is if it’s irregular for that animal-- signs of anhydrosis may be sudden lack of chest/rein sweat, with just patchy spots along the crest near the mane.

[SuzieQNutter]

LOL so not wishy washy for me or my instructor. He is more high level than me and I learn something from him every ride even at this part of my route on the ladder to Grand Prix, hopefully.

As I said on a cold day. On a cold day you can rub the neck and you won’t get lather.

In dressage the rein should not neck yield. The hand should not swap over the neck. You can take it out. On a hot day I don’t end up with lather on the neck.

He doesn’t fixate on the sweat pattern either. He just will say that it is good that there was foam behind or good that none on the neck on a cold day. We don’t discuss it.

As I said the mane on James was long and thick and on both sides of the neck first on one side, then the other side, then back on the first side. He was broken necked. I was told that the mane would go on one side once he had been trained out of it. She was correct.

This has happened with each horse for the next 30 years. I don’t wash the manes. I don’t try and train the manes. I don’t fixate on the manes. I just observe it as something that happens with a correctly ridden horse.

I have pointed out to my hubby how the manes are when the horse arrives and we look again a few months later and it has changed. It is not rocket science. It is not fixated on. It is something that happens with us doing absolutely nothing but riding the horses. It is something you can now start taking notice of. As I said it does not happen overnight but it does happen.

So OP what happened on the next ride. Did you have the same sweat pattern?

[Simkie]

[quote=“Suz![](eQNutter,post:31,topic:452981”]

As I said on a cold day. On a cold day you can rub the neck and you won’t get lather.

In dressage the rein should not neck yield. The hand should not swap over the neck. You can take it out. On a hot day I don’t end up with lather on the neck.

[/quote]

What a weird idea. You think that neck reining is the cause of sweat on the neck?

What do you think is going on here? (Random pic, there are eleventy billion of these available on the interwebs that show the rein on the neck of dressage horses.)

[IMG]https://previews.123rf.com/images/pixinoo/pixinoo1405/pixinoo140500040/28236408-dressage-horse-and-rider-on-dressage-competition.jpg)

The mouth is 5-6" wide. To keep the reins off the neck, you’d have to hold your hands quite wide. Which is not really how it’s done.

Do you have any pictures that show how you ride with the rein well away from the neck, so as to never, ever cause sweat under the rein? I just can’t picture it at all.

[JB]

Pretty sure th![](s horse just worked his hiney off
[IMG]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Beijing2008_HOKETSU_Hiroshi.JPG)

[SuzieQNutter]

No lather on that neck in the picture. Maybe because the rein does not go up and down ?

We are going into Summer here. Heateaves are here at the moment so we are riding earlier and earlier.

wmWe did gallop up a hill this morning and he has been having more feed and when I said slow for a corner, he wanted to play instead. About 10 strides I would say. I managed to stay on and push him on. A complete lather of foam between his legs.

I did take him into the arena afterwards, still foam between the hindlegs. Sweat all over and a bubble of foam under the girth from sweat. There was no lather anywhere else.

[Simkie]

@SuzieQNutter

No lather on that neck in the picture. Maybe because the rein does not go up and down ?

On my picture? There’s no visible sweat on that horse anywhere. If he continues to work, he’ll sweat, including under the rein. The rein doesn’t have to MOVE to create sweat. The saddle pad doesn’t move and the horse sweats under it. They sweat on the neck under the rein in the same manner.

The picture I included was to show a dressage horse with the rein lying against the neck, not a sweaty neck. The rider is not crossing the hand over the wither and the horse is not being directed with neck reining. And yet the rein is touching the horse.

How do you explain JB’s picture? And you still haven’t answered the question: how do you ride to never lay the rein on the neck? You must have 12-18" between your hands at all times? Do you have pictures, because that sounds very uncomfortable and awkward and I just can’t picture it.