Grooming question

[Marsha Cassada]

Billy has a very nice mane. Lays over just right. I am not a fan of the wild stallion mane, so wondering how others groom their horses' long manes. I did clip a bridle path. Don't want to do the show clip really far back, though.
I was thinking of using the clipper blade to run underneath the mane and keep the length and thickness nice.

 

[Cayuse]

Cappy has a really long, thick mane. I trim the bridle path bath about like you did, I don't like the extra long bridle paths. I never thinned his mane, just comb it every other day and use a spritz of Showsheen or Cowboy Magic (just a little, sometimes I just spray the brush) It keeps pretty tidy and the bushiness under control. If it is super hot, I might braid it for a day or two to keep him cool. I never had much luck thinning a mane and having it look nice unless I was shortening it to "hunter" length. I always ended up with a worse looking mess !

 

[LostandFound]

I tried the underneath the mane thing this year and I wasn't impressed. Plus if you let it grow out it looks pretty horrible. I think it looks nicer when they clip it on the top part, plus it takes off whatever is sun bleached. But if I wasn't showing I wouldn't clip more than the bridle path. If your horse doesn't hate it, you can pull. I comb it, flip a slice of mane over, and pull from the middle. Then another day I do the same thing, hopefully in a different spot. My mare hates it, so I tried the clipping instead, but most horses don't mind and some seem to enjoy it. It doesn't look bad growing back.

 

[Abby P]

I used to use thinning shears on my Arab, if you keep at it you can sort of roach it but since the hairs don't end up all the same length, you get a bit of a mohawk thing but it doesn't look like a flat top haircut. It would flop in a pleasing way as it grew out and it made his neck look nicer. He wouldn't tolerate having it pulled so this was a compromise. Of course, that was on a regular horse with a regular volume of mane so not quite sure what the result would look like on a mini!

I do nothing, like not even the tiniest bridle path or even brushing it, to Rowan's mane. So I'm interested to read all the responses, maybe it will inspire me to mend my ways.

 

[Kelly]

I’ve clipped bridle paths for all my little boys but now I am letting them all grow out. Two of them I have a real long bridle path for showing. Maybe once they grow out of the Mohawk stage I will clip a small bridle path like you have on Billy. I trimmed the forelock too for showing and am now letting that grow out as well. I have braided their manes most of the summer and OH MY GOODNESS! Breezy mane is sooooo long! And I love it!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Baths today. I haven't had a horse with white on it in a long time, and I'd forgotten how dingy they look after rolling with fly spray on them and a rain shower. I used my heated bathing apparatus, as even in the summer the hose water is a little cool on a cloudy day. They really seem to appreciate the warm water.
Dapper Dan is a bath-pro and even allows his forelock and face to be washed. Even though Billy is no youngster, I don't think his bathing experience is much. He tail tucks, wiggles, ears back--but the warm water was much less traumatic, I think. Conditioner on tail and mane, too. Not sure what I think of a long mane. I may shorten in. Personal taste.
So, then I put his new boots on him and we went for a walk.

 

[HersheyMint]

Since it is so hot here, 109 today. I hose both my horses down twice a day. ( it makes we feel better any way) Hershey seems to be fine with it. No halter needed. Mint does ok haltered. We are working on standing better.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

It hascooled off a little but humid. That is worse than dry heat.

 

[Becmar]

Be careful hosing them off it can shock their systems and that causes heart issues. Might want to google thst for referrances. Legs, under chest, and tummy spray only or wet toweling. Ice chunks in the water. I freeze milk jugs it keeps the water cooler to help.

 

[Edelweiss]

Be careful hosing them off it can shock their systems and that causes heart issues. Might want to google thst for referrances. Legs, under chest, and tummy spray only or wet toweling. Ice chunks in the water. I freeze milk jugs it keeps the water cooler to help.

Unfortunately, that is a common myth that has been debunked by numerous professional studies.

When I work my halter horses in the summer, I always hose them off afterwards and they appreciate it. Cooling them off is very important as high body temperatures can be dangerous for them.

