roadster ribbons

[keely2682]

How long are the ribbons you put in manes?

Does anyone have step by step directions and/or pictures?

 

[disneyhorse]

Okay the ribbon I used in the pony above is pretty thick, you will most likely use a smaller width ribbon but it's up to you. In the "old days" they used to use thicker ribbon but nowadays I think they use a more refined ribbon. I also like to reuse my ribbons so the heavier ribbon is more sturdy. If I showed beyond local shows I might be more motivated to just get different ribbon

You can also put the ribbon in your AMHR Pleasure Driving horses, not only Roadster!

You will want to choose either two or three colors, in your Farm Colors (which should match your roadster silks, I'd imagine). The ribbons in the pony above are dark purple, lavender, and ivory. It is a simple three-strand braid, so you will either have three colors, or two of one color and the third will be the contrasting color.

First, braid the mane. You only get a TINY amount of hair to braid in, right behind the bridle path. If you don't have strong fingers you can use surgical forcepts to hold the braid and hair together. I like to tie all my ribbons together with a knot, finish the ends (fold the ribbon in half and cut at a diagonal, to make a "V" that sticks up) of each ribbon. Then I braid in the hair. At the end you can either tie the ribbon off or use a little mane rubber band. Then the bottom ends of each ribbon will be again cut in a "V".

The length of your mane ribbons will depend on the length of your horse's mane. The longer the mane, the longer your ribbon will be. Remember that when you braid, the braid will shrink up the length of your ribbon so cut it a little longer than you need. You will want the ribbon to fall in a natural position at the length of the mane; the pony above has a pretty short mane so imagine if that braid was even longer!

Your forelock, the entire forelock will be braided into your ribbons in the same method I have described above. It should be about the same length as the mane ribbon, maybe a little shorter if you have a particularly long mane.

I hope that helps any,

Andrea

 

[keely2682]

very helpful

how do you hide the top of the ribbon?

 

[disneyhorse]

You do not hide the top of the ribbon, it sticks up and you can see all the little "V"s sticking up. Also I forgot to mention... there is actually only a little bit of hair inside that ribbon... usually the hair gets braided in so you can't see any hair, and the bottom half of the ribbon is almost always all ribbon with no more hair, as the hair runs out halfway through if that makes any sense.

Andrea

Here are some more pictures, of my colt... I don't know how big they will be in PhotoBucket but if they are big maybe you can see them a little better anyway.

Andrea

 

[txminipinto]

Use FLORAL ribbon, not the satin ribbon!! We use the half inch I believe.

 

[hairicane]

Thanks Disney!! Its very neat to see up close. I remember trying to figure out the braid thing at Nationals. Not the best time to learn how!

 

[keely2682]

what exactly is floral ribbon? why not satin?

 

[disneyhorse]

Floral ribbon has a little more "tooth" to it so it won't slip out of your fingers as easily. I love the look of nice satin ribbon though... really all in all I don't think it matters as long as the horse is braided and it looks okay.

Andrea

 

[Coventry Lane Farm]

We do Park Harness and used to do Roadster, Pleasure Driving and we braided the same manner with florist ribbon, it lays flatter and is easier to braid with, the first year I bought the satin type and was really slippy to work with..

Nice braiding Andrea, that is a great example of what you are looking for. We used red, black and white ribbon and I use the medical forceps to hold and have a small bit of hair tucked inside the ribbon that is folded in half. I have a picture on our website of our Park Harness horse "Chaps" at the 2007 Nationals being presented with his award.

Andrea did a wonderful job of the step by step process