Upgrade Your Horse’s Mane Braids
Have you ever tried to braid your horses mane for a show and gotten so frustrated that you begged a friend for help or ended up paying someone to do it for you?
Braiding a horses mane is not overly difficult but one adage holds true Practice makes perfect. If you want to have beautiful even braids dont wait until the night before a show to start learning. It takes most people a few fully braided manes to develop an efficient technique.
My preference is for hunter bump yarn braids because I find them easier to put in and take out than round braids sewn in with thread. This type of braid is a good allpurpose style that can be used for hunterjumper eventing and dressage horses. Yarn also securely holds in braids without damaging the hair.
Before you braid youll need to pull your horses mane to thin out the hair and even the length. If he has very thin hair you can probably get by using scissors held vertically never cutting straight across or an old clipper blade to even out the length. For horses with thick hair however you need to pull the mane until it is thinned out and about 4 inches in length. Thick hair makes yarn braiding nearly impossible.
If your horse is sensitive about having his mane pulled do just a small section of pulling every day for a week or so to keep him from getting too worked up. It also helps to pull after youve ridden as body heat tends to open the pores and make the hair less painful to remove.
weeks to keep up the short thin mane necessary for braiding.
Using Yarn to Braid a Horses Mane
Note In the photos the horses mane lies to the left and is braided to the left. This is acceptable for eventing and dressage horses but hunters prefer to train and braid the mane to the right.
STEP 1. Assemble all of your braiding equipment. Tie your horse safely and comfortably so he cant wander off either on crossties or in his stall. Have a hay net nearby to distract him and increase his patience if necessary. Stand on a sturdy stool or mounting block
