Show Question

[Molly's Run Minis]

Do you get penalized in shows if your horse has a double mane? He wont be shown in halter, but my gelding Toby has developed a double mane over the winter and i REALLY like it and dont wanna change it, plus if he has a single mane it gets really thick and makes him sweat. Here's some pics taken a few minutes ago....

 

[mydaddysjag]

His mane being parted down the center wouldn't be desirable in the show ring. You can use a slinky hood to lay it to one side. If you want it thinner so he doesn't sweat, you can clip a strip down the underside.

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

His mane being parted down the center wouldn't be desirable in the show ring.

even if he wasnt being shown in halter? i would only be showing him in obstacle, jumping, and in cart classes.

 

[mydaddysjag]

Yes, it can matter even if your not showing halter. If there are two horses with an identical performance, "turnout" can be a deciding factor on who places higher.

 

[Taylor Richelle]

As "mydaddysjag" said it's not what the judges want. I know it's frowned upon, you can contact people who show at Cumberland or wherever else you show or check the rule book and see if it's in there. I would think it all depends on where you show. You wouldn't think it would be a problem if you were not showing him in halter classes, but you never know. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

 

[Oakbrooke Farm]

There are a few things done in show preparation that some may not like, but if you want to be competitive then you must go with the flow. I wasn't real competitive because I would not do some of those things - like razoring the face. If you just want to have fun and don't care about placing, then leave his mane on both sides. However, he will be the only one at the show with a double mane.

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

There are a few things done in show preparation that some may not like, but if you want to be competitive then you must go with the flow. I wasn't real competitive because I would not do some of those things - like razoring the face. If you just want to have fun and don't care about placing, then leave his mane on both sides. However, he will be the only one at the show with a double mane.

i think i'm just gonna leave it then, i only go to shows to have fun and honestly, the little guy isnt very competitive to begin with. Dont tell him i said that, he thinks he's the hottest thing in the ring

 

[Marty]

To help prevent sweating be sure you give him a good length of bridle path. He should have a bridle path anyhow. Then what I do with longer manes that are thick in the summer time I make about 8 pony tails down the mane lifting them off the neck using covered and colorful pony tail bands. Fun!

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

To help prevent sweating be sure you give him a good length of bridle path. He should have a bridle path anyhow. Then what I do with longer manes that are thick in the summer time I make about 8 pony tails down the mane lifting them off the neck using covered and colorful pony tail bands. Fun!

i did cut him a bridal path, you just cant see it because his mane is flopped down from eating hay

 

[txminipinto]

Part of showing is how you turn you and your horse out. If you are just literally in it for fun and don't care about points or the color of your ribbon, then do what you want. But if you have any sort of goals related to the point system and life time accomplishments then you need to make yourself more professional. And that means going with the flow.

On a side note, be careful with a double or thick mane. If your horse is any bit over weight or cresty necked, a thick mane can cause it to break over. Once it does that, there's no fixing it.

 

[kaykay]

Carin I was just going to say the same thing

once a horse has a broken crest there is no going back.

Side note I rarely razor any of my show minis and have done well

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

Part of showing is how you turn you and your horse out. If you are just literally in it for fun and don't care about points or the color of your ribbon, then do what you want. But if you have any sort of goals related to the point system and life time accomplishments then you need to make yourself more professional. And that means going with the flow.

i am just in it for the fun. none of my horses will ever win me anything big and i am ok with that. i love them for who they are, not what they win for me. winning and going with the flow isnt everything.

i am watching to make sure he doesnt get a fallen crest. now that his mane is double sided it has thinned out quite a bit so i dont think i have too much to worry about. i'm mostly focusing on him losing weight.

*Edited for spelling mistakes

 

[valshingle]

A very simple solution to your mane situation is a big horse trick. Dampen the mane down, particularly at the roots, and braid it over to the desired side with small (one to two fingers width), evenly spaced braids. Leave the braids in for a few days and keep repeating until the mane is all on the one side.

A top dog handler once said in a handling clinic that our goal was to do well at a DOG SHOW, and SHOW is an important part of the competition. It's the same in horse shows; don't forget the show aspect. If you are still thinking about having a miniature business, success in the show ring could be important.

If you don't place as well as you'd like and your turnout is not the current fashion, how will you know what the judge took off on?

I know that all of us on this forum are wanting success for you.

 

[Katiean]

I really do not want to come off as rude or anything. You can always do what YOU want. However, you came and asked if it would take away points and the answer was yes. Then you say that you are going to do it anyway. You say that your horses are not going to do well anyway. This is not true and you are setting yourself up to fail. I have a mare that no matter what she has a bit of a Brood Mare Belly. My at the time 9 year old niece trained her. She took a first over 2 professionally trained horses with the other two drivers being mentored by some top Mini Breeders. This was at an AMHA show. In country pleasure driving. My mare had only been driving for about 2 months. So what I am trying to say is "Do not sell you or your horse short just because he is not beautiful". If you do conform and groom him as everyone else would, you do have a chance at the BLUE. And the Blue Ribbon is way more fun than getting the gate.

