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Alfredo Peralta
Alfredo Peralta - Costa Rica
The Mane Thing About Manes
Thick, long manes are very desirable in the Reining horse. Flowing manes are a trademark of the signature spin. To care for your horse`s mane, just follow the care and cleaning guidelines that I wrote about for tails.
It is important to keep the mane scalp clean and clear of scurf and fungus. To keep my horse`s mane clean, I use a good quality horse shampoo, sometimes tea tree oil shampoo and my `home remedy` of Listerine. I put the Listerine in a spray bottle, diluted 50/50 with water and spray it on the scalp to kill bacteria, fungus and to stimulate circulation. I then add a good leave-in conditioner to the entire mane. I don`t use shine enhancer`s until I am preparing the mane before a show. I had one horse that had such a long mane that i kept it in about 10 long braids. His mane was coarse enough to tolerate the breakage that can come with mane braiding. To help minimize the breakage, I did add some shine enhancer to the mane before braiding tightly, to allow for some `slippage`.
When my horse`s mane get`s to be about 8-10 inches long, it may start to `dread lock`. When sweat and reins start mixing in with the mane, it can become a huge tangled mess. I will braid this area of the mane, even if the hairs are fine, to prevent worse damage caused by the reins. I will also braid the mane around the withers if winter blankets rub and break the hairs here.
I lightly trim the ends of the mane from time to time to rid the mane of odd lengths. This helps to make the mane look thicker and fuller.
On the subject of bridle paths, it really is a personal option. Some people prefer no bridle path, others trim to the length of an ear folded back. I like to have a bridle path of about 2-4 inches. I start the bridle path well behind the ears, right where the bridle would lie. I leave as much mane as possible forward to be forelock.
The Mane Thing About Manes
Thick, long manes are very desirable in the Reining horse. Flowing manes are a trademark of the signature spin. To care for your horse`s mane, just follow the care and cleaning guidelines that I wrote about for tails.
It is important to keep the mane scalp clean and clear of scurf and fungus. To keep my horse`s mane clean, I use a good quality horse shampoo, sometimes tea tree oil shampoo and my `home remedy` of Listerine. I put the Listerine in a spray bottle, diluted 50/50 with water and spray it on the scalp to kill bacteria, fungus and to stimulate circulation. I then add a good leave-in conditioner to the entire mane. I don`t use shine enhancer`s until I am preparing the mane before a show. I had one horse that had such a long mane that i kept it in about 10 long braids. His mane was coarse enough to tolerate the breakage that can come with mane braiding. To help minimize the breakage, I did add some shine enhancer to the mane before braiding tightly, to allow for some `slippage`.
When my horse`s mane get`s to be about 8-10 inches long, it may start to `dread lock`. When sweat and reins start mixing in with the mane, it can become a huge tangled mess. I will braid this area of the mane, even if the hairs are fine, to prevent worse damage caused by the reins. I will also braid the mane around the withers if winter blankets rub and break the hairs here.
I lightly trim the ends of the mane from time to time to rid the mane of odd lengths. This helps to make the mane look thicker and fuller.
On the subject of bridle paths, it really is a personal option. Some people prefer no bridle path, others trim to the length of an ear folded back. I like to have a bridle path of about 2-4 inches. I start the bridle path well behind the ears, right where the bridle would lie. I leave as much mane as possible forward to be forelock.
