Show trimming of mane and tail?Feeding show horses

[miniblessingsfarm]

Hi Everyone!

I have a few questions that I hope you folks can answer. My stallion has a VERY long mane and tail. I know that his mane should be short enough so that his neck can be seen and also accentuate his neck. What is the correct way to trim his mane and and still have it look natural and attractive. How do I trim it to give the illusion of a longer, more slender neck? His tail is thick and full and about 8 inches of it drags on the ground. What is the correct length for his tail (for showing purposes)? should the bottom be "squared off"?

Also, my minis are a bit tubby and I am wondering what you feed your show minis. I feed a small amount of Strategy with 1/4 cup of Enrich 32 to make sure they get enough protein due to the small amount of feed the receive. I had been giving them a small palm-full of BOSS through the spring to bring out the shine in their coats, but have since stopped this because the BOSS is so fattening. They also get a timothy/mixed grass hay. I bet I am really over-feeding the hay! I read an article recently that said that minis may sometimes have a bloated belly due to lack of protein. I think that my horses get enough protein---is there anything I can do about pudgy tummies (in addition to exercise)? Can you make some feed recommendations; what type, how much, how often, etc. The article I mentioned also recommended feeding less hay and more concentrate plus beet pulp as well as feeding only Alfalfa hay in small amounts. Opinons? Suggestions?

Thank you all so much!

Debbi

 

[GypsyMoonMinis]

They should get between 2 to 2.5% of thier total body weight in feed per day. It is recommended that at least half of that is roughage, which I agree with. Its natural for horses plus there is the risk of ulcers when a horse has less in its tummy (plus it kills boredom when they can munch more, another stressor that can cause ulcers). So you might determine how much you 'want' them to weight, and then feed them accordingly, rather than feeding according to their current over weight. It doesn't sound like protien might be an issue for you. AN adult horse only really requires 10 to 12% of crude protein, unless of course they are doing things that require more.

Do you have a scale you can weight how much hay and supplement you are feeding? From looking at the website, it looks like you need to feed 0.3% of body weight of the Strategy daily and and 1 to 2 lbs of the Enrich. So maybe switching your feeds around, since the Enrich is a balancer and Strategy is a pelleted feed? You might even be able to do away with the strategy all together and feed just forage and enrich. I think thats what I would do personally.

Beet pulp is great to feed in addition to forages, but may also increase weight gain. It is often used for horses that are hard keepers or need something easier to digest such as a senior horse.

Hope some of that helps.

I'm still new at the show grooming, I love a long tail but only to ground length and I think it looks very nice blunt cut at the bottom. Thats just my personal preference though.

Good luck!

 

[ruffian]

I feed a cup m/l twice a day to my show horses, and they shine! I don't see a whole lot of weight gain from that.

My rule of thumb is that if a horse has a pretty head, go with a longer bridle path to set it off. Plain or longer head - usually go with a 2-3" trim.

My prettier headed horses I usually clip with a 40 to a line straight up from the front of their chest. I under cut and carefully trim the off side to thin the mane to about 1/2 to 3/4" thick.

Forelocks are trimmed to about the size of a quarter at the base of the hair.

I personally don't care for the straight cut across the bottom of the tail. When I trim, I try to shape it in a half circle on the bottom.

You have some beautiful horses! Have fun with them

 

[Mominis]

Try feeding by weight. I weigh every mouthful that Shake gets. I'm not saying that it is the answer to everything, as I still worry about his amounts and how they are working with the conditioning program I have him on, but it gives ration adjustment an 'easy button'. I bought my scale from Target for $14.