Horses have long manes that require special care. Horse mane braiding is often imperative to keeping the mane healthy. Long and thick hair is prone to knots and tangles. If not cared for properly, you might end up having to cut it off.
Horses often have more beautiful hair than people do. In fact, many women are envious of what some horses sport. In order to keep the manes beautiful and healthy, braiding is a must.
Spending long minutes on a daily basis, braiding a horse is not something a horse owner is ready to do. Most of the time a simple braid can last for a few days.
Tips to Braid Horse’s Mane
- Before you start, make sure the mane is clean and brushed through completely so it’s free of tangles.
- Decide which type of braid you want (straight, hunter, running, etc.)
- Braid small sections of mane at a time.
- Braid the mane according to which direction the hair naturally falls.
- At the end of the day, always undo the braids.
How to Braid Horse Mane with Ribbon/ Rubber Bands
- Wash the mane and comb the hair completely free of tangles.
- Stand on the right side of your horse, since the braids will need to fall this way.
- The professional way to decide how thick each braid will be is to squeeze your fingers together and press against the mane. The width of your pointer finger through the pinky finger is how wide the braid will be.
- Clip back the rest of the mane to keep it out of the way while braiding.
- For neater braids, spray some water on the hair. For a better grip, you can use Mane ‘n Tail’s Spray ‘n Braid or Quic Braid.
- Comb through the hair again before beginning the braid.
- Begin braiding at a taut, downward angle, but make sure not to braid too tightly.
- When there’s about an inch or ½ an inch of hair left at the bottom, tie off the braid with a rubber band.
- Repeat this process with the following braids until the whole mane has been braided.
- The next step is to take each braid, fold it in half (so the loop is facing down), and secure it with either a rubber band.
- Fold the loop one more time and tuck it in. This time you can use a pretty ribbon to secure it in place. All three of the hair ties should be lined up against each other for neatness.
- After repeating this process for every braid, each one should look like a ball or knot.
- To braid the ‘bangs’ or the forelock, you’ll make a French braid and fold it half three times like the other braids. Secure it with a rubber band, not a ribbon, so nothing falls in your horse’s face.
Stunning Horse Mane Braids
Horse mane braiding can be a tough task if you’ve never done it before. Many horse owners turn to professional groomers to deal with braiding.
However, there isn’t anything complicated about braiding a horse’s mane. In fact, it isn’t anyhow different from braiding your own hair.
Of course, a horse might not be happy about the procedure at first. That’s why it’s imperative to teach a horse these grooming techniques ever since it’s young. Here are a few horse mane hairstyles for you to enjoy.
1. Forelock Braid
This beautiful combination of brushed-out mane with a chunky braided forelock is very boho. Instead of brushing the mane to one side, split it in half so the hair covers each side.
2. Running Braid
A running braid on a horse is often compared to a human French braid. It’s neat and perfect for fancy occasions, such as competitions. The hair is braided closely to the skin, and the forelock is left loose but neatly combed.
3. Traditional Braids with Bands
Give your horse’s mane a little color with traditional straight braids. These braids are uniform and about all the same length, secured with colorful rubber bands, but you can also use ribbon for a nice switch-up.
4. Continental Braids
Continental braids, or diamond braids, are another fancier horse’s mane. The braids interlock over a backdrop of a thin layer of hair and can be detailed with flower accessories.
5. Horse Mane with Faux Braids
Interlacing your equine’s braid with a faux one is a great idea when the mane is too short for a large hairstyle. This approach can keep the hair neat all day long while adding the braid some prominence and volume.
6. Braided Horse Mane
These braid loops are not very easy to create. You have to start with making a waterfall braid on top. Then take the hanging strands and create simple French braids. Attach the braid ends to the waterfall braid in order to make hanging loops.
7. Horse Mane With Hair Accessories
Simple French horse mane braiding can be applied to attach various hair accessories or other decorations. If a horse needs to wear something large on its neck, use simple braiding techniques to keep it in place all day long.
8. Braided Buns With Horse Mane
This professional horse mane braiding technique is not easy to achieve. Ask a professional groomer to show you how to make these neatly braided bun horse mane. Such hairstyle is perfect for competitions and shows.
9. Basket braiding
If your horse has a really long mane, you can go all out with experiments. This basket braiding technique requires dozens of elastic bands and tons of patience. Remember, this hairstyle is good for shows and photo shoots but as soon as the horse runs, it will be ruined.
10. Long and fabulous
What could be better than braiding long and thick hair? Horses look fantastic with simply French-braided hair. If your equine has a very long mane, don’t hesitate to create really long and beautiful braids.
11. Tiny and perfect horse mane
If the horse has short hair, you can go for this tiny bun hairstyle. The main problem with such short horse mane braiding is keeping the buns intact. You’ll need to buy plenty of clear elastic bands.
12. Flower horsepower
If you are planning to make your horse look special for a photo shoot, flowers are a must. A flower crown can be held together by a braid. You’ll need to ask a professional groomer to help you attach the flowers.
13. Half braided horse mane
These half braids are perfect for stallions. They don’t look feminine but make the horse appear grand nevertheless. Make the French braid just half way down the mane and tie it with a large manly elastic band.
Watch tutorial – How to Braid Horse Mane
We hope these new horse mane braiding idea allowed you to come up with a special hairstyle for your equine. Remember, horsehair is very similar to human hair so the number of experiments is endless.
FAQs
It doesn’t promote hair growth, but it does protect the hair that is growing. Braiding a horse’s mane will help to keep it from tangling or snagging on anything, but you shouldn’t leave it braided for long periods of time.
No, it is not bad to braid the mane. You should, however, be sure to give the hair time to be free and unbraided, and never make the braid very tight.