# Your attempts at fancy braids.



## rbarlo32

So today I decided to have a play about with my stallion and I have recently seen a braid I wanted to try so I decided why not? I have to say it took me hours and it has worked out very well, Ricky was as gold as gold of course and fell asleep.

































What is was meant to look like


----------



## EmilyJoy

If that was your first try I say you did a pretty good job!


----------



## rbarlo32

Thank you, it was my first try at that braid I have done plain runhning braids though they don't work out very well because my shetlands manes are too thick.


----------



## Phantomcolt18

Fanciest I tried a running braid on my horse and my BO's pony. 

Phantom is the grey horse. His mane is thinnish but very course. 

The pony is Charlie. He has like a double or triple layer mane haha. His mane seemed to look a bit tidier than Phantom's when I was done. I don't know if it was because his mane is thicker and longer or if it was the second time I did it so it was better than my first :lol:

I've done more attempts since these and have gotten progressively better I just gotta figure out how to keep it tighter against their neck, it always gets looser as I go one haha.

Here are my first ever attempts at a running braid.


----------



## JeepnGirl

Oh my gosh! I love that version of the running braid. I will have to try that on my mare. 

Danielle


----------



## Duren

This was my first running braid. I like to do them "shorter and tighter" than the traditional style. I'm not a fan of pulling and banding so this is how I show my filly...of course they look a lot cleaner now that I've been practicing!


----------



## oobiedoo

Love the braids. I think your attempt with your boy looks great especially dealing with that thick mane. I have a black mare, 40 inches tall, not registered, and she has the super thick mane and the forelock is wild. The lady we got her from told me she I think roached her mane like down the middle to be able to band it. I've never done any braiding myself so I geuss I'd better start practicing please let me know if you have any tips for those thick manes. I named her Voodoo Star because that mane made her look like a witchy woman.


----------



## Pattilou

Never could braid my two daughter's hair when they were young, and having just as much success in braiding my horse !!!

You all are doing a great job .


----------



## JaphyJaphy

Pattilou said:


> Never could braid my two daughter's hair when they were young, and having just as much success in braiding my horse !!!
> 
> You all are doing a great job .


I find horse hair much easier to braid than human hair, due to it's coarseness.


----------



## WesternRider88

That looks so cool! It looks much better that my first try doing a running braid.


----------



## Poseidon

Not exactly fancy, but I did this last night! Fluffy Fjord forelocks do not braid well, so it is french braided. Far better.


----------



## existentialpony

I did this the other day to get Jax's mane off of his neck for neck reining... I used a ponytail in the middle of it to keep it from falling out (and messed up the braid in doing so), so it's not the best but it did it's job!


----------



## Cinder

Subbing! I love seeing everyone's braids!


----------



## shellybean

My first attempt at a running braid...well half of a running braid lol. My gelding came to me missing a chunk of his mane so I only got about half way haha.


Untitled by adayinmylife9, on Flickr


----------



## Alekazam

Here is an example of the running braid I do on my guys.


----------



## JaphyJaphy

Alekazam said:


> Here is an example of the running braid I do on my guys.


 I really like how you've done that! I imagine your horse must have a fairly fine mane?


----------



## Clava

Here's hattie with a running plait


----------



## Clayton Taffy

Alekazam said:


> Here is an example of the running braid I do on my guys.


I **** your braid, what does your horse's mane look like down?

Here is my attempt at a fancy braid, P and I got sick of it after an hour.









View attachment 128189


----------



## FaceTheMusic

Here is my boy Sunny, with hunter braids. I don't know if you would call them fancy but they sure do take a lot of time!


----------



## Mochachino

I tried playing around with my young paints mane just to get him to stand longer in the cross ties. Here's what is was supposed to look like.










Here's what it looked like. I did another two rows the next day, but didn't take a pic. He has always hated me playing around and combing his mane so it was good for his patience.


----------



## Alekazam

JaphyJaphy said:


> I really like how you've done that! I imagine your horse must have a fairly fine mane?


