# Pros and cons of roaching?



## Sophie19 (Apr 13, 2009)

The only con I can think of is that he wouldn't be able to use his mane to swish flys away.


----------



## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

and if you decide to grow it out it looks bad while it is growing. If you are concerned about the heat braid it


----------



## Magaidh (Apr 13, 2011)

Manes are huge assets when it comes to bugs. If you've got a lot in your area then doing a few big braids when you ride might do the trick for you. I've got Canadians with thick, heavy manes to their knees and we either do five or six long braids, or a running braid (along the top of the neck as short as possible) to give them some relief from the heat while riding. The long braids work in the pasture too.

Some people really like the roached look and there's nothing really wrong with it if you feel like trying! Get some good bug spray in that case.


----------



## KatyLeah (Apr 24, 2011)

Magaidh said:


> Manes are huge assets when it comes to bugs. If you've got a lot in your area then doing a few big braids when you ride might do the trick for you. I've got Canadians with thick, heavy manes to their knees and we either do five or six long braids, or a running braid (along the top of the neck as short as possible) to give them some relief from the heat while riding. The long braids work in the pasture too.
> 
> Some people really like the roached look and there's nothing really wrong with it if you feel like trying! Get some good bug spray in that case.


I DO like the way it looks :lol: which is kinda why I wanted to try it too. I don't mind using bug spray on him, but I don't want him to be uncomfortable because of bugs. I would say we have a moderate amount of bugs. Not huge numbers, but we def have some. Thanks for the input!


----------



## Northern (Mar 26, 2010)

I don"t like the idea for reasons others have posted: manes protect the neck, can be used to shake off insects, etc. Also, I'm not sure that sun beating directly on the neck is desirable over it being sheltered by a mane.


----------



## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Ranch horses at one time often had roached manes so the reins wouldn't tangle in it. The forelock was left. If you wait until fall to let it grow out it should lay down by spring. Here in ON the black flies love to hide under the mane to dine. Some horses really suit a roached mane-gives the neck a nice clean look.


----------



## jyuukai (Apr 19, 2011)

Northern said:


> I don"t like the idea for reasons others have posted: manes protect the neck, can be used to shake off insects, etc. Also, I'm not sure that sun beating directly on the neck is desirable over it being sheltered by a mane.


It's not like the mane shelters both sides of a neck normally anyways.. And people pull manes all the time super short and in that case the mane offers no protection against either bugs or sun anyhow.
I roached my minis mane last year. I couldn't take it being so thick in 110F+ heat, poor thing was dripping just standing in the shade! I'm thinking about roaching it again shortly. It's soooo thick and it's grown out past her shoulder after one only year.


----------



## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

I can understand the con from the view of insects, but what about horses with show pulled manes? They're left with only a couple of inches, and that certainly doesn't deter the bugs very much, you STILL have to fly wipe the neck so they don't get eaten alive where the mane isn't touching.

The only way the mane is much of a fly deterrent is if it's left long and natural, which most people don't do anyway.

And no, having no mane makes a horse a LOT cooler, they're not dogs, they don't pant instead of sweat. Shay-las mom has a Miniature with a huge shaggy mane that she NEVER takes care of and he is saturated in sweat underneath his mane on hot summer days, to the point where it's actually caused fungal growth and hair on his neck to fall out.

Honestly, the only con I can really think of is appearance - fresh roached manes look awesome, but if you ever want to grow it back you have to endure that spiky mohawk awkward phase!


----------



## KatyLeah (Apr 24, 2011)

MacabreMikolaj said:


> .
> 
> Honestly, the only con I can really think of is appearance - fresh roached manes look awesome, but if you ever want to grow it back you have to endure that spiky mohawk awkward phase!


If I roach it, I will probably keep it trimmed so it stays that short. And as I said above, he isn't shown, so if I do grow it out and he looks silly, it's just me and his stables mates that will be seeing him  I just feel like he will be more comfortable with it short.


