# Growing a Forelock?



## KcFinancialBurn (Aug 17, 2010)

Hope you guys can help me!

I show APHA and well my horse has a tiny forelock. Like it's 2 inches long. I'd like to try and grow it out. If I can get it just a tad bit longer, I'd be one happy camper! So does anyone have any tips/tricks to make it grow? I've tried MTG and it doesn't grow...not to mention he hates the smell. 

Thank you much!


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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

Try Coconut oil. Also a supplement like biotin and omega 3 fatty acids.

Sometimes its just genetics...
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## wdblevin (Aug 30, 2013)

See also info in this thread - Although the original poster was talking about an Andalusian and maintaining its forelock, there was good info about forelock growth from a general perspective:

http://www.horseforum.com/horse-grooming/long-forelock-help-281498/


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## Cowgirl Kristi (Oct 23, 2013)

My paint has almost no forelock at this time. I keep a heavy duty fly mask on him most all the time and I think it broke the hair off at the top of the forelock. That's all I can think of because he didn't rub it out and I didn't cut it. Thinking of sewing fleece or satin to the top of the fly mask.


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## shellybean (Dec 28, 2012)

Subbing

My paint has a tiny forelock too...I've had him almost a year and it hasn't grown at all, it might even be a little thinner. I'd love to hear suggestions as well!

His little forelock is so pathetic lol


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## CandyCanes (Jul 1, 2013)

Shellybean.... Its the most luxurious, long forelock I've EVER seen. You should be proud of the length of it 

Btw, I like your horse


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## Chickenoverlord (Apr 30, 2013)

I reccomendy slathering it in cowboy magic and keeping it braided. It has helped my boys, but his was already about four inches long.


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

Some horses just don't have much-and won't. For some it is genetic. We have one at our barn. Since she is a show horse-we use a fake one.


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## its lbs not miles (Sep 1, 2011)

KcFinancialBurn said:


> Hope you guys can help me!
> 
> I show APHA and well my horse has a tiny forelock. Like it's 2 inches long. I'd like to try and grow it out. If I can get it just a tad bit longer, I'd be one happy camper! So does anyone have any tips/tricks to make it grow? I've tried MTG and it doesn't grow...not to mention he hates the smell.
> 
> Thank you much!


There's nothing to put on it that's going to get it to grow faster or give you more hair. People have been selling things to grow hair on eggs for centuries, but the eggs are still bald :lol: (so save your money)

They have how ever many hair follicles they have and that's all their going to have.
Diet can have some impact, but not really to speed it up unless the diet is already slowing it down and then a better diet is just going to allow it to grow as much as it would normally.
There is only one thing that gives horses more (or less) hair and that's genetics (as already mentioned) so you really have no control over it.
My current two come from much the same genetic pool (common grandfathers and great grandmothers from the mothers....same great grandfather and a great grandmother on the father's side). They are first cousins maternally and second cousins paternally. One has massive (a real handful of hair) forelocks with some hair reaching her nostrils at times while the other has maybe half as much hair on her forelock and it's maybe 6 inches long. They both have massive manes and tails to the ground (the one with the short forelock has the slightly thicker mane and tail) They're closely related, same diet and same care, but you can't change the genetics they're born with.

Now all that being said, there are things you can do that will over time (a LONG time) can help some.
Diet. As mentioned coconut oil is great for the hair. I won't make it grow faster or thicker, but it helps for healthy hair and you don't have to wash it out (it gets absorbed). You're only real option is to cut down on loss (hairs pulled out or broken) which is what all these "wonder" products are actually hoping to do (while claiming their helping "grow" hair) by making the hair slick.
Comb it out carefully (the oil helps here too by making it slick to help work out tangles and comb smoothly). Start near the ends and hold the hair above it (to prevent pulling hairs out) and gently comb it out to cut down on breakage.
Sorry, but you're not going to see a lot of quick results. If the genes say the hair is going to grow 1" a year nothing is going to change that. It will be the best you can hope for so the best you can do is protect that 1".


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## its lbs not miles (Sep 1, 2011)

Just to put it in perspective.
(the pictures of the older mare with the heavier forelocks are older....it's longer today)
Same breed and closely related, but it's all about the genes.


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## Chickenoverlord (Apr 30, 2013)

^^^^ I'm going to steal your horses now


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## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

This is a battle I have admitted defeat on. I went from owning a horse with a forelock like this:


To two with none. The appys mane is thin, and her foretop is the same. She's an appy, so I'm not shocked, but still sad. Then there is my arab. Long mane(now, after she got over being mal nourished) lovely tail, and a pom pom on her forhead:evil:

appy


arab


thankfully the arab is bred to this guy, so I have high hopes for a nice forelock.


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## zookeeper1991 (Sep 11, 2012)

Yes, I wish I could get my horse to grow his forelock too. His tail is long but not thick. His mane is also thin but will grow...slightly. The forelock? Very short, thin and has not grown one millimeter in the two years we have had him. I don't think there's even enough to braid if I tried.


