# Can you use household scissors to cut horses manes?



## technopony13 (May 9, 2014)

Hi there, my horse needs his mane cut as he can't see because there is hair all over his face. Am I able to use normal household scissors to cut it? If so is there a special method of cutting it? Thanks, technopony13
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

That depends. What are you wanting to cut? I've cut bridle paths with household scissors before, but I wouldn't CUT a forelock at all. Instead, thin it. Otherwise you could ruin it and it may not grow back. Ask me how I know!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Actually, horses see through their hair just fine. The long forelocks help protect their eyes from the sun and from insects in the warmer months.

If the hair being in their eyes is truly bothering them, it's a much easier solution to put a braid in it or tuck it into their bridle. Cutting it with scissors can be done if you know how to properly taper/thin the ends, but it generally makes it all look rather choppy and blunt and ugly.


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

I cut the bridle path with house hold scissors all the time, when doing this, I am always careful to have the scissors pointing away from the horse's eyes, just in case they throw their head, you don't want them to get the point of the scissors in the eye. I have not cut or trimmed the forelock though as I think they need it for fly control.


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## EliRose (Aug 12, 2012)

I wouldn't use them for the forelock, no way no how. I've seen it go wrong to many times and the horses end up looking ridiculous.

I agree with Endiku, if you really need to get hair out of the face, I'd thin it with a pulling comb. Those are generally pretty cheap, I got mine for $3.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

I agree with don't take the scissors to the forelock.

I bought a horse from someone whose wife knew nothing about horses but knew a lot about being a beautician. She displayed her hair cutting expertise by cutting the horse's forelock within an inch of the whorl under the forelock because it was "dangling in his eyes" and she couldn't stand looking at it:-x

If that wasn't bad enough, she cut it straight across:-x:-x

While the natural taper eventually came back, I've owned that horse 20+ years and his forelock never has grown anywhere close to his eyes since that awful hair cut.

On days I am too lazy to dig out the clippers and trimming the bridle path is a last minute thought, I keep a lot of children's two inch scissors in a drawer in the barn. They are good and sharp for more hair trims than I gave them credit; they are very cheap to buy; their points aren't nearly as dangerous as real scissors; when I have to throw a pair out, I'm not stressing because they were cheap. Sometimes I can find them on sale at Walmart for 99 cents/pair

One of my horses has an exceptionally thick mane. If I use the kid scissors on his bridle path, it is thick enough that I can divide it into three sections (running horizontally with the mane). Once I get the length cut off, I can generally even things up to where that "man on a galloping horse" would never see the flaws


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## evilamc (Sep 22, 2011)

I've never cut my horses forelock with scissors, but I do cut his mane with them. I've been scolded for it, but when they see the final result people are usually impressed. I hold the scissors up vertically to the hair, and snip away little by little at the ends, this way its not big chop marks and it doesn't look too "perfect". Attached is not the greatest pic, the lighting makes it looks like a chopped it super short near the front of his head lol. This is like 3 months after cutting?









pic just after cutting it, I think I do pretty decent lol


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I love a long forelock....


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## sea (May 15, 2014)

I said this in another thread, but thinning shears are great if you don't want to pull. I don't advise using household scissors unless you're pretty artistic. Thinning shears, when used properly, still afford a natural, kept look. I have thinned forelocks for friends (I love long forelocks so I wouldn't do it to my own) and they looked fine, just more manageable.


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## Slave2Ponies (May 25, 2013)

smrobs comment about tucking or braiding the forelock is right on! Don't cut it -- you know people actually buy thingies that are designed to mimic the long forelock hair to keep the bugs away.


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

technopony13 said:


> Hi there, my horse needs his mane cut as he can't see because there is hair all over his face. Am I able to use normal household scissors to cut it? If so is there a special method of cutting it? Thanks, technopony13
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Ok, two things.
1. Short answer to the scissor question. Yes, pretty much any scissors will cut your horse's hair. I cut mine's hair with the same scissors I cut paper with and use the same shears that are used to cut my or children's hair. It's not rocket science :lol:.

2. He can see. Trust me. He can't have any more hair in his face than my older mare and she see's just fine. She still spots things before I do. It's a "people" thing. Like thinking that and English Sheepdog can't see with all the hair in it's face (and it's ALWAYS in it's face since that's how it grows). It's like we think that because we feel the cold that we our horse(s) need a blanket (they don't, it's a "people" thing...they're better off without them, but that's a different topic). If "you" feel the need to cut the hair then do it, but horse doesn't care. And more hair does help cut down on surface area available for bugs to bother them on.

If any horse was going to have issues seeing through their hair it would be this mare (I shorten though....when it's getting past her nose :lol.


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## kiwi79 (Nov 11, 2011)

My horses mane is really fine so I don't pull it, I just trim it shorter occasionally with thinning scissors that make it look natural - I don't really like the look of a mane that has been cut short straight across. I do use regular scissors to cut the bridle path and havent had to touch his forelock yet. I probably wouldn't bother unless it got really long and then would use the thinning scissors.


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