# Nails and horses?



## Bethannyy22 (Jan 11, 2016)

Okay, so I feel a little dumb... actually a little vain as well...

But this year my sister is getting married and I am her maid of honor.. well she wants to get our nails done for the wedding...

My question is, how will this work?? Nails aren't really something that is too important to me.. I'm lucky if I paint them once every two months.. but even when they are painted they get chipped very easily while working with my horse, tacking her up, etc....

I NEVER get my nails done, I think its sort of dumb to spend that kind of money on something like that (I'd rather spend it on tack) I had acrylics twice from prom, but that was it.. I've heard about the gel?? I don't know... I would really like to know what you ladies think!

Like I said, this seems like a stupid question that really shouldn't seem important.. But I don't want to pay to get my nails done just to pull them off the next day, or worse rip my REAL nail off along with the fake one while riding....


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## Chasin Ponies (Dec 25, 2013)

They can put a gel polish over your real nails-there is no reason why you have to put long, fake ones one. The gel is very tough and lasts a very long time though, much longer than regular nail polish and it's not that easy to get off. In the meantime your nails will grow out and leave a gap between the polish and the new growth.

Just have regular manicure with nail polish done a couple of days before the wedding, no fakes and invest in an $ .89 bottle of nail polish remover to take the polish off yourself.

I happen to have quite long natural nails that I polish myself and my horses love when I scratch them but most people I know who work with their hands like we do are known to have short nails. If your friend insists on long nails, she doesn't really understand you. It's quite common these days for people with short nails to put polish on them and not bother with the fake nails!


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## cbar (Nov 27, 2015)

I am also not a nail person, but sometimes it's nice to get done. I never get fake nails, but the gel polish (Shellac) that you can get at the salon will last a VERY long time and it is pretty hard to chip. I would go that route. The downside of it is it looks bad once your nails start growing. 

And it can be very difficult to remove. If you go to the salon to get it removed, they often use a high-powered bristle tool to take it off. Which is super bad for your nails. I take mine off at home; you use acetone and wrap your fingers in tin foil. 

I would try to get your nails done as close to the wedding as possible. Although Shellac hardly chips or cracks I have had it happen. I've gone back to the salon and had them re-do it when it does this. However, might not be a bad idea to buy the same color nail polish you choose so you can do your own touch ups if needed.


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## Triumvirate (Jan 24, 2015)

I feel like there is zero reason to get fake nails in this situation and if your sister has a problem, just tell her your concerns on fake nails.

Can you not wait until close to the wedding to get your nails done, so there's a pretty short time frame from getting them done to the actual wedding? If not, then get gel nail polish. It lasts sooooo much longer. Maybe a little too long, but it won't chip if you want to be out messing with your horse until the wedding.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

Bethannyy22 said:


> Okay, so I feel a little dumb... actually a little vain as well...
> 
> But this year my sister is getting married and I am her maid of honor.. well she wants to get our nails done for the wedding...
> 
> ...


Honestly, the times I have had acrylic nails, I *loved* them for working with the horses. Why? Because my nails looked awesome and you couldn't even tell there was dirt underneath them, haha.

Back when I did the rodeo queen thing, I had my nails done a lot. Never was an issue with the horses. 

Now, acrylic is really hard on your nails and tough to remove too. Usually when I get my nails done for weddings now I will do SHELLAC. It's much "better" for your nails than acrylic and it will last for weeks without chipping. I usually do a French Manicure and with shellac, you definately have to have someone who is good at shallac. If you are doing a solid color, then it's pretty straight forward. 

Gel nails is yet another option, although not as durable as shellac or acrylic. But certainly more durable than plain nail paint. 

I guess whenever I've been in a wedding, if the wedding has been Saturday, we've always got nails done on Thursday or Friday. So it's not like they have that much time to get "messed up" before the big day. Honestly, being you are the maid of honor, I don't see you having time to ride your horse before the wedding as you should be doing your duties of "maid of honor" and helping your sister in any way you can.

As far as after the wedding, if you don't want them done anymore, go get them taken off on Monday. Not a big deal. Acrylic, shellac, and gel can all be removed if you want it removed. 

I guess I don't see the big deal!


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## Bethannyy22 (Jan 11, 2016)

Thanks ladies!!! 

Your suggestions are very much appreciated!!


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## Hadassah (Nov 1, 2015)

This is a funny story but I just gotta share: so the last time I had horses I had acrylic nails. They are great for giving a horse a great all over scratch, etc., and the horse will nearly fall over in relaxed ecstasy but here is where the story gets funny. So, I had to load my sons two 4H show goats into a trailer for the show, because heaven forbid he do it, and one goat on a lead all of a sudden made that weird goat jump, run, go crazy, move around a utility pole and how I did this I will never know, but, I literally had all four fingers on my right hand jam straight into the pole. Breaking my hand but the nails survived with no chips, bends, or even a scrape. 

Whatever route you go acrylic or even gel nail polish over natural nails, just know when you remove it your nails will be soft and useless until they grow out. (If you only have them on for as short of a time as possible they might not be as bad. I thought gel nail polish was great until I realized it damaged the nails so badly)


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## tinaev (Dec 2, 2012)

I do gel over my natural nails. I don't go to the salon as it's too expensive, I just bought the stuff to do it at home.

I gotta say I was really skeptical at first. Every time I went riding I would break a nail so I thought for sure even the gel polish would get rough looking. But it didn't at all. I can go out and do anything I need to and my nails still look perfect when I'm done. The gel is also strong enough that I don't break a nail doing horsey stuff anymore.


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## HeroMyOttb (Dec 28, 2009)

I actually love having acrylics nails!! I work in professional setting, and we are expected to have clean nails. LOL yes I was told this. Any way I was able to work my horses and never had to worry about my nails, because the acrylics hid the dirt! It was so easy lol.

