[manhirwen]

I've been thinking about it. And Wiski has such a thick mane that I'm considering roaching it. It would strand straight on end and possibly look cute... So let me know what you think of the idea, yes or no?

Here's a pic of him for reference!

 

[Jillyann]

Personally i LOVE the longer manes on light horses, and the roached manes on the heavy horses. He looks good the way he is. And he doesnt really have that thick of a neck to really emphasize the roaching.

Hes beautiful though!

 

[Solon]

No!! I don't think roached manes look good unless the horse doesn't have much of mane to begin with. My first horse had a roached mane and wore it well but few horses do.

There's nothing at all wrong with your horse's mane. It looks very lovely.

 

[Quixotic]

I personally dislike roached manes. I love long, thick manes, I think they're gorgeous.

 

[Chella]

I have a mini with a thick mane I roached it last summer it was awesome he looked like a trojan war horse!! I have a Morgan with a long thick mane that I am thinking of roaching it would also stick up just like the minis! It looked very cool. Go for it You can roach it at slightly different lengths in the middle so it is kinda curved.

 

[Whipple]

I say go for it! It will grow back, its just hair.

That is unless you have major shows coming up, then maybe not.

 

[Lunaries]

Personally, I think he would look gorgeous with his mane roached; not right up against his neck, but maybe a little bit of a gradient; starting short at the withers and getting a little longer...like this? http://inlinethumb43.webshots.com/41322/2691526260036319172S425x425Q85.jpg

Anyways, my $.02

 

[mom2pride]

I would leave it as it is, but then I prefer a horse with mane, especially since it can take a while to grow back.

You could always shorten it up and band it, to make sure it stays down nicely, after thinning it some.

 

[wild_spot]

Roach, baby :]

He looks like he has a decent neck for it. Roached manes look neater, they are easier to care for, and they don't get tangled in your reins... I say go for it :]

 

[Solon]

I've never heard of manes getting tangled in reins before. That's interesting. My boy's mane is really long and I've never had that happened. I'll have to ask some of the others at the barn where I board if they've experienced that.

Manes can take a long time to grow back. I don't he has the neck for a roached mane but it may be the picture angle.

 

[wild_spot]

Do you do sports such as campdrafting and mounted games? Where you are at a flat gallop most of the time and need to check in a millisecond, or need to adjust your reins to yield over to the other side of the cow, or pick something up then grab your rein again... Lets say if the horse I ride has mane most of it gets ripped out.

99% of campdrafting horses and working stockhorses have their manes roached for that exact reason.

It's not fun trying to put a check on a galloping horse when your pulling mane instead of rein!

This is my horse with his roached mane, he has a thinner neck than the OP's horse.

 

[Solon]

I did medieval gaming and I did swordfighting shows (with real swords) and never had a problem. There were two Friesians in our group and their manes went way past the shoulder and they never had issues either. That's why I asked, never heard that brought up before.

 

[Whipple]

I think it looks as though the mane is lying flat on the opposite side, no matter which side you look from. From a distance anyhow, but my vision is questionable at best. So how does his neck look from the otherside?

You're horse is gorgeous Wild_Spot.

You'll never know until you try. If you don't all you'll think about is, "What-if?"

 

[wild_spot]

Do you adjust your reins a lot in those disciplines? I have never seen/experienced them.

I've never really heard it brought up outside of the campdrafting/mounted games/stockhorse world. I don't really know why. At the clinic I went to on the weekend, they stressed the importance of having a hogged mane for campdrafting, and (the riders were willing) clipped a few manes off at first smoko to make it easier for the riders.

 

[wild_spot]

Forgot to say, thanks Whipple!

 

[Solon]

There's a lot of lengthen/shorten the reins depending on the choreographed movements we were doing. Is that what you are meaning?

Maybe it's just within your discipline that it's an issue.

 

[wild_spot]

It may well be... We don't really know when we will have to shorten the reins, and if we lose a second because the mane got tanlged then we lose the cow!

 

[manhirwen]

As far as his neck being too thin goes, he's in the middle of gaining weight and muscle so it very well may change to thicker soon. If you look at pictures of Wiski's neck from three months ago to pictures of him now his neck has gotten a lot thicker.

I was thinking about roaching his mane similar to a fjord horse's. It may or may not look good, I know it will grow back but right now he's got a very short spot on it because he used to rub his neck on the fence before I bought him.

This is what his neck looks like on the other side.

 

[Whipple]

A fjord has an extremely thick mane, so you may not get it to stand as tall, but you could leave some mane, it might help give the appearence of a thicker neck.

 

[manhirwen]

His mane is poofy, I don't really like poofy manes so I'm either going to thin it or roach it I think.