Tips for Mane Taming

An unruly mane is not unhealthy for your horse, but it can be annoying to look at while riding. Manes that rest on both sides of your horse’s neck can be trained to rest flat on their neck. Sometimes. Generally, a thinner mane is easier to tame than a thick one for best results. Here are some more horse mane taming tips.

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One horse, two manes.

Add a little water to your horse’s mane while grooming

If your horse’s mane just needs a gentle reminder to behave, you can add some water to a cloth or brush.

Use a damp towel as a “hat” while you groom the rest of your horse. Moisten the washcloth or small bath towel and place it over the mane until you are ready to ride.

You can also take your stiff, short-bristled nylon brush and dunk it in water. Use this to brush the mane down. Have your horse wear some “horse underwear” like a hood as the damp or wet mane dries.

A damp towel as a hat. Use while your horse is in the crossties.

How to train the mane with braids

Braids are the best way to convince wayward hairs to play along.

Use a detangler or conditioner before you comb and braid

Keeping a horse’s mane in top shape, without knots and tangles, sometimes requires products. Detanglers are great for everyday use and can be sprayed on or massaged in.

After a bath, use a conditioning treatment and rinse well. While the mane is wet, you can brush the hair to the “correct side.” Adding braids while the hair is damp may also give you an advantage.

You don’t have to braid all the way down.

Add braids to tame your horse’s mane

The surefire way to tame a mane is to add some braids to the mane. Using a mane comb to make even sections, place many thin braids in a wispy mane and wide braids for thicker manes.

If you leave your horse’s mane as thick as possible, use big fat mane-taming braids. I also suggest leaving the mane as long as possible in this situation. The weight of the hair will help the mane rest on one side.

Leave the braids in as long as possible – you may need to redo them daily. Some horses need them in for weeks at a time. Be patient and diligent and work at it every day. You may also find that wider, looser braids do the trick for your particular horse.

Thick mane braids!

Loop the training braid back into itself

After you have finished your braid, create a small hole at the top of the braid where your horse’s mane meets his neck.

Take the training braid and fold it towards you.

Loop the braid through the opening from the top down. This helps keep everything a bit more snug.

Tips for mane care before a horse show

Work on tidying, training, and trimming your horse’s mane a few weeks before you hit the show ring.

Traditional pulling of the mane will shorten and thin the mane but it is becoming increasingly frowned upon.

There are many products that can help mane taming without pulling – like scissors, a specialty rake, or a Solo Comb to provide a more natural finish.

Try not to shorten by inches at a time! Tidy the mane a little bit, test out a few braids, and see how it goes.

What side should a horse’s mane rest on?

This is largely up to your preference and your discipline’s tradition when you tame your horse’s mane. In the hunters, manes fall to the right, always. For other disciplines, it’s usually the right side, but many equestrians prefer to let the mane rest on the side it naturally falls toward. And if that’s the “wrong side,” so be it.

Should you pull the mane before mane taming?

Mane pulling thins the mane and will shorten the mane as well, but this can cause discomfort and pain. It’s an absolute MYTH that horses don’t have nerves in their manes. They do. You can still find ways to tame a long, thick mane.

Read this for tips to shorten the mane without pulling.

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Tough 1 Spandex Mane Stay Hood

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