----------



## mistyorbit (Apr 23, 2011)

My palomino lost a chunk of his mane from the hay feeder this winter. Just rubbed it off from where he put his head into it. 

I roached it off and it doesn't look bad....makes his crest look a little fuller actually. But I wonder how the grow out will look? Aren't there wraps to put on their necks to force a mane to one side? 

I might just keep roaching. Prior to this I pulled his mane to about 3 inches so I don't think he'll miss the hair for protection.


----------



## csimkunas6 (Apr 18, 2010)

MacabreMikolaj said:


> Honestly, the only con I can really think of is appearance - fresh roached manes look awesome, but if you ever want to grow it back you have to endure that spiky mohawk awkward phase!


Honestly, IMO, Im not a fan of the roached mane look, but love the look of it grown a little bit, in the "spiky mohawk phase" LOL, but thats just me.

When I was going to school, a friend of mine roached her gelding's mane just because he was so hot and sweaty underneath it all the time!! Didnt seem to be any cons that I remember, but that was with her gelding, so who knows


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I believe that roaching is a personal preference. I, personally, don't like the looks of it but a lot of people do.

One thing I would suggest is to roach it to compliment the shape of his neck. If his neck is well muscled and slightly arched, then you should be able to roach it right down to nothing. However, if his neck is more flat or even inverted, it can do a lot for his appearance to arch the roach like what is seen on fjord horses









or these mules. The arched mane trim give the appearance of a nicely arched neck even when it is actually pretty flat.


----------



## KatyLeah (Apr 24, 2011)

This is him, sorry for the photo quality, its from a cell phone. What do you think would look best?


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

It's hard to say with him having his head turned. I think I would start with the arched roach and see how he looks.

Also, I wanted to mention that it sometimes takes a couple of days for the mane to actually stand upright after it is cut. So, don't worry if the hair is laying sideways after you cut it the first time.


----------



## KatyLeah (Apr 24, 2011)

smrobs said:


> It's hard to say with him having his head turned. I think I would start with the arched roach and see how he looks.
> 
> Also, I wanted to mention that it sometimes takes a couple of days for the mane to actually stand upright after it is cut. So, don't worry if the hair is laying sideways after you cut it the first time.


Sorry, it's the only picture I have of him from the side right now. And thanks for letting me know about it standing straight. I probably would have been dumb and cut it shorter thinking it was too heavy to stand, haha!


----------



## Magaidh (Apr 13, 2011)

smrobs said:


> I believe that roaching is a personal preference. I, personally, don't like the looks of it but a lot of people do.
> 
> One thing I would suggest is to roach it to compliment the shape of his neck. If his neck is well muscled and slightly arched, then you should be able to roach it right down to nothing. However, if his neck is more flat or even inverted, it can do a lot for his appearance to arch the roach like what is seen on fjord horses


What a very good idea! If your boy's mane will stand up like this, KatyLeah, I think it would look cute on him.


----------



## CecilliaB (Jan 21, 2010)

I don't roach all the way down. I use the big guard with my clippers and leave about 1" standing up. My horses hair stands up ANYWAY when pulled for shows  I like his spikey look....I think he's cute. I roached him again this year cuz he injured himself and wont be showing and I didn't want to pull. I'll have to get back to pulling next year BLEH!


----------



## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

I roach my mare's mane. Her mane is horrific in general (VERY thick at the top, thin on the bottom) so I've taken to roaching it off for the summer every year. I let it grow this last winter because I was worried about her neck having enough protection from the rain.
I have to say that I hate the roached look on most horses. My mare can pull it off and it looks really good on her, but most horses, imo, can't pull it off. I would start with an arched roach like smrobs said, then roach it all the way down if you feel brave. Or, if your guy grows hair like my mare, you could roach him all the way down and his hair will be 2 inches long in a few weeks, then you could arch it then and see, if you didn't like the fully roached look.


