Lesson Day

11/22/2015

I've gone from lessons once or twice a week to only once a month which is actually two days back to back, and I ride twice each day. So in reality, I am getting four lessons a month, which isn't too bad. Chemaine will be here today and tomorrow, so I am really excited to get out to the barn.

Chemaine always packs so much into the lessons that for the first two weeks, I am busy trying to apply what she taught us. By week three, I am starting to see the gaps in our work, and by week four, I find myself ditching certain exercises knowing that Chemaine will be here soon to help me fix whatever is wrong. I am definitely in the need help category right now.

Lessons aren't a reason to go over-the-top on grooming, but knowing that a few more people will be around at the barn motivated me to take care of some chores that I'd been putting off. Haircuts was at the top of the list.

The look you get when you haven't served lunch quickly enough to someone who had to stand patiently for a haircut.

My barn doesn't have electricity, so I have to walk my clippers and horses over to the neighbor's place to use her plugs. After cleaning up both boys' faces and bridles paths, I realized that Izzy's normally unruly mane was looking particularly ill kept.

I started banding it a month or so ago in an attempt to get it to stay on one side - his is split mostly down the middle. My bands kept popping off though, so operation Train Izzy's Mane wasn't going so well. My young friend Morgan declared my bands to be old and cracked. She grabbed one, stretched it out, and pointed out the white cracks in the rubber. Well that certainly explained a lot.

I went out and bought fresh bands and re-banded Izzy's mane. The bands were doing a good job, but after nearly two weeks, I realized that most of them had finally fallen out or broken, and those that were still there were giving Izzy what looked like bed head. I combed it all out neatly and put fresh bands in.

Not a traditional look for a dressage pony.

I am not sure how long it takes to train a mane to lay on one side, or if this is even the correct way to do it, so if anyone has some words of wisdom, I'd love to hear them!

lytha

11/22/2015 07:30:26 am

I love the look of his banded mane, I've admired it before. I didn't realize you were training it, I thought it was a fashion statement: ) He seems to have that cowlick in the middle of his neck that flips half his mane over, like my mare. I was making progress after a year of banding, but you have to be more diligent than I. Aarene trained her horse's entire mane to go to the opposite side but I'm not sure how long it took her. Curious that you are training it to stay to the left and not the right. I know, I'm weird. Since you seem to have an even number there, you can go even further in your design by connecting every pair an inch below the bands with a second row of bands. It's so fun to have a horse with a lot of good, grab-able mane! And the white bands are so sharp with his tack.

I also like the look on his face. "This is my life."

Bakersfield Dressage link

11/22/2015 09:40:13 am

I actually chose to go left only because the majority of the hair wants to go that way already, especially the bottom half. The bands are actually BLACK - the lighting did something weird to make them reflect the flash I think.

Everyone will think I am nuts, but I HATE dealing with manes, and I ALWAYS get horses with copious amounts of it!!!! Every horse I have ever had has had a thick, lustrous head of hair. I am sure that's partly because I do little with manes other than keep out the worst of the tangles, but I know it's mostly genetics.

I've seen the look you're describing, but that wold take way too much effort on my part. I don't want to do a thing with it except condition every now and then. Even banding it has been a PITA. If we lived closer, you could take care of my mane and tail needs. Speedy might get a "natural" tail instead of having it banged!

And on that subject, the reason I bang his tail is to help it grow thicker, Dressage horses do so much more "sitting" than endurance horses that they frequently step on the tail hairs and pull them out. It was Dr. Christian Schacht, the German trainer with whom I ride, that insisted I bang my horses' tails. After looking at photos, I could see he was right. My horses' tails do get really low to the ground when they work.

I also like the banged look. LOL

11/22/2015 11:21:21 pm

Ah, now I get why you left Montoya's mane unbraided yet clipped her neck. You really don't like dealing with it!

I have a pet peeve about tails touching the ground, often way-too-thin at the end and touching or dragging. Ugh. I love how they do the Icelandics' tails here, banged at the hock! They don't mess around.

Jan link

11/22/2015 11:41:08 am

I am currently training Penn's from the left to the right (I can't bear it being on the wrong side) It is SUPER annoying training it haha! I started after he was braided for the first show I took him to- I left those braids in for 3-4 days, and that made his mane hold to the right on its own for about 3 weeks... I started banding his mane over and resetting the bands every couple days. Now that we're getting into winter, whenever he's going to wear his hood, I've been banding his mane over so that the hood helps lay it down. It's holding on its own nicely now, but I think after a winter of hoods and reminder braiding throughout next summer, I think it will hold nicely on its own! I'm also letting his mane get longer than I'd normally like - the weight will help hold it over.

Justine

11/22/2015 02:54:33 pm

I have sucessfully changed my mare's mane that likes to flip half way down to one side by the use of a neck rug. The winter rug was very effective because it has some weight in it. She has a very full mane, which I comb aggressively but do not pull or thin. Now only the short wavy hairs at the bottom are a problem. The lighter summer rug doesn't do such a good job, but still better than her natural mess. I do love a neat mane, and am very envious of my husband's thoroughbred mane.

We also have these things called skinny hoods in Australia which are often used before shows, but they might be too hot for permanent use where you are. http://www.caribuhorsewear.com.au/slinky-lycra-show-horse-hoods.html

Marlane

11/22/2015 07:57:37 pm

The only way that has worked for me is to braid in small sections about 1 1/2 inch sections all the way down to the end of the mane. It takes about two months for the mane to stay if it is growing on the wrong side. If it doesn't stay by then it has to be repeated. But the important thing is that the braids have to be kept in until then. The traditional side for English horses is for the mane to be on the off side or the horses right. Western the opposite because the mane got in the way for ropers using their right hand. Usually the mane is pulled ( it does not hurt the horse unless they are super sensitive ) with a mane comb to about 6' in length so that it can be braided, but a long mane can be braided in other ways for showing and dressage.

11/22/2015 08:04:16 pm

I forgot to add that almost every horse in England has it tail cut level across the bottom or banged. From race horses to dressage horses it is a tradition. You can always tell the race horses from England at a glance when they come over here. Only the native breeds are left au natural for showing standards.

jenj

11/23/2015 06:52:40 am

Pffft, I do nothing with Paddy's mane until there's a show coming up, in which case I pull it. I don't even care that it's all over both sides, when I braid nobody knows that.

I'm probably the world's worse horse owner in that department. Izzy's mane looks great!

11/23/2015 07:17:50 am

OMG - thank you!!! Maybe I'll just go back to letting it be wild. It doesn't bother me, but I know it makes me look like a negligent owner. :0)

Paddy has such gorgeous hair that it looks fine all wind blown and natural. This dorky WB/TB cross looks a bit neglected when his gets that way. :0) Critics be damned!!!!! :0)

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