What If anything do you do to keep your horses long manes from curling and turning into dreadlocks? Had Sophie a 20 yr old 14.1h morab for about 13 years now. She's been my mount, kept her mane long. My daughters hunter pony, kept it short. The extra horse , mane was in between. Now she is DS9's BABYSITTER. He does the games stuff at the local 4h series, and the judged trail rides. It's long right now. REALLY long. She has always had a mane that curls and can turn into dreadlocks. Went out today to brush her and untangle her mane AGAIN. I but 12 long single braids in it. This works for a while, but either she gets tired of them or they work their way out and curl and I have dreadlocks again. She's okay being groomed (doesn't adore it). But does NOT enjoy me untangling her mane she has those sensitive roots. I am on the fence on shortening or not. I LIKE the long because I diamond weave it for shows and looks GREAT!! What if anything do you guys do with the ones that tend towards dreadlocks, if not tended to daily?
All three of mine (2 Morgans, 1 Arab) have long manes. For whatever reason the Morgan's manes are always fine, the Arabs is always dreadlocked. I brush it almost everyday and within 12 hours it can dreadlock again. I have noticed if it gets wet (sweat, rain, or snow) it is more prone to getting tangled and dreadlocked. Keeping it clean conditioned and using Showsheen or something similar helps but not enough. I am now keeping it braided as well. I re-braid every 3 days or so. If she were one I thought would look cute with a roached mane it would come off, but her neck is so slender I think it would look poorly on her.
Mine currently have dreadlocks. I am hoping to have some time to brush them out this weekend. Showsheen does help.
Both of mine suffer from dreadlocks and they both live out all year - rolling in mud enhances the resulting mess! I brush mine when the weather dictates i.e. (when the weather is dry) - I take a small pot of normal (human) hair conditioner out with me and work it into the dreadlocks in their manes between finger and thumb - leave for a few minutes and then gently tease out the dreadlocks from the bottom. Much cheaper than expensive proprietary products and just as effective! Suzie
From my experience, braiding manes is the easiest way to manage with minimal snarling. I would personally though, just snip the hair, that's what I do with most of my horses (the non-Baroque ones).
Lots of grooming and conditoning. I use Cowboy Magic detangler/shine on mine, including on myself. Its a wonderful product and will make your horses mane/tail almost as soft as human hair.
I've always felt (tho I cannot prove it) that the tendency for "dreadlocks" is controlled by a couple of factors: color and feed (and possibly the breed, too). My stallion is sorrel, that gorgeous "foot-deep shine" kind of sorrel. He gets Omolene 200 and grass hay. I comb his mane maybe once a week. It never gets conditioned, wrapped, or braided. No slinky either. He's got a GORGEOUS long, long mane and tail with never a tangle in sight. His daughter is gray and her mane is short and sticks up like a brush even though it has never been cut or pulled. NOTHING I do seems to tame it. It seems to have permanent frizzies. But, she's gray and her coat is never slick and shiny like his either. I've never had a sorrel horse with a bad coat or mane. I've never had a gray horse with a great coat and their manes only look good after they've been pulled. My blacks, sorrels, and red duns always look so much better than everybody else. Which is why I suspect the color somehow impacts what kind of manes and tails they have, like a genetic tie-in or something. Rusty
