I love the look of a neatly braided (plaited) mane. I don’t love braiding. Before each show, it takes me about one-half hour to completely braid, but not fold up the braids. This takes about fifteen minutes just before we load onto the trailer, just before I put her leg wraps on.
If you’re competing in English horse shows such as dressage or hunter classes your horse will need to have its mane braided.
Some driving horses will need to have their manes braided too. There are several ways to braid a horse’s mane, but the one most often seen are three strand braids, folded into neat little bundles.
For traditional braids, your horse’s mane will need to be shortened and thinned. You’ll need a mane comb, braiding elastics (sometimes called bands), scissors or a braiding kit with thread, needle and latch hook. Hair gel or special braiding wax is also handy. For fun shows, colorful elastics or threads are acceptable, but most often you’ll want to match the thread or elastics to the color of your horse’s mane. These items are available attack shops. Using thread or yarn takes a bit longer to put in and take out.
Brush clean mane smooth with a mane comb, and get rid of any knots. Using the braiding elastics make small bundles of mane. You’ll have to decide how many braids you want and how thick you want them. A thick neck is flattered by thinner braids, while a thin neck may be flattered by thick braids.
There is a traditional number of braids for mares, geldings and stallions, but this tradition is no longer followed. Make sure that your braids will turn out looking even, adjusting the amount of hair in each bundle depending on the thickness or thinness of the mane.
I find on Trillium’s neck, fifteen braids look neat and don’t overtax my tolerance for the job. My daughter once braided forty three braids onto a dressage horse’s neck. It looked very impressive, but took forever.
Once you have the mane sectioned evenly, and start braiding each section into a simple three strand braid (remove the elastic first—this was just to hold the hair before you begin braiding).
- Divide a section up into three hanks of hair.
- Braid the left most hank over the middle. It now becomes the middle hank.
- Braid the right most hank over the new middle hank, and continue until the end of the strands.
- Wrap an elastic around the end to secure it.
If this isn’t clear here is a video demonstrating how to do a three strand braid on human hair.
Next fold the braid up in two or three sections. Wrap an elastic around it securely to hold the bundle. If you’re braids are small and thin, you may be able to fold them into three, making little ‘buttons’ of braids. Don’t forget to braid your horse’s forelock too! Here’s a hint; if your braids seem to stand out from the horse’s neck and don’t lay flat. Try braiding ‘backwards’ passing the hanks of mane under rather than over as you braid. Be careful to keep a consistent tension on the braids so some don’t end up looking poufy while others are tight.
If you want to use yarn (or thick thread), fold a foot long (about 25cm) piece of yarn in two. Line up each strand of the yarn with the two outer hanks of mane and braid it in as you go. When you reach the bottom, knot the thread around the ends of the braid to hold it. You’ll have two long ends of thread hanging down. If you’re really picky, you’ll want to be sure the thread or yarn is braided in exactly the same number of times too.
Once all your braids are finished, with all the ends of the yarn hanging down it’s time to fold the braids up. Put the latch hook down through the top of the braid close to the horse’s neck. Put the tails of the yarn up through the hook and pull them up through the braid. You’ll have a loop of braid with the yarn hanging out the top. Take an end of yarn in each hand and cross it under, and then bring the threads back to the top. Tie them off and trim them close to the now folded braid.
If you are finding the mane slippery and your braids are getting a bit frizzy, apply either a bit of hair gel or braiding wax as you work. Don’t go overboard, as too much may make braiding trickier.
Take the braids out by clipping the elastic or thread with scissors. I don’t think braids are very comfortable for a horse, so rip them out as soon as my classes are done, before my horse goes on the trailer. Waxed thread holds the braids in tighter, but if it’s a hot day, the wax melds into the mane making picking it out harder. If you don’t take the braids out at the show, be sure to do it as soon as you get home (and enjoy the now curly 'do' your horse will be sporting). Leaving a horse in the pasture with a braided mane can cause lots of broken hairs and tangles, making the job of braiding harder the next time around. Your horse has worked hard for you, so be sure to make it comfortable at the end of the day!
If you need more help here is a great tutorial, courtesy of the Horse Channel.