If I braid his mane while his head is up to avoid this, it'll pull when he puts his head down for the free walk and look wonky afterwards. Back to the drawing board....
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Dealing with long locks
If I braid his mane while his head is up to avoid this, it'll pull when he puts his head down for the free walk and look wonky afterwards. Back to the drawing board....
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Cherry Hill has an entire book on braiding techniques, and I've been thinking about getting it, or not, since if/when I show Tang, she'll be a Baroque horse and unbraided with feathers flying... I've seen it (Correy may have it), and there's some really cool things in there!
I did this for my ponys gymkhana. She has a super long mane. I braided it while she was standing with her head up/neutral. I did it semi loose so it does naturally pull down as you get more towards their back, it stayed in pretty well throughout the day, by the end it was wonky but it looked good for the first few hours, even with her putting her head down
You can do this. I KNOW you can, because even I can, and YOU can knit! Seriously, you must stand on something so you are higher than your horse's neck. Then you must MAKE SURE that each section is kept as close to the roots as possible. That's why you have to stand on something; so you can keep pulling UP. Don't consider it an "all day" braid due to the fact stretching will happen if he puts head down to eat, but you can make it much more long lasting by using braiding yarn and threading a piece of yarn crossways at the roots then tying in a knot around your running braid. Do this every 3 or 4 inches, like multiple belts around your braid. Tie it down tight. That braid will last all day. Once you get in the habit of doing this braid, it can be done in only 3 or 4 minutes not counting the yarn tie-ups. So you can do it before each class if there's enough time for him to wonk it up after your first ride. I sometimes braid just the top of the mane like this, and let it come down the neck like your first braid, just so I can see the throatlatch from the saddle. Not for show, just for daily work. When you do the running braid, experiment with braiding "over" and with "under" as each gives a different look. The "under" braid looks like braid trim laid on the top of the mane. The "under" braid is the one I learned, and is easiest for me but not as fancy for shows.
Oh, forgot to mention, lots of instructional videos on the internet on how to do this braid. Look for French braid or running braid for horses. Some are WAY better than others, so keep looking until you find one that you like.
Need more coffee. I meant to say I do the "over" braid, but the "under" braid looks fancier. I mean that I pull the sections of mane overhand or underhand as I go, but pulling them "under" leaves the braid on the top of the work, and looks pretty. Looks like you are braiding "under" which is far the best of the two looks.
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