Yeah, neither of mine have what I would call a thick mane. And in this pic, this colt was about 1 1/2. Both of mine are paints, it seems like most of the paints I have known (APHA) don't have an overly thick mane! It is easy to work with, but sometimes I wish they were thicker to do more elaborate braid work! lol


----------



## Clayton Taffy

FaceTheMusic said:


> Here is my boy Sunny, with hunter braids. I don't know if you would call them fancy but they sure do take a lot of time!



I love the look of your horse!
He looks like the old style, classic hunter.
Beautiful!!!


----------



## FaceTheMusic

Taffy Clayton said:


> I love the look of your horse!
> He looks like the old style, classic hunter.
> Beautiful!!!


Thanks Taffy! He's pretty special to me :wink:


----------



## averyhmko

That is gorgeous, I have to try that


----------



## horsesgs

his last chunk of hair wasnt long enough to put in the braid but this is what i did the other day  (he has cushions thats why he looks sick)


----------



## ponyface

aw, i don't have any pictures of my hunter braids or running braids. but these are the button braids i did for a dressage/jumping show last summer :3









oh dear sorry it's kind of big


----------



## Audacious14

ponyface said:


> aw, i don't have any pictures of my hunter braids or running braids. but these are the button braids i did for a dressage/jumping show last summer :3
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> oh dear sorry it's kind of big


They look awesome!


----------



## skipsangelheir

My first attempt lol


----------



## Brittney917

This was my first attempt at a running braid...I would definitely like to get better at it!


----------



## amp23

Poseidon, I also do a french braid on my guy's forelock , otherwise it turns into a fuzzball at the base of the braid 

This is the running braid I am most proud of! I'll show a before and an after picture...

I do running braids on a few horses at work on hot days but I can't seem to find any pictures of them right now.


----------



## amp23

and ponyface, those look amazing!! how long does it take to do that?


----------



## Phantomcolt18

amp23 said:


> Poseidon, I also do a french braid on my guy's forelock , otherwise it turns into a fuzzball at the base of the braid
> 
> This is the running braid I am most proud of! I'll show a before and an after picture...
> 
> I do running braids on a few horses at work on hot days but I can't seem to find any pictures of them right now.


I'm so jealous of your horse! Friesians are my dream breed!


----------



## Lexiie

I absolutely love braiding!
When my mare had a long mane, I would do running braids, for fun.

Now that we show, I do hunter braids. Her mane takes just about 40 of them, and that when they're too big.  I think I'll keep my large braids! lol

As for her tail. Love braiding it. It's so thick


----------



## EvilHorseOfDoom

I did these dreadful ones in the hope Brock's neck would look less fat...


----------



## kctop72

Here's one of Katy's...


----------



## amp23

Phantomcolt18 said:


> I'm so jealous of your horse! Friesians are my dream breed!


Ahh, the beauty isn't mine.  I work for a man whose 3 daughters show Saddleseat on the Friesians. That guy just came from Holland I believe a year and a half ago now. I have yet to be able to ride any of them yet..


----------



## Lexiie

ponyface said:


> aw, i don't have any pictures of my hunter braids or running braids. but these are the button braids i did for a dressage/jumping show last summer :3
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> oh dear sorry it's kind of big


Oh my goodness. I have to learn how to do those! Did they take much longer than normal hunter braids?


----------



## apachewhitesox

I like to play around with my horses manes sometimes for fun. Though I have never done anything fancy.


----------



## apachewhitesox

Sorry didn't realise the 2nd picture was that blurry, this one might be better.


----------



## rbarlo32

apachewhitesox said:


> Sorry didn't realise the 2nd picture was that blurry, this one might be better.


Oh I like that, shame my guys mains are too thick.


----------



## StellaIW

Some fast "Flyinge-knoppar" I braided on my foal. Takes 10-15 minutes. So perhaps not very fancy.


----------



## apachewhitesox

I attempted another braid this afternoon but it kind of failed so I'm going to have another go tomorrow when its not getting dark on me. 



rbarlo32 said:


> Oh I like that, shame my guys mains are too thick.


I love Apache's mane its not too thick, not too thin, its awesome to braid. I would have thought that would look good with a thick mane too.




StellaIW said:


> Some fast "Flyinge-knoppar" I braided on my foal. Takes 10-15 minutes. So perhaps not very fancy.


That is so cute!


