Had a TB mare whose neck was not unlike the neck in the picture - pretty typical TB neck. We roached her mane because she had a draining wound at her withers that was making the mane all icky and gross. She looked fabulous with the roached mane (wish I could find a picture) and while it was growing out - and it grew out beautifully.
I think the matter is probably already decided in this case, but my vote would be to roach now - the thinning makes the current mohawk less than an ideal mohawk.
I grew up with polo ponies who had much more scrawny necks than the OPs horse. They looked just fine with roached manes. And honestly, a roached mane doesn’t look that much different than a braided one.
And at a western barn…working cow horses and roping horses often have roached manes. Just the pleasure people may rhinestone clutch…but I bet most will not care at all either.
It will be fine.
Cute! No wonder he looks thrilled! 
Roach it or change his show name to Magua and go Mohawk! 
Aw thank you! I hate that he’s standing like a giraffe in the photo, but his neck has improved dramatically this year. Thank you for the compliment. 
LOVE!!! That is what I would prefer his to look like. He does have a super thick mane when I leave it alone, so maybe it would grow out similarly?
runNjump—it might grow back like that. However, I found that the texture of her mane (coarse and stiff) helps more than having a super thick mane. But it might work! My other mare has a very thick mane—but it lays down because it’s softer hair. If I hog roached her mane—it probably wouldn’t hold that shape. Good luck—your boy is very handsome (even making his grumpy face) and would look good with a lot of different hairdo’s!
Slp is what mine looks like too - I never roached it, just cut it to the right length. It’s very thick but not coarse. He is beefy with a beefy neck and it suits him…
I wouldn’t roach it, his neck isn’t stout enough to rock that look. But if you trim the top off with scissors to get rid of the scraggly look I think his mohawk will be perfect. He has a lovely, arched neck and of course, being bay, I think he is drop dead gorgeous!
If you roach it now you lose the benefit of all the work you’ve done to pull it. IMO the benefit of pulling is the thinning, if you roach it when it grows back out you’ll lose the value of thinning. Unless you just continue to shave it off.
Add me to the Roach It Club.
Or at least trim the top so it makes an even line - IMHO the spiky just makes it look thin.
My TWH has an uber-thick mane but grazing thru my fenceline gives him the Equine Combover with 1/3 of the center missing.
NOT a good look. :no:
So he gets roached, & now - about 3mos later - he has a substantial 3" Mohawk.
Which I think looks great (good neck).
We plan on a schooling dressage show in October, so he will get roached again if the growth by then looks wonky/starts to fold over.
If you won’t roach it, at least take scissors and trim along the top to make it even - like a true Mohawk. The way it looks now is too messy, like it was accidental, not purposeful.
And I agree with a couple of other posters who say that you don’t need a thick neck for a roached mane to look good. Lots of polo ponies and mules with longer thinner necks look great with roached manes.
Another vote for giving him a Mohawk. My DHH/Belgian has a Mohawk. I don’t exactly roach it. What I do is comb it straight up and run the clippers along the top of the comb to make it perfectly even. It’s super easy! Judges don’t seems to mind one bit, he’s consistently scoring in the mid-20’s.
Thank you!!! This is what I was imagining doing, but had no clue if it would turn out wonky. I was going to do that with scissors the day I took the photo but for some reason I thought it would look dorky.
Gorgeous photos! And I love the look of that mane!!
Thank you so much! He’s a giant, but so much fun. I’m 5’11" if that gives you an idea of how big he is.
Okay, an update, but I didn’t have my phone in the barn and was too lazy to go get it, so I’ll post a pic tomorrow.
I tried the comb + clippers to even it out, and boy…it is a darn good thing I don’t cut people’s hair :lol: There are some uneven spots but for the most part it’s passable. And he looks AWESOME with it! His mane is so thick it stands up straight. I’d guess it’s about two inches. I think I’m going to roach it this winter and give it a chance to grow back evenly.
The barn owner was watching me do it and he was trying not to laugh at me as I would accidentally take more off than intended, swear, rinse and repeat.
I use my Oster Golden A5 clippers to get it to the approximate length I want, trimming from front to back on both the left and right sides. I only trim about 1/8"-1/4" at a time.
Then I follow up with my Wahl cordless finishing trimmers to smooth it out and make it super even. This is what makes it look really good.
As his mane grows out, you can repeat the trimming/finishing process. I’ve never needed to roach all the way down - it evens up as it grows. I probably touch up Max’s mohawk every 4-6 weeks.
I vote for roach it all the way!!! I think at it’s current length it look untidy for a recognized show.
Just wanted to add…took my mohawk out roading with the local hunt last week…showed up this week and we had a copycat
I was concerned that my horse’s Mohawk might not be considered proper and was assured by one of the field masters that it was just fine. We only braid on “high holy days” anyway. I can always roach it shorter prior to those days. For guest hunting with other hunts I’ll inquire and then cut it shorter if needed. Most of the hunts are okay with the “Irish” approach of roaching.
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