Sr Stallion showing ?

[Jetiki]

I have a sr stallion approx 29" tall, nice long mane, but thick and I'm working on pulling it etc to get it a bit thinner/shorter.

I think he might look better with a shorter mane, its past his shoulder, was almost to his knees, and I know thats too long. I have about a month before our first show, horse has been shown a good bit with the longer mane and done ok, but I think it makes his neck look shorter and he has a nice neck for his size.

What would you more experienced show people do with it?

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x295/Je.../luckyright.jpg

I will get a pic of him with head/neck clipped in the morning.

here are the pics with his head/neck clipped.

Karen

 

[ruffian]

Without a photo, it's hard to tell, but you're probably right, it should be shortened and shaped. How long is the bridle path? You might need to make that longer to make the neck look better.

 

[kaykay]

I think dying his mane and tail would help a lot. Also undercutting or thinning will help too.

 

[Jetiki]

I do usually do his mane and most of his tail, the very top layer of his tail is naturally light, should I color it also?

Karen

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

First of all, I really like your little boy! I bet you'll have fun showing him.

I showed a 7 year old stallion last year and I discovered early on that his longer mane really gave his age away. After I put him with a trainer, she thinned his mane and tail substantially and also shortened his mane. To shorten it, don't cut it with scissors, instead use a clipper blade (off the clipper and held in your hand) and use it as a razor and make quick, short strokes toward the ends to gently taper the length off. It will make it look more natural.

Good luck with him!

 

[Jetiki]

Thanks we like him also, he's a homebred, I hope he does well up here, he's been shown in Fl quite a bit and did well. He's 8 this year. I'll see if I can get a picture or two of him today with his head and neck clipped.

Thank you

Karen

 

[Laura]

[SIZE=12pt]I would thin and shorten it to emphasise the nice shape to his neck and to allow you to see his neck

[/SIZE]

When I retired these guys, I promised them no more messing with his mane & tail, so here they are today.

Compare all that mane that actually hides their best features with this. His mane had been shortened, but not shaped yet...this is one of our geldings

 

[Jetiki]

I added the pics of his head clipped, sorry they are so big, I didn't realize they were that big.

Thanks everyone

Karen

 

[HGFarm]

I would thin it a LOT and shorten it some. To me, I cant get past all the hair and it hides his shoulder and makes his legs look shorter to me. JMO

 

[Flatbroke Farms]

Chiming in with a few dumb questions... hope that is okay...

How do you thin their manes? Do you pull it? Also, how do you shape it? When you mention using a razor blade, is that just at the ends of the mane to shorten it? Last question... when body clipping, how do you clip up toward the mane.... because I noticed with Uucy, the topside of her mane is mostly that fuzzy hair and not actual mane, so when I clip it, it leaves a noticable line of shaved hair. Am I making any sense?

Thanks for letting me hijack, I just figured it was the same topic so I'd ask!

 

[Laura]

[SIZE=12pt]I'm guilty of the quick & easy method of thinning, which is undercutting it when you body clip. Magic has a super heavy mare, so I would basically shave off half of the width of mane on the underside. I would then use a mat comb (made for pets) to give a more natural shape at the length I wanted. [/SIZE]

You want to clip to and along the mane line on the top, getting all of those fuzzies, so it looks super smooth & sleek. Also, don't forget the V above the tail. That is one place, after the V is shaped, where I clip with the lay of the hair. I will take that down quite a bit and get all of the old, ragged hair off. I also like a VERY small forelock and will shave around it to make, at the MOST, a quarter sized spot of remaining forelock.

Now, with all of this being said, if you choose to undercut or trim around the forelock, be VERY careful. You CAN'T glue it back on! I have had more than a few bouncy weanlings & yearlings that showed with a SUPER thin mane or forelock, becasue I zigged when they zagged! OH!

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

Well, I don't know how everybody else does it, but to "shape" the mane I use a #10 or #15 clipper blade (off the clipper and held in my hand) and I follow the general natural shape of the mane - keeping the longest point of the mane in the same spot so that from a distance the overall shape of the mane is the same, it's just shorter overall. So, with the blade in my hand, I hold the mane hairs tight (pulled straight out from the neck) and I use short, quick strokes with the blade to "feather" off the ends of the mane. I do this over and over until it's as short as I want. This way I don't have any blunt edges to the mane and it looks natural and not at all like it's been cut.

I've never personally thinned a mane or tail, but I've seen it done by selectively pulling hairs. It takes a LONG time to do it right. I've watched Laura Tennill do it and she's a master!!! It looks SO natural. I personally undercut the mane to thin it. I've also shaved the outside (or topside) of the mane as well, but I don't like the look of that as much. Just a personal preference.

 

[Flatbroke Farms]

Thank you for the tips! I feel like such a novice and I even used to get paid to body clip show horses! It feels like dealing with the minis is an entirely different world, though. Their coat is so different and the manes are so blasted thick! I know how to pull a mane, and that would likely work, but I wouldn't want to loose too much length. Undercutting seems to be easiest. Glad to know it is alright to do that.

When I was at the mini show in Ocala last weekend, I was floored at how long the V is made at the tail! Wow! With the bigguns we just make a small V at the top of the tail, but with the minis some went almost all the way up and over! Glad I saw it before clipping mine.

 

[Jetiki]

I've personally seen the V at the tail left entirely too long to the point of distracting if you know what I mean.

Thanks everyone for your opinion, I'll keep working on pulling it, I really don't like the maintenence of clipping it under the mane so I'd rather pull it. I know its a lot of work but it looks better in my opinion. I'll work on it and take some pics in a few days.

Karen

 

[HGFarm]

I have been told by a couple of judges NOT to leave a huge V at the tail- and I hate the look of that. They said the first thing they think when they see that is that someone is trying to hide something or a huge flaw in the rear end..

Ditto what Laura said!!