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

A very simple solution to your mane situation is a big horse trick. Dampen the mane down, particularly at the roots, and braid it over to the desired side with small (one to two fingers width), evenly spaced braids. Leave the braids in for a few days and keep repeating until the mane is all on the one side.

A top dog handler once said in a handling clinic that our goal was to do well at a DOG SHOW, and SHOW is an important part of the competition. It's the same in horse shows; don't forget the show aspect. If you are still thinking about having a miniature business, success in the show ring could be important.

If you don't place as well as you'd like and your turnout is not the current fashion, how will you know what the judge took off on?

I know that all of us on this forum are wanting success for you.

i dont think i can have a mini bussiness, unless someone would want their mini trained to cart by a kid

i cant afford horses that would win in the show ring. and i'm not breeding my misty anymore because i'm terrified of losing her

 

[Devon]

Certaintly it is in the end YOUR choice just like people who prefer not to clip for shows it is their choice, ultimatly it most likely will effect your placing just because the overall presentation won't be as clean and professional. At the big shows you have to take every competetive edge you can get! But if you love seeing him every day with his double mane then leave it, and just be happy with how he performs for you at the show!

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

I really do not want to come off as rude or anything. You can always do what YOU want. However, you came and asked if it would take away points and the answer was yes. Then you say that you are going to do it anyway. You say that your horses are not going to do well anyway. This is not true and you are setting yourself up to fail. I have a mare that no matter what she has a bit of a Brood Mare Belly. My at the time 9 year old niece trained her. She took a first over 2 professionally trained horses with the other two drivers being mentored by some top Mini Breeders. This was at an AMHA show. In country pleasure driving. My mare had only been driving for about 2 months. So what I am trying to say is "Do not sell you or your horse short just because he is not beautiful". If you do conform and groom him as everyone else would, you do have a chance at the BLUE. And the Blue Ribbon is way more fun than getting the gate.

i dont see it as rude.

i set myself up to fail because i usually do fail. the only thing i won in was liberty.

if im already prepared for failure then i dont get upset if(when) i do lose.

 

[txminipinto]

i dont see it as rude.

i set myself up to fail because i usually do fail. the only thing i won in was liberty.

if im already prepared for failure then i dont get upset if(when) i do lose.

I'm sorry, but that's a horrible attitude to have. Why would you intentially "set yourself up" to fail? In all aspects of life, you should strive to do better and better yourself. The fact that you came here and asked questions tells me that deep down you want to better yourself. But this last statement tells me that you are actually AFRAID of failure so you just accept it so you don't have to try and be disappointed. I'm sorry, but NOBODY achieves anything with that kind of attitude.

I've never looked at your horses but there isn't a horse that's come through my barn that I haven't been able to make it successful and WIN at something. Its all about finding what the horse is good at and putting the work into it.

Stop selling yourself short. YOU are the one that is preventing your own success just by your attitude alone. Why would you want to sabotage yourself?

Set small goals and work hard to achieve them and you'll be surprized how good that makes you feel. Try it.

 

[whitney]

The ONLY thing you won is LIBERTY. Dear girl that means you have a MOVER! There are very few really good movers in the miniature breed. So that accomplishment means ALOT. Congratulations!!!!

 

[mydaddysjag]

Girly, don't set yourself up for failure. I've been there. I suffered from a lot of depression when I was younger, and horses were my outlet from a crappy home life when I lived with a less than loving parent for a few years. After living in that environment, I really got the feeling that I would never be good at anything. I got a late start into horses compared to the kids I was showing with, and always told myself I could never beat them, they were showing horses that cost thousands more than mine. I joined a 4H group so I could get help from people with more experience, show at 4H shows (I also showed at open shows) and meet friends with similar interests. Now, I never felt equal on the playing field the first few years, but I certainly learned a LOT more about showing than I knew when I started. My last year of 4H I bought a cheap miniature colt, had him gelded, and he was my project horse. Well, I won all of my 4H roundup shows, district show, and won his state championship. Thats when I realized that EVERY horse is good at something. He matured with a few conformation flaws for AMHR halter so I sold him to a family who put minimal driving training into him, and are placing well with him against horses with years of driving training (they went 6th out of 22 at states this year, not bad for a horse with less than 60 days driving training). That horse had a couple obvious conformation flaws when I was showing him, the important part is making sure your turnout is IMMACULATE and knowing how to hide some flaws. If I took that horse into the ring not groomed to the hilt, He wouldn't have won. You need to wow the judges one way or another.

And I also previously showed a gelding who was a minimal dwarf. Yep, I showed a dwarf. He wasn't mine, and at the time I was young and didn't know he had any dwarf characteristics. I showed him in "in hand obstacle" and he won every time out, even at the district level. Even though I was only showing him in performance classes, I still groomed him like I was showing him in halter. Actually, we were in the newspaper once because there was a reporter at that 4H roundup. I would have been mighty embarrassed if I had him there not groomed.

I dont think anyone here started out with a National champion horse, you start low and work your way up. If you give up, you'll never get to where you want to be. Wish you lived by me, we would go to some shows together