# cutting mane



## bgood400 (Nov 10, 2008)

I know some people are really against cutting a horses mane but I don't really understand why? I show AQHA and we cut our horses manes all the time for shows. Is it just other disiplines that doesnt beleive in cutting a horses mane? 

This is how I do my horses mane for shows:


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

Many people love a roached mane. I trim off the straggly ends on Vidas and cut her bridle path in the spring and summer. I also cut her forelock out of her eyes every fall after fly season. I get teased about doing it but I don't care


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

See :lol: They have grown out some and will be back to almost her nose by mid summer. I just like to see her eyes and if there are no flys I figure she likes it too


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## equineangel91 (Oct 8, 2008)

My horse's mane is very thick and fairly long. i have to clip his bridle path literallly every few weeks or more frequently because of the rate it grows back in so fast. like itll grow fully in about an inch in less than a month O.O...yet i have to work on his tail


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## StormyBlues (Dec 31, 2008)

Cause most people end up doing this:







short long short! lol It happend to me, Blue's mane is now 2 inches long thanks to cutting! :lol: Yea, I think i've ruled Baber out of my job choices!


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## kershkova (Jun 25, 2008)

i trim i don`t cut i even it out i don`t cut it that short


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## cowgirlfitzy (Jan 27, 2009)

I think it depends on the horse. My Dun QH has a short neck and his mane just looks silly long so I cut mine. I show him at open shows and stuff so I guess its more proper. 

I'm huge into reining tho as well and there is nothing prettier then a horse with a goregous long well groomed mane. I think palominos look best with long manes. There is so fine and straight.

I have probably a stupid question about pulling. I always pull my horses mane but I don't think I'm doing it right. I take the longest hair, few at a time and yank them out in a downward tug and the hairs come out at the roots. So my question is i get a thinner mane but not shorter. then I have to cut it to the length i desire. Is that what happens or I am doing something wrong?


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## toosleepy (Jan 14, 2009)

the mane looks great, i luck out and just make sure mine is long enough to braid.


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## MustangMan08 (Jan 27, 2009)

i would say its a personal opinion on what you like. thats one reasons i love true apps. the short mane and tail. but on my mustang it looks better longer in my opinion... gives him a bit of a more wild look


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

A reining pattern just would not be complete without all that mane and tail flying around to accent the movements!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Lots of shows have trends and some have rules regarding the mane length but other than that, it is just a matter of taste. I prefer horses with long natural manes because it protects them from insects in the summer and helps to keep them warm in the winter (plus, they look cool). Some people prefer the cleaner appearance and low maintenance of a shorter mane. No burrs, knots, etc.


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## bgood400 (Nov 10, 2008)

toosleepy said:


> the mane looks great, i luck out and just make sure mine is long enough to braid.


My horses mane only gets braided once a year, at the Congress. So I don't have to worry about that too often. =] Thats one nice thing about doing all around.


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## kchfuller (Feb 1, 2008)

my mare's mane grows SO fast so i cut it b/c there was no way i was going to pull that LONG THICK mane ... so i cut it and then pulled it once it was shorter to thin/even it out ... i am not showing her right now so she isn't in perfect condition  it's getting long again


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## Rebelappy (Dec 22, 2008)

to me it really depends on the horse my old appy gets roached it fits him better my barrel horse i dont touch his mane unless he rubs it out horribly and my paint ohohhh i love his mane its sooo long and getting longer 
i just have a hard time because trends come and go with showing like other things and i dont wanna wait for it to grow back if short manes go out style


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

With Cobalt it's because of his breeding that I leave his mane the way it is. Prior to owning I mainly had tbs so they always had their manes pulled (took forever, hated doing it).
With my monkey, I'm going to taking a look at the rule book but I think I'll be doing a running braid for shows. I think my trainer is going to murder me for even considering doing it but there is no way I am touching his mane and as I posted because of his breeding I can get away with it.


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## Junebug (Jan 18, 2009)

bgood400 said:


> I know some people are really against cutting a horses mane but I don't really understand why? I show AQHA and we cut our horses manes all the time for shows. Is it just other disiplines that doesnt beleive in cutting a horses mane?
> 
> This is how I do my horses mane for shows:


ahaha i agree i think horses look dirty when they have a long mane. Btw i love how you band i cannot do it to save my life! my friends always do it for me casue i put in the tails. I was at a show recently and the place we keep my horse at they have Paso Fino's and show at nationals and stuff like that , anyways they came to the show and i always cut her mane right before i go in becasue it was like 3 inches, so i go to cut it and they FREAK OUT! i was like "what?" and they were like i cant belive you cut her mane so short, ahahaha it was about the length of the one pictured above lol.


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## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

To me it depends upon the horse, but I love a roached mane when it suits the horse. It looks clean and neat. Almost Schmexy!!


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## bgood400 (Nov 10, 2008)

Junebug said:


> ahaha i agree i think horses look dirty when they have a long mane. Btw i love how you band i cannot do it to save my life! my friends always do it for me casue i put in the tails. I was at a show recently and the place we keep my horse at they have Paso Fino's and show at nationals and stuff like that , anyways they came to the show and i always cut her mane right before i go in becasue it was like 3 inches, so i go to cut it and they FREAK OUT! i was like "what?" and they were like i cant belive you cut her mane so short, ahahaha it was about the length of the one pictured above lol.


thats not my horse its just a random picture I found, but my bands do look exactly like that. The only bad thing is that I am sort of a perfectionist when it comes to that sort of thing, so it takes me an hr + to band!


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## LeahKathleen (Mar 5, 2009)

I keep Daisy's long and trimmed straight. I like the length, but I hate it when it's uneven along the bottom.

But my Palomino has a loooong, wavy mane, and soI leave Blondie's natural - she looks so pretty with it natural.


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## EquitationStar (Mar 3, 2009)

For hunter/jumper we pull manes. Cutting makes all the hairs exactly the same length and 1) I don't think it looks that great. 2) It's hard to do if the horse has a thick mane and, 3) when all the hairs are the same length it makes it a lot harder to braid for shows. (hunter braids). I know that a lot of the Jumpers get their manes cut cuz they stay longer and don't have to be braided.


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## orangetictac (Nov 4, 2008)

I don't cut Copes because we don't show. I do trim his bridle path and the whiskers on his face, but that's more for me than for him. My boss cuts her horses manes though. She likes to keep them short so she doesn't have to hassle with brushing them out and all. *shrug* To each his own.


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## orangetictac (Nov 4, 2008)

I meant to add that while riding with some friends one day I saw a mare with her mane down past her belly. I didn't like it. The people were just leaving out to start the trail and it looked really bad, so I don't think they took care of it. It was longer than some tails I've seen.


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## Whipple (Feb 2, 2009)

I want to roach Misty's mane. She's a Fjord so we won't pull it, but it just looks so unkempt au natural. 
Some of the other horses get their manes pulled and it looks good. Everyone else is kept natural. I think it would be good to pull or cut all of them since the horses tend not to get much grooming attention.


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