How can I protect my horses mane?

My horse has a fairly long mane, but it is thin from being exposed. I decided that I want to begin protecting her mane so that it can grow in thicker.
So a few days ago I looked up how to do that and I saw how people put their friesian and lusitano stallions manes in a running braid to protect them. So I tried it, and you'll never guess what happened!
The next day the very front of my horses mane was ripped off! I think she must have caught the braid on something!
So I was wondering, are there any people on here who grow their horses manes long by braiding them? Are there any tricks you've learned to keep them from getting caught and pulled out?
And for that matter, would you even recommend braiding at all? Should I try something else?
Thanks for the help!

UGH! Frustrating! Well, at our barn we are all tryring Mane bags this winter. I just finished making some for all of us. You can buy them online, but they are easy to make, just hope they work!

If you put some baby oil in the mane it will not get caught or tangled!! That's how I keep my mare's mane & tail long and thick in the pasture.

If I were you I'd just stop combing it. My boy's mane is growing long, because I just condition it and run a body brush over it. It combs the top to make it look decent, but it pulls out absolutely no hair. I keep his braided a lot, but if I were you I wouldn't want to risk getting it pulled out.. again.

All of these ideas sound promising, thank you for your help!
I like the idea of not brushing, if only because it would be a lot less work, haha.
I will try your suggestions and see where it gets me, thanks again!

I agree with Eliz. That is the best way to keep it. I do that and add coconut oil to the ends to help prevent breaking.
I have never heard of braiding the mane in a running braid to keep it nice. If they do that, I highly doubt the horse is on regular turnout. I work on a friesian farm, no one is braided or really messed with ( mane/tail wise). They all grow lots naturally, its insane to attempt to get it all picked out! If you want to try the braids, just try plain old ones.

We braided the mane of one of our horses last winter and it grew an inch. We don't braid in the summer because like what happened to your horse, it can get pulled out if it catches on something. In the winter, it works great though because they all have hoods on and bags on their tails so no hair can be pulled out. If you do want to braid, don't braid super tight, so the braid will merely come out and not the hair.