Tenltraining
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The length of the Vs on the tailset is really a personal opinion. I tend to go for the medium height ones on most horses.If you lift the tail and use a piece of string under it and bring it back up to the center of the back and hold it, then clip on the edges of that you will have a nice V. I would start out making it a little longer than you really want and step back and take a look at it. You can always put the string on again and make it shorter if you want to. What I do personally and think looks the neatest to use a general rule that I like my Vs no wider than the actual tailhead, where the tail muscle meets the body. I think this gives a neater finer appearance. Also use a 7F which is a finishing blade and go up against the hair on the V to make a beautiful neat even clip that will be longer than your body hair for a polished velvet looking tail set V clip. (NO rough looking hair will be sticking up on your V) I also use some hair moisturizer, normally Pink, or Moisture Max on the V and top of the tail right before going into the show ring. By putting on the moisturizer lotion mentioned above, it gives it a sheen, and also keeps the top of the tail laid down where we put it, about 6 inches from the top of the actual tailhead. Leave the rest of the tail alone. It will give a finished look to the tail with no frizzies sticking out everywhere when the judge is viewing the horse from behind.
I do the length of the V on the tail head according to the horses croup, but I never have mine super high.
As far as the V at the end of the mane a little is ok, but not very much and it needs to be very very narrow, but I personally dont think the long ones at the bottom of the mane look good.
The V under the forelock will just thin out the forelock. You can really make your horses head look more clean and show off his features with thinning the forelock. I have instructions for this on my website article on Clipping the Show horses head. If you use the V under the forelock you make it narrower and thinner at the same time. Just moments before going into the show ring, use Moisture Max by Lustrasilk, or Pink Moisturizing hair lotion which you can find in the African American hair section at most outlets or grocery stores on the forelock, mane and top few inches of the tail to keep hair laying down nicely and a nice sheen on it. It absorbs in a minute or two into the mane and looks really nice! It doesnt seem to attract as much dust and dirt as baby oil does. These products wont dry out your mane and tail like hair gel.
You can shorten the forelock if its too long by just grabbing a few of the longer hairs at a time and wrapping them around a metal comb and pulling them out a little at a time. This will not hurt the horse like it would a humans hair being pulled.
Just do a few longer hairs at a time until you get the length you want. I never have the tails shortened straigh across or the manes either. They should be more natural looking. So if you are pulling the tail hairs out to shorten your tail, take the outsides a bit shorter with the middle a bit longer, kind of like a soft V and it will look nice and more natural than someone whacking off the tail straight across. ON the mane you can pull the longer hairs too, by grabbing a few longer hairs at a time and wrapping them around a metal pulling comb, and then pulling them out that way using the comb. I normally make the mane hairs closer to the head a bit shorter and gently pull the manes so that there is a nice flow from front to back but not straight across, so longer in the middle of the mane. That way your throatlatch will be more visible. Horses dont have the nerve endings like we do on our hair. But remember to just pull a few hairs at a time. Laura Tennill
I do the length of the V on the tail head according to the horses croup, but I never have mine super high.
As far as the V at the end of the mane a little is ok, but not very much and it needs to be very very narrow, but I personally dont think the long ones at the bottom of the mane look good.
The V under the forelock will just thin out the forelock. You can really make your horses head look more clean and show off his features with thinning the forelock. I have instructions for this on my website article on Clipping the Show horses head. If you use the V under the forelock you make it narrower and thinner at the same time. Just moments before going into the show ring, use Moisture Max by Lustrasilk, or Pink Moisturizing hair lotion which you can find in the African American hair section at most outlets or grocery stores on the forelock, mane and top few inches of the tail to keep hair laying down nicely and a nice sheen on it. It absorbs in a minute or two into the mane and looks really nice! It doesnt seem to attract as much dust and dirt as baby oil does. These products wont dry out your mane and tail like hair gel.
You can shorten the forelock if its too long by just grabbing a few of the longer hairs at a time and wrapping them around a metal comb and pulling them out a little at a time. This will not hurt the horse like it would a humans hair being pulled.
Just do a few longer hairs at a time until you get the length you want. I never have the tails shortened straigh across or the manes either. They should be more natural looking. So if you are pulling the tail hairs out to shorten your tail, take the outsides a bit shorter with the middle a bit longer, kind of like a soft V and it will look nice and more natural than someone whacking off the tail straight across. ON the mane you can pull the longer hairs too, by grabbing a few longer hairs at a time and wrapping them around a metal pulling comb, and then pulling them out that way using the comb. I normally make the mane hairs closer to the head a bit shorter and gently pull the manes so that there is a nice flow from front to back but not straight across, so longer in the middle of the mane. That way your throatlatch will be more visible. Horses dont have the nerve endings like we do on our hair. But remember to just pull a few hairs at a time. Laura Tennill