----------



## JaneyWaney9

I don't have many good pictures of them, but I did this for Comet last year.









Comet is sort of naughty when it comes to braiding. He's really smart, so he knows that braiding means time away from his buddies to go to a show, so he starts to get ants in his pants. 
My boyfriend and I did this to him last year...he was actually entertained for a while. haha


----------



## texasgal

Brilliant!


----------



## damnedEvans

He has such a thick tail that is very hard to braid so I braid it taking thick strands of hair. 









Running braid and herringbone braid on his forelock. 








Diamond braid








Two running braids.


----------



## BigBenLoverforLife

This is as fancy as my horses get!


----------



## Brittney917

texasgal said:


> Brilliant!


I LOVE this!


----------



## EquineBovine

Subbing! These are awesome! I'm growing out Freya's mane just to muck around with it like this haha keep the photos coming!


----------



## faiza425

Awesome braids guys! Very creative.
At the barn I volunteer at we have a Gypsy, Haffie, and a Shire that maybe I'll make an attempt to braid soon...should be very interesting...


----------



## TheRoundPen

Subbing. I love seeing all the pictures! I wish my mare had a little more mane to mess around with, I love doing all these "fancy" braids with her. haha


----------



## Duren

Please please please tell me how to do this. I tried to look online and its all in what...German? I only found one video and it was really bad quality.




StellaIW said:


> Some fast "Flyinge-knoppar" I braided on my foal. Takes 10-15 minutes. So perhaps not very fancy.


----------



## apachewhitesox

Had some more attempts this afternoon. 
First this how Apache's mane is supposed to look.








But his mane is just too short and not thick enough for the best effect. 















Sammy was being a pest while I was doing Apache, so I figured he was volunteering :twisted:. Of course he had ants in his pants the whole time, so the pictures aren't the best but here he is.


----------



## StellaIW

Duren said:


> Please please please tell me how to do this. I tried to look online and its all in what...German? I only found one video and it was really bad quality.



This video is pretty decent, that shows off the basics. You have to braid the braids really, really hard in order to make it work.

Hur man gör Flyingeknoppar | | VideofyMe

I make the sections of mane a lot wider though, in order to get the "fluffyness" of the braids. After I have made the braids - like in the video - I pull the mane on either side of the braid to get the "fluff".


----------



## Almond Joy

Subbing! I love that german braid, its like a button braid but more to the side! The toughest I've ever tried was a running braid on a thick maned haflinger, and a tail braid on a QH. (I'm a guy, so braiding isn't that natural to me... at all!)


----------



## Clayton Taffy

Almond Joy said:


> Subbing! (I'm a guy, so braiding isn't that natural to me... at all!)



My brother has twin 6 year old girls and he says the same thing. 
He is getting better everyday though.

*You did great, for anyone much more a "guy".:lol:*


.


----------



## Endiku

Do any of you have suggestions for a braid to do on my mini mare for our parade? She's going to be rocking pink so I wanted to put ribbons in her braids somehow. the only catch is that I will only have 20-30 minutes to do the braids, so they can't be too hard >.> I'm great at the running braid though so any variation of that should be quick. I can do a running braind in 5 minutes. her mane runs down to her shoulder. She'll be harnessed up so her forelock will be french braided and rolled, and I'm thinking a fishtail braid for her tail?


----------



## rbarlo32

You could do a running braid and plait in a pink ribbon in the braid. Or you could be diamond braids and puts bows on some of them though that will probably take more then 30 mins.


----------



## apachewhitesox

You could do several running braids so it has a layered affect.


----------



## rbarlo32

rbarlo32 said:


> So today I decided to have a play about with my stallion and I have recently seen a braid I wanted to try so I decided why not? I have to say it took me hours and it has worked out very well, Ricky was as gold as gold of course and fell asleep.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What is was meant to look like


Like this but with ribbon in the braid. If they have a light coloured mane you could but in temporary pink hair dye.


----------



## Duren

Thanks! Looks easy enough. Do you think it will work with longer manes? I'm looking for ways to put up my filly's mane as an alternative to pulling and banding.




StellaIW said:


> This video is pretty decent, that shows off the basics. You have to braid the braids really, really hard in order to make it work.
> 
> Hur man gör Flyingeknoppar | | VideofyMe
> 
> I make the sections of mane a lot wider though, in order to get the "fluffyness" of the braids. After I have made the braids - like in the video - I pull the mane on either side of the braid to get the "fluff".


----------



## 2BigReds

damnedEvans said:


> Diamond braid
> View attachment 129411


Oh my goodness PLEEEEEEASE braid his mustache for us!!!!! Hahahaha :rofl:


----------



## Endiku

Good idea. I might experiement this week with the running braid with pink plaited in and with the layered running braids. My other idea was a double running braid that runs into itself, which I've done before. Here is a picture of it. What do you think? I could braid ribbon in with it too, and end it with a big bow in the middle at the bottom.

It wouldnt be as messy as this of course. This was my first try xD

__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content










a better try at it:









I don't think I want to try dying it, that sounds complicated and messy xD

I could also braid it and just take it out the morning of the parade. Her hair gets super wavy and gorgeous xD no ribbon though, if I do that


----------



## damnedEvans

2BigReds said:


> Oh my goodness PLEEEEEEASE braid his mustache for us!!!!! Hahahaha :rofl:


:lol: I could do it but he doesn't like it too much. Now is bigger though, it needs a trim.


----------



## Horsecents1997

That's so cool! How did you do it!! It looks really good, especially for your first time!


----------



## IndiesaurusRex

My best friend is an absolute boss at running plaits! She worked at a Friesian stud over the summer, and here is an example, much better than anything I could ever do :lol:

The horse is Hidde, of Black Horses Ltd in Cumbria in the UK if anyone is interested.


----------



## smarties

Back in my late teens/early twenties, I used to spend hours braiding my horses mane and tail. I think I know what I might be doing this afternoon


----------



## fadedbluejean

love all the pretty braids! 
existentialpony your horse has the most beautiful face♥ i love him&
amp23 your horse's mane it amazingg. and your braid is beautiful!


----------



## bluehorse68




----------



## ryster2000

running braids were fairly easy for me to learn, and I know it's the same concept but my french braids never look right


----------



## Caili

My god these are all so lovely, i can do a running braid but i can never get bobbles or rosettes right.


----------



## existentialpony

fadedbluejean said:


> love all the pretty braids!
> existentialpony your horse has the most beautiful face♥ i love him&
> amp23 your horse's mane it amazingg. and your braid is beautiful!


Aww thank you!!  He's a sweetie (although I'm biased...).


----------



## Lady Mustang

rbarlo32 said:


> So today I decided to have a play about with my stallion and I have recently seen a braid I wanted to try so I decided why not? I have to say it took me hours and it has worked out very well, Ricky was as gold as gold of course and fell asleep.


thats a heck of alot better than what i do lol! i just do random braids in the main and tail! i will say when i braid it looks pretty sloppy so i just do it for fun!


----------



## Sunny

I tried to do a fancy braid but it made me mad so I hogged it all off.










Okay, that may not be why I roached it, but I suck at braids nontheless. LOL.


----------



## Druydess

A simple running braid I did for the last show:



















It was not as perfect as she had been showing..


----------



## JustDressageIt

Ronan with elastic braids.


----------



## JustDressageIt

Ronan with yarn braids that my coach did.


----------



## donovan

Hmmmm i might bobble my thoroughbred for pony club this weekend and i have no idea that to do with the standy :/


----------



## EquineBovine

donovan said:


> Hmmmm i might bobble my thoroughbred for pony club this weekend and i have no idea that to do with the standy :/


 What sort of neck/mane does he have?


----------



## Dappledbaybeauty

Looks amazing !


----------



## Missy May

Lots of talent here! Inspiring...now that I again have a horse w a mane to speak of (my appyX has a natural and perminant "roach" do, so not much there to braid). The only braid I have semi-mastered is the running braid, but it would be to embarrassing to post pics b/c all those so far are so beautiful. I always worry she (haffie) will rub it and the braiding will cause a lot "more" damage, and besides it doesn't _ever_ look "pro", so I take it out. I hate the videos on youtube that make the complicated ones look so easy. _disaster._ Pssh.


----------

