# How to French Braid a Horse's Mane :)



## AngelWithoutWings54

In this post, I'm going to tell you how to french braid a horse's mane.

*What You Will Need:*
A horse
The horse's mane (at least 5 or 6 inches long, the longer the better)
A mane comb
A spray bottle filled with water 
Rubber bands/braiding bands
Ribbon (optional)

*Steps:*
1. Tie up horse
2. give a haynet (optional)
3. spray mane with water
4. comb out
5. Take a small section of hair at the top of the mane (by the poll)
6. separate into three strands
7. begin braiding (braid over 2 or 3 times, just so that it stays in. BE SURE to leave a lot of hair at the bottom.)
8. take a small strand of hair from the next part of the mane and add it to the strand closest to it
9. braid new strand into the braid
10. repeat steps 9 and 10 until you are at the end of the mane
11. tie the end with a band, then add ribbon if desired.

I might repost this with pictures if I can get some... good luck!


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## qtrsnkids

Would love to see how it looks when done!


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## AngelWithoutWings54

Yeah, when I go out to the barn I'll try it on my boy, but his mane is a little short I think... lol. Anyways, I'll try to get pics.


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## aforred

I've seen this done two ways. In the first, the braid stays tight to the neck. That's what this sounds like. In the second, the braid is at the end of the hair. It looks awesome.


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## Horsel02

Here is a picture of the french braid I use to do when I was showing my half arab.


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## masatisan

Here's one I did for Caleb:









It was double sided:


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## equiniphile

I love doing this to my stallion, he looks so good in it! I do it sometimes so it goes down the horses neck like this kinda, but a more exaggerated decline:







http://www.raspberryridge.com/runningbraid.jpg


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## Eolith

I do these braids with my horses all of the time. They're so quick and easy, and they help keep their necks from getting hot and sweaty while riding in the summer. The braiding process is the same whether it runs right along the horse's crest or down lower with a little more length at the end, it's really just a matter of how much "slack" you allow.


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## Starlet

I can do this but mine never stay in. 
How do you get them to stay in?


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## DocsDaniGirl

Here's one that has the braid at the end of the mane.


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## Eolith

Starlet said:


> I can do this but mine never stay in.
> How do you get them to stay in?


The lower they are, the more they tend to slip out... and they generally don't stay perfect for very long. Make sure that when you do it you keep everything as snug as possible. Also, the thicker the mane, the more hair you can use in each increment, the thinner the mane, the more gradual you have to make it.


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## RadHenry09

They look so pretty, I would love to do this on my horses....I need to start practicing.

I love my horses manes long so this is a great way to tidy them up while looking pretty


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## Eolith

Yep, practice makes perfect. It took me quite a while to get them nice and even consistently, but I considered it fun and fortunately most of my horses don't really mind how long I fool with their mane as long as they get to snooze in the crossties.


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## Horsel02

Eolith said:


> Yep, practice makes perfect. It took me quite a while to get them nice and even consistently, but I considered it fun and fortunately most of my horses don't really mind how long I fool with their mane as long as they get to snooze in the crossties.


I have to agree it does at a while to learn but once you learn it, it never goes away. The horse I learned on was really patient.


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## apachiedragon

My summer camp kids always get a kick out of learning to do this, plus it keeps the horses cooler on those long summer days!


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## Tophandcowgirl




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## Eolith

O_O That tail is awesome!


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