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## mammakatja (Nov 3, 2009)

Wow! Some of the pics with the heavier drafties are incredible! With all the sticker burrs I have to deal with here though, I can't imagine the time I would spend on manes and tails. I already spend a lot of time on them. I think they purposely roll in sticker patches. I join the "it's genetic" club though. I have some with pretty decent forelocks and then I have one mare with a mane so thick it almost sticks out side ways when I cut shorter, but her forelock looks like a dang water color brush. I've given up on it. It's just the way it is. She also has the thickest tail in my bunch. You would think she should have a good forelock. Nope!


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

xD Man, I thought my guy had a pathetic forelock. I don't feel so bad anymore~


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## its lbs not miles (Sep 1, 2011)

Chickenoverlord said:


> ^^^^ I'm going to steal your horses now


Mind the Mastiff when you make the attempt :lol: (and offering her food as a distraction won't help :lol::lol


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## SavvyD (Oct 17, 2013)

Well, Ive never had to grow one out but I know a friend who needed to. Though I cant give you any "what to do" advice but I can tell you what not to do. You may already know this but I didn't until recently. Some people might tell you to band your horses forlock. DONT do it. Apparently thats what you do if you want to thin out a forelock. So, best of luck to you! (Just keep braiding it!)


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## its lbs not miles (Sep 1, 2011)

mammakatja said:


> Wow! Some of the pics with the heavier drafties are incredible! With all the sticker burrs I have to deal with here though, I can't imagine the time I would spend on manes and tails. I already spend a lot of time on them. I think they purposely roll in sticker patches. I join the "it's genetic" club though. I have some with pretty decent forelocks and then I have one mare with a mane so thick it almost sticks out side ways when I cut shorter, but her forelock looks like a dang water color brush. I've given up on it. It's just the way it is. She also has the thickest tail in my bunch. You would think she should have a good forelock. Nope!


 It's not just the draft breeds. The Baroque breeds have the same problem. Between the sand spurs, cockleburs, beggar lice and beggar ticks that she picks up while riding, along with the sweet gum balls and twigs that they sweep up with their tales and collect in the manes from rolling in the pasture, I'm always pulling things out. 

I've started to suspect that the "hitch hiking" seed plants secretly watch for the horses and then travel hundreds of feet to reach the horse if the horse doesn't get close enough on it's own.

That's one of the reasons I make no effort to keep the hair long on mine, but it just keeps growing in spite of the amount that gets pulled out whenever I groom them.

Folks, other than it appears to be the "look" that so many like (I've been threated when I mentioned cutting mine) it's really a lot of work keeping it nice, free of debris, unmated and without dreadlocks. 

Of course this was about forelocks and that's the one thing that seldom has a problem.


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## mammakatja (Nov 3, 2009)

You would think forelocks don't have a problem with stickers but mine seem to literally look for a patch and then dive in face first. I don't know if anyone remembers the Cameron Diaz scene in There's Something About Mary but that particular scene comes to mind A LOT as my crew comes in and everyone's forelock is sporting that look due to sticker burrs. The only one that doesn't seem to have that problem is my non forelock mare that I posted earlier. LOL! I'm all about shorter mane due to the maintenance. I even roach one. I do have one that I don't touch at all because he's just got a look that requires natural flowing mane. I don't even do a bridle path on him. Thankfully he doesn't roll all that much.


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## its lbs not miles (Sep 1, 2011)

mammakatja said:


> You would think forelocks don't have a problem with stickers but mine seem to literally look for a patch and then dive in face first. I don't know if anyone remembers the Cameron Diaz scene in There's Something About Mary but that particular scene comes to mind A LOT as my crew comes in and everyone's forelock is sporting that look due to sticker burrs. The only one that doesn't seem to have that problem is my non forelock mare that I posted earlier. LOL! I'm all about shorter mane due to the maintenance. I even roach one. I do have one that I don't touch at all because he's just got a look that requires natural flowing mane. I don't even do a bridle path on him. Thankfully he doesn't roll all that much.


Beggar lice and to a lesser extent beggar ticks are the only things that get on their heads. The plant tends to be higher up and they love to grab a bite as they go by. But combing them out of the forelock is much easier than picking them off their head (which is were they end up with the greatest number of them). It's the tails that kill me. They sweep the ground of anything that can cling to it. I trim it up some reduce the volume of debris and within weeks it's back on the ground again. Psychologically and physically the old classical Baroque breeds (e.g. Andalusians, Friesians, Lipizzaners, etc....for anyone who's not familiar with what's meant by Baroque horse breeds....there are several) are great to work with and ride, but grooming them is a lot more work.

However, if you want to increase your odds of having a LOT of hair go with one or a cross with one (or a cross of two :lol


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## KatieQ (Apr 4, 2011)

I have two Morgans and they have hair galore (typical for Morgans). I also have an Oldenberg mare and her mane and forelock are pathetic in comparison! I have her leased out and her lessee is constantly obsessing over her mane. I keep trying to tell her it is genetics but she buys every product out there and seems to think there is something wrong with her, because her mane does not look like my Morgans'. It is very thin and grows ever so slowly, but I keep trying to tell her she is lucky- at least it stays on one side and she does not have to use detangler every time she combs it! But she also combs and fusses with it constantly, and I keep telling her it will never get thicker if she does that. My two boys have thick, curly manes that grow in every direction and look lovely when they are brushed out but most of the time they look like trolls or rastafarians!


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