Funky Mane

This is Bella. I've had her for about two weeks now. She's a halter champion, but I'm training her for dressage. She's six years old and I've been looking for her all my life. She is the wish that came true, a wish I made on a wish bone when I was about 5.

Anyway, she was bred by western horse people and I guess they "pull" the manes in that discipline? Anyway, she helped a little by rubbing between the fense boards in her paddock.

My question is: Will it grow back? I have a friend who told me that some horses' manes don't grow back. Other advice I've gotten is to cut the mane so it's all the same length and then it will grow out all at once.

Any comments? BTW, I've been reading about MTG for hair growth, and I'm planning to pick some up tomorrow.

Whoever told you that is... well... uneducated, to put it nicely. Mane is hair. Hair grows. Thus, her mane will grow out eventually. I probably wouldn't cut it all off because it's not that bad. Maybe just trim it so most of it is straight and then plait it to prevent her rubbing any more off. Undo the plaits occasionally to comb it out, apply some MTG and then put it straight back into the plaits again.
Check out this thread for some suggestions/pics: Onyx rubbed out a huge chuck on his mane... help?
There are heaps of threads about this issue in the Horse Grooming section :)

She's beautiful =) MTG is wonderful. I used it alot when I first got my mare. It's like miracle grow for horses. You can wait for it to grow, or you could just roach it and let it all grow back nice and full. I personally adore roached manes, but I'm afraid not everyone shares my affinity for them. Try the MTG and just let it grow. It's a miracle. And I know what you mean about your wish horse, same story with my mare. Bella is absolutely gorgeous. Let us know what you figure out with the mane.

Thanks all, I thought that if it's hair, it should grow back. Funny thing, today I asked my trainer about it (she hadn't seen it yet) and she said, "It's hair, hair grows." Gee, where did I read that?

Anyway, I ended up trimming it, well my trainer did, to about 3 inches. We'll let it grow back.

So here's the great news: My horse is broke! My trainer cantered on her today and she did fine. She'd had three months of training with another trainer and the previous owner was told the horse wasn't learning. So the lady returned her to the breeder. I was told she would need to be started and broke. After two weeks of training, it's clear she's broke. I've been walking and trotting on her. Yay!

Yeah, it will grow back. I had a few horses that did that one summer trying to get to the "greener" grass on the other side. We had to put an electric wire up to keep them from doing it anymore and all their manes grew back in nicely.

hot wire...good idea! I will remember that.

Oh my goodness, my girl has a very similar problem.



The bottom part of her mane was rubbed off by a rug from her previous owner, and I've had her for 2 years and it just won't grow back the same! It looks worse in this photo, because the end of the bottom half is braided :) But, you can see the bald-ish patch in the middle, the mane just angles backward!! I too am wishing to get some MTG, but I can't find it in Aus!!! Sigh . .

The other picture is with the mane brushed forwards, but you can still see the bald patch! Argh!

Look online for the MTG. My local store was out of it, so I found it online.

Shapleys Original M-T-G (Mane-Tail-Groom) Horse Dressing, 32 oz - 5060089 | Tractor Supply Company

Word of caution about MTG: not all horses react well to it. We have a horse at the barn who got a huge chemical-burn type thing on his neck because we used MTG on his mane and it lay on his neck and he had a strong reaction to it. Our vet says that some horses have this reaction to MTG- so try a little at a time just to make sure :)

I know an arab broodmare that had her mane & tail cut once, 3 years ago. It never was the same... I'm not even sure if it grows... if it does it grows SLOWLY. Strange. But she's the only one I've ever seen like that, so no worries :p