I love the look of horses with roached manes, and would love to try it on whiskey. However I don't know whether she would suit it, and I am not sure of how to do it. Here are a few questions I have:
I don't have clippers so is it possible to do it with scissors or should I purchase some clippers for it?
If it is possible to do with scissors how would I go about doing it?
Would it be better to do it nearer the colder months so she isn't annoyed by flys?
Should I just leave it alone ? Haha
Heres a picture of whiskey so you can see what her mane is like. It's quite short and somewhat thick.
It's entirely up to you whether or not you want to roach your horse's mane. She won't care either way.
Use clippers when roaching. You can't get close enough to the skin to do a good job with scissors.
This is true, and it will always grow back. I shall look up clippers on e-bay or see about borrowing some. And youtube a "how to" video. If I do a terrible job it shouldn't matter, we're just happy hackers :)
I'll post the video's I find here for others to see.
Roaching is pretty easy, since you're cutting everything off down to the skin. I had to roach my Arabian's mane once, as he'd rubbed out a whole section right in the middle. He looked pretty good, even though my other Arabian owning friends were horrified!
I always get paranoid when using clippers (never clipped a horse. Just my dog and giving the odd haircut to friends) When I was little my brother used to clip our dog and he'd tell me "it takes skill, if you're not careful you'll clip her skin off instead." Because I was young and impressionable that fear of skinning things using clippers has stayed with me even though its ridiculous!
Jake's mane just finished growing into a nice mohawk. XD
I roached it about 3 months ago. Take clippers and just shave down to the skin. They look funny at first but once it grows in its worth it.
They are not any more bothered by the flies with their manes off. Not that I have noticed. Jake also used to sweat under his mane in summer, now he stays cooler.
I roached my boy's mane about a month ago because he would sweat underneath it. My friend calls him Sgt. Because he looks like he belongs in the Army now :) And I roached it ALL, hehe
I love it though!!
I have been thoroughly warned by my cousin not to roach her mane yet as its the border ride-outs and she says knowing me i'll goof it up. So after the ride-outs, Bye bye mane!