----------



## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

I have all but one of mine roached. I have issues with mane getting tangled in hands/reins/whatever I am holding when I ride MG, as well as showing ASH means the roached mane is standard.

Haven't found any cons - They don't get bothered by bugs. I only roach before shows so they generally have a mohawk and I actually like the mohawk look, lol!


----------



## Dustan (Apr 13, 2011)

I clip all the manes off everyone of my horses except for my stallion, bugs don't seem to annoy them at all and we get pests from buffalo flys to horse and bot flys


----------



## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

Never liked the look (in general) but I've had to do it to a horse that I took in recently. Another horse bit it off in a few spots and it looked dumb so I roached it.

What I've been told is that you should leave a few inches of long mane by the withers to give you something to grab while mounting.


----------



## candandy49 (Jan 16, 2011)

I have never liked the looks of a roached mane. However, I have never had a horse with a very thick heavy mane. I would braid a mane before ever roaching it.


----------



## KatyLeah (Apr 24, 2011)

wild_spot said:


> I have all but one of mine roached. I have issues with mane getting tangled in hands/reins/whatever I am holding when I ride MG, as well as showing ASH means the roached mane is standard.
> 
> Haven't found any cons - They don't get bothered by bugs. I only roach before shows so they generally have a mohawk and I actually like the mohawk look, lol!


I really like the mohawk too. I was thinking about cutting it into a "long roach" if that makes sense? He isn't used to clippers yet either so I was just going to use nice sharp scissors and cut it.


----------



## SkyeAngel (Sep 8, 2010)

I do my gelding's mane in the summer, although here in the UK it's called 'hogging' not 'roaching'. haha. It looks really really smart on him and I love it, even though i'm not a fan on most horses.

I would definitely be careful if you are only going to use scissors. I take the bulk of the hair off with scissors first, but it tends to look pretty untidy until i use the clippers. I take it RIGHT down, but my boy has a very strong neck so that's what suits him. I like the previous suggestions of arching it though. Is he bad with clippers or have you just never tried them? It's usually not too difficult to desensitise. The first time I did mine I just left them running until he was calm with them and gradually brought them closer to him until he eventually just ignored them.

As for fly protection, do get the flyspray out. I actually use a fly cream. Personally though, once I've hogged his mane I put a fly sheet on him anyway because then he's completely protected. If you do go ahead with it you might want to invest in one. I personally find it kinder than leaving him unprotected. 

Good luck and make sure you post pictures!


----------



## .Delete. (Jan 7, 2008)

I know plenty of judges especially older male judges that love roached manes. Personally I love them, easier to take care off and if your horse has a great neck it shows it off. On that note I would never ever roach a horse that has a bad neck.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Heatherloveslottie (Apr 12, 2010)

I used to go to a riding school where the instructor would always roach only the piebald/skewbald cobs, and nothing else. It suited them but I don't know how it would look on other horses.

I guess it depends on your taste, some people love the clean, sharp look of roaching but others love those flowing manes


----------



## KatyLeah (Apr 24, 2011)

Here is a better picture of him from the side to see his neck. I know its hard to see how his neck is in the other picture because his head is turned.


----------



## hflmusicislife (Dec 15, 2010)

I had a question, but rather than post a new thread I figured I'd just ask real quick in here... Anyone know about how long it takes for a roached mane to grow out? Just curious  

Katy- your boy is very cute! I'm sure whatever you do will look alright on him


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

He has a decent neck. I would probably go for a bit of an arch in the roach, just to make his neck appear a bit more muscular.

hflmusicislife, that all really depends on each individual horse. Sometimes it will grow completely out within just a few months and other horses are still scraggly more than a year later. Some horse's manes grow back thicker than they were before and others grow back thinner and dinkier. Easy way to see what your horse would do with a roach is to cut a bridle path and see how long it takes to grow back out to a reasonable length. That way you know without going all the way.


----------

