I need to start practicing how to braid. Mare has a nicely developed long elegant neck. She has a nice thick mane (pulled to be even) and it is about 8 inches long.
I think the large button (rosette) braids would look nice. Does anyone have video or picture tutorials that I could use to learn how to do these braids?
Here is a good thread on the cobra braids: https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/dressage/311786-cobra-braids
I love the look of the cobra braids, but I donāt want her neck to look thicker. She is smaller in the hind end than the front so I donāt want to accentuate that LOL. Any other suggestions?
I love button/dressage braids.
One thing people forget to tell you - longer is better for button/cobra braids. I prefer six inches, unthinned/unpulled, but any length longer than 2 inches and shorter than 8 seems to work. I think you could get it to work with 8 inches.
I wet the mane down, brush, and divide the entire mane into equal sections (I prefer 4 fingerās length, or the full length of your pulling comb). You are laying down the footwork of the rest of the braid here so make sure it is 100% consistent. I loosely rubber-band each divide so that the mane stays out of my way as I braid down the mane. Pre-banding them before you braid them helps you visualize and see if the braid width is too narrow or if itās too wide, and gives you a good idea of what the final result will be. I generally can get 6-8 braids on my big gelding. More braids will flatter a short neck, and less braids will condense a too long neck.
I always start at the poll of the horse. I find some horses donāt like braiding and itās easier to braid their poll when theyāre first starting vs when theyāre fussy and sick of standing around (all told it takes me about 20m to braid so not too much standing around!).
Unrubberband your first selection and brush it out by pulling it above their heads and brushing - separate into 3 identical lengths and during the first few cross-overs of the braid, keep the mane held aloft and keep the crossovers loose (the looseness gives the braids that hooded look - braiding tightly at the base will not give it the same look) - after a few crossovers, bring braid back against the neck and braid downward, keeping the braid strands tight and clean. Rubberband the tail of the braid (tail =loose hair) back up/underneath the braid.
Rinse/repeat this with all braids (btw most horses are more sensitive about the hair on their withers - so go easy/loose on them there).
Now comes the fun part. Cut lengths of black thread (I like about an arms length same as you cut for hunter braids). Find your plastic needle, thread black thread through needle. (I totally put the needle/thread combo in my mouth while I do the next part but do not do this and blame me if you stab your lip/mouth)
Take tail end of braid and roll it towards the base of the braid - you can also fold (I wont be able to describe this well, maybe check a video for this part). If rolling, roll underneath the braid ā if folding, fold braid length in half, and then take the āendā of the braid and roll it/tuck it back to the base of the braid.
Holding the rolled portion firm in your hand, take your other hand and puncture the center of the roll with the needle/thread, pull the thread through the braid and back out the other side. Puncture the other side and bring the thread/needle back to you. Try to pierce where the rubber band was/is, for extra āgripā. Do this 4x and finish by snipping off visible ends of the yarn.
Rinse/repeat the rest of the mane.
Iāve gotten quite good at the braids thanks to COTH and the gentle critique of COTHers. 
@beowulf, how long will these cobra braids stay in? Iām curious to try them. Are they a braid-the-morning-of kind of braid, or will they stay in overnight if done the night before? (Obviously depends on the horse, but assuming the horse is easy to keep braids in
I do mine about 30m before Iām supposed to leave/load up for the show. Or you can do them at the showgrounds if your horse is chill enough. Mine would be, but I like working at home better. I can listen to music at home (mostly) free of judgment. :winkgrin:
In theory these only take about 20-30m to do - thatās including brushing, banding, braiding, and sewing/buttoningā¦ so you should have plenty of time in the AM to do them provided your class is not at 6 AM or 3 hours away. It takes me longer to braid than it does to button them up. My best time is 22 minutes. If I did it daily I bet I could beat that, but who has the time?
You could do it the night before, but in order for them to stay in Iād do many more loops and protect with jammies or something. I havenāt had them fall out/get loose on me but I havenāt had them in my horse for more than 2 hrs at a time.
Any thoughts on braiding with an ultra thin TB mane of uneven thickness? My poor horse has like 3 hairs near his poll and a thin handful down near his withers. I dread recognized shows.
Iāll give this a try. What do you do with the forelock?
I just stick a bonnet on my horse, but when I braid for others I french braid the forelock and pull the tail up into the french braided part, and then sew it in at the topā¦no tying or folding. And that will stay in for days if need be.
In regards to the longevity of the ācobraā or āhoodedā braids; I find I have to do them the day of for the best results. My horse will roll or lay down. If left in they are full of shavings and impossible to pick out while still looking good. If I have an early morning ride I will do button braids the night before. Those are tighter and donāt attract the shavings as much.
I love these Dutch buttons. Probably found the video somewhere on this site.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBNUDk228TI&app=desktop
āāāāI taught myself from this excellent video and follow all the steps. I practiced a few times on quiet barn days and now I can put in 11 in about 40 calm minutes pre-show. Mine most definitely last overnight and maybe longer. If my mare doesnāt roll and grind shavings into them. Surprisingly, at the last show I was able to pick clean all but the worst three which I redid. Still faster than redoing all of them. And I couldnāt have told you which ones were the fresh ones.
I second Beowulf about having the mane longer and blunt. Iāve done it both ways and after the pulled-mane method, I chopped the ends blunt for the next show.
Anyone have tricks for a horse whoās rubbed about 4" in the middle of her neck? Itās grown back to about 2-3" but pretty wispy compared to the rest of the mane. I tried to incorporate half into each adjacent braid the other day, but no love. The Dutch buttons would look great on her, so thanks for that link.
I like to braid day of, because my mare is quiet and peaceful when Iām in with her and otherwise frets about being in a stall at shows - and will also take them out and redo them if I have the energy for the same reason. However, I have done them on Friday and they still looked good on Sunday. This is 2-3 day old braids, they hold well.
I also find the hooded braids help enhance or create a nice arch in the horseās neck as you can adjust how you shape them to do so and give a good impression. My mare has a lovely neck anyway when Iām not pulling on her face like this pic, but I think it looks good on her.
There have been a few good resources above of how to do it. If I didnāt want the hoods, Iād use the same technique but braid holding the braid down and without leaving it looser at the top. It takes me about 30 minutes to braid and Iāve always been terrible and slow at braiding - theyāre just easy.
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I like this tutorial:
http://guineaforaguinness.blogspot.ca/2016/05/fluffy-dutch-style-dressage-braids-long.html
Those are gorgeous!!!
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