[Tristaeza]

I cut my horse's mane today and it was the first time I've ever cut a horse's mane, ever. It was just going to be a trim at first, until it was uneven the first time. So I tried to fix the unevenness by cutting it shorter. Then so on and so forth. Now, from a beautiful one and a half foot mane to a two inch mane, I'm desperate to have it back. Does anyone have any advice to give about getting a long mane quick?

Thankfully all our shows this year have been cancelled. At least now people won't be staring in shock at his terrible hair-do. Hehe.

 

[ChingazMyBoy]

I can't offer any actual 'scientific' ideas & I don't think there are any.

Although - keeping it rugged and clean, not brushing too much (pulls out mane) & making sure it isn't rubbed off will all help.

 

[COWCHICK77]

When I worked for a cowhorse trainer (reiners and cowhorse people LOVE their manes and tails!) we washed and hand seperated or very gently combed the strands after spraying with Shapley's MTG or Infusium 23 leave in condition diluted with water. Then we loosely braided the mane. It's important not to braid too tight or it breaks the strands. We took out the braids, washed, conditioned and rebraided about once a week or when they started to look disheveled. This is for horses that are stalled. I have found that you do this with horses that are turned out they just end up pulling out more hair than anything. So you could do the same without the braids.

 

[sdellin]

I use spray mane and tail conditioner every time I brush the mane, that way it's always soft and doesn't pull out. I used Shapely's MTG (Mane, Tail, Groom) when Bella had a rubbed out spot of mane. You can buy it online or at a tack store maybe locally. You have to really shake up the bottle every time you apply it. But it works, I used it and Bella's mane grew back pretty fast. Good luck.

 

[CecilliaB]

My filly has a long main. I do what cowchick77 said to the T, with leave in conditioner (filly has bad reactions to MTG). If I don't braid her she gets horrible knots. When I was working with my trainers Arabian halter horses we would braid in cloth strips to keep from bunching up. It worked well. Now that my horses main and tail are quite long I am going to start doing it.

 

[its lbs not miles]

Ok, I'll be cheeky . Get a breed that grows long manes and tails pretty quickly :lol: (e.g. Frisians, Gypsy Vanner, etc...)

(Sorry, I couldn't resist)

 

[CountryBabe6]

I used to live by someone who was big in Reining. They had TONS of great reining mares and had lots of very nice foals. They had this one filly that was their dads. It was a gorgeous dapple gray that he took to a show almost every weekend. Her mane was about a foot long and they would bathe her and then braid it wet. I've never done this but judging by the looks of that mane it works pretty well. They always kept it braided even when she was in pastures. And she had a gorgeous mane. They didn't bathe her a lot. Just enough. You should change the braids at least once a week. And when they start to look bad. You don't have to braid it wet either.

its lbs not miles: I wish everyone was rich. lol!!! I want a gypsy and a friesian. Our friend is selling 2 gypsy vanner fillies, $12,000 each......... if only....

 

[Tristaeza]

Hehe, I'd love to have a Friesian!

 

[its lbs not miles]

Crosses work too and at a lower cost. My girls are 1/2 Frisian. But you have to keep up with those tails. They get long pretty quick and can mat terribly. My filly can almost sweep out a paddock with her tail, but doesn't care for having any matting worked out.

I've seen the Gypsy crosses grow fast mane and tail too. I think the Gypsy crosses have either more, or faster growing, feathering than a lot of the Frisian crosses. Certainly more feathering than mine (but they still have enough to collect burrs .....unless I trim them )