Should I braid mane and forelock??

I have a Quarter Horse mare that I will be entering in some Halter and showmanship classes this year. I have been reading articles online and they're always saying different things. Should I braid my horse's mane and/or forelock for western halter and showmanship classes? Her mane is very short (Maybe about 3 inches long and theres a little chunk taken out of a couple places that are about an inch long). It is also very thin but it is pretty even. (I will be showing at 4-H and local shows.)
I also have a miniature horse whose mane is even and very thick. I recently bought a pulling comb and a thinning comb and my aunt tried to explain how to use them and I honestly got lost while she was explaining it to me. So to sum it all up, how do I thin my mini's mane? Also, should I trim my horse's mane so it is all even or should I just braid it so I don't have to worry about cutting it?
Also, people have said that you don't want to braid a horse's mane for western showmanship and halter so that it shows off their neck more..but I don't know what to do about my mini's mane..

No. You band the mane and forelock on Western.
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Most of the time unless you are showing say in Jumping events, you won't braid the mane for shows. What you normally do is band it, which is just making a ton of even tiny little pony tails. ( Really Small- it's best around the width of a pencil ). It takes a few times to practice for it to look really nice. For the $-H and Local shows you don't need to go too hard. For your QH keep her mane short and thin, the three inches is probably good or maybe even a little shorter, and I would band it. The mini's mane you can just keep it nice and long for the shows because that's how minis show, with long flowing clean manes!

Ok thanks, but I had to cut my mini's mane to about 4 inches last week because there was a huge chunk that was taken out of it. It's also very thick, should I thin it out and band it for my mini?
Also, my Quarter Horse has little chunks taken out of her mane so should I cut it so that it's all even right?