Currently I'm giving my nails a "break" after five months of acrylics and it's such a hassle to clean my nails all the time!!

So you should be fine, acrylics hold up pretty well IF she have shellac to keep the color on. 

Have fun!


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

How all of you have time to do your nails, or get them done, I'll never know. I haven't even painted my nails since I was twelve. Since then, it's been more fun to paint silly designs on my horses feet with all the colors people would get me to try to convince me to be more "girly". Bravo to those of you who can pull off horses and great nails.


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## Horsef (May 1, 2014)

AnalisaParalyzer said:


> How all of you have time to do your nails, or get them done, I'll never know. I haven't even painted my nails since I was twelve. Since then, it's been more fun to paint silly designs on my horses feet with all the colors people would get me to try to convince me to be more "girly". Bravo to those of you who can pull off horses and great nails.


These new nail polishes dry REALLY fast. You can paint them and you are good to go 15 minutes later. I just do them in the evening, relax for a bit and go to bed.


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

I feel your pain, my son got married last year and I wanted nice nails, just so I would feel good, so started in the spring to try and grow nice strong pretty nails, but I failed, working on the farm meant that I varied between these two looks, no matter how hard I tried

















So in the end I went to the store and splashed out a whole $10 on a set of false nails!! Then I had to put them on....the story


On reflection, going from a life time of nails pictured above, to the length pictured below, in one step may have been mistake.
What was definitely a mistake was doing the DIY approach.
Third error, not having a friend in attendance.


It started well enough, find nail right size, add glue to own nail, *** false nail and CARP, I'm now glued to my false nail, AND have two fingers glued together.

OK, don't panic, use nailpolish remover, Yeah, next mistake, I have polish removing pads, not lotion. Resort to warm soapy water and an orange stick, and get stuff separated, YEAH, success, nail is stuck firmly, fingers are all unstuck, and I'm sure no one will notice the layer of skin on top of the nail.



Deep breath, nail #2, yeah, that's better, getting the hang of this.3,4,5, getting proficient at this game.


Change hands, #6.....CARP another mistake, should maybe have done the right hand first, because it is awkward working with your left hand, especially when some idiot had glued long nails on and now you can't hold anything small.!

#7 - #10, a couple of near misses of glueing fingers to things, much time scrabbling about on the floor looking for escaping nails, but eventually won!
Lets see how long they last, typing is very odd, don't know if I can function with nails









They looked very pretty for the day, then started to fall apart after that, so I just soaked them and took them all off....I'm not designed for nails. But just to show that store bought can get you through the day


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## Bethannyy22 (Jan 11, 2016)

Golden Horse said:


> I feel your pain, my son got married last year and I wanted nice nails, just so I would feel good, so started in the spring to try and grow nice strong pretty nails, but I failed, working on the farm meant that I varied between these two looks, no matter how hard I tried
> 
> View attachment 764002
> 
> ...


 Haha!! 

Too funny.. this made me smile. 

Don't feel bad... I'm not coordinated with super glue at all!!

Perhaps I will save myself the danger of gluing myself to me or any other object and just have a pro do them...

I've had some pretty nasty experiences with super glue! The worst is when its on your fingers, and its all dried and hard and you get the urge to just bite it off! Yuck....

I'm leaning towards that shellac stuff.


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## CrossCountry (May 18, 2013)

I was just the maid of honor in my sisters wedding and about 4 or so days before the wedding I got gel nail polish painted on. I worked with my animals normally and it didn't chip before the wedding and it is now 1.5 months after the wedding and they are still pretty and not chipped.

Don't do fake nails but just get a gel polish manicure and it will last plenty long!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Change (Jul 19, 2014)

I first got acrylic nails when my firstborn (now 38) was a baby, because my thin, brittle nails would scratch him. I kept them on until about a year ago. I've had horses most of my life and like weedlady and others have said, the horses loved them! People tell me my nails were longish, but I was used to them and never had a problem with typing, tying, picking up dimes, etc. Where it got weird was washing dishes in a sink of slippery, soapy water. It was sometimes hard to hang onto the dishes, which is very bad when it is fine china! 

I did have a few bad experiences, like when I was water skiing and lost my grip on the handle and managed to fold 8 of my fingernails backward, below the quick. That hurt. Bad.

A year ago, I let them grow out, just clipping them off and grinding them down with one of those battery operated foot callus grinders. My nails are still thin and brittle, but the only babies I'm dealing with now weigh 1100 lbs! 

I took them off because I knew I'd be doing a lot of yard work and construction, and just didn't want to deal with the hassle of cleaning them or having breaks and chips fixed. I missed them a lot at first, but not anymore. If someone wants me to look pretty, I'll just get a manicure and paint for the day.


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## Hadassah (Nov 1, 2015)

Just beware that the gel polish will not dry without that special light. I love the gel polish as it lasts and looks fresh. It is harder to remove. And when I say it won't dry without that light. What I mean is: it will *not* dry without the light. Period. Don't ask me how I know. :sad:


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## AlKhamsa (Feb 16, 2016)

Bethannyy22 said:


> Okay, so I feel a little dumb... actually a little vain as well...
> 
> But this year my sister is getting married and I am her maid of honor.. well she wants to get our nails done for the wedding...
> 
> ...



Working at Lowe's, I feel your pain. I'm not the girly girly type. Never have been. There are co workers who have their nails done and I don't see the point. Some women customers have told me about the paper thin nail adhesives that you can buy at Walgreens in the nail section of the Beauty aisle. I don't know the pricing, but it might be worth it for one day. If done properly, they look professional. Good luck.


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