Mane and