Here are a few links.

https://equimed.com/health-centers/...-myths-that-can-be-disastrous-to-horse-health
https://equisearch.com/articles/cooling-out-hot-horse-17252/
https://thehorse.com/1101202/hosing-hot-horses-post-exercise-scrape-off-water-or-reapply/

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I am not a fan of the wild mustang mane. I used a clipper blade on Billy's mane to shorten it and thin a little and I think it looks much better.

 

[Standards Equine]

@Becmar and @Edelweiss, That's an interesting subtopic. I have passed this scenario by vets previously as I teach equine first-aid courses. The only time you could see this cardiac complication due to cold water is if you have something like an endurance horse, working hard, overheating, and dump ice-cold water over their back. The superior vena cava does run just inferior to the spinal column and it is conceivable that, in that situation, you could cause the blood to be cooled suddenly and significantly enough that it would shock the heart. However, using tepid water, or even cool water beginning from the legs and working up, is risk free.

 

[Edelweiss]

That's an interesting subtopic. I have passed this scenario by vets previously as I teach equine first-aid courses. The only time you could see this cardiac complication due to cold water is if you have something like an endurance horse, working hard, overheating, and dump ice-cold water over their back. The superior vena cava does run just inferior to the spinal column and it is conceivable that, in that situation, you could cause the blood to be cooled suddenly and significantly enough that it would shock the heart. However, using tepid water, or even cool water beginning from the legs and working up, is risk free.

That is very interesting and makes a lot of sense. I can definitely see how that could happen. Cooling down an overheated horse needs to be done just right.
For most people though, as you said, just using cool hose water after regular exercise is not going to be an issue. With mine, I usually just spray their neck and shoulder to wash off the sweat as that can irritate them. It's rare that I ever hose off the whole horse after exercise.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I worked on Billy's mane a little, shortening and thinning it with a clipper blade. Didn't want to get to extreme with length. I like it better.

 

[Edelweiss]

I worked on Billy's mane a little, shortening and thinning it with a clipper blade. Didn't want to get to extreme with length. I like it better.

That looks way better!! Beautiful work!!

 

[Cayuse]

His coat is getting a shine!

 

[HersheyMint]

Looks good.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

His coat is getting a shine!

Yes, I really noticed this morning that his coat is looking better. He is getting winter fuzzy, but there is a look of health to his coat. Gosh, I've had him 6 weeks--seems like longer. Today he went down the board with both front feet pretty easily. I'm sure he will be walking all four soon. He even side passed a little. He is figuring out shaking hands, I just need for him to life his leg higher.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Another grooming topic. How to get sticky, unknown plant resin out of fur?
Billy got into something in the pasture, possibly sunflowers or gumweed. The pond is dry so there are all kinds of forbes growing there. His whole front was gummed up and matted right down to the skin. At first I tried some paint thinner, sponging it on then rinsing with Dawn. I thought I got it all, but this morning when brushing, there were two areas I didn't get the resin off. This time I used WD 40, spraying on lightly and rubbing with a brush and fingers. Washed with Dawn again. I checked after he dried off and I think I got it all. The WD 40 worked better. He was very patient and probably enjoyed all the scrubbing. The matting had to be uncomfortable.
I had tried letting them out into the larger pasture with better/more forage. But now it's back to the small pasture until winter. The small pasture is about 2 acres.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I've tried everything. Tonight I decided to clip his whole chest. That resin stuff is stuck to his skin. I clipped the hair off with a #7, and can now work on getting the resin. What in the world! Think how uncomfortable that must be. Tomorrow I might try the WD40 again to get the rest removed; it seemed to work best. I don't think Billy will miss that hair as the weather is fairly mild now.
BTW, I finally got all his papers and have mailed them to A and R. His A papers had been lost and the owner filed for a new one. She isn't a member anymore, so I offered to pay the fee for a non-member--I just want Billy to get his name cleared and be in good standing with the organizations. We won't ever show, but I feel it is important for him to have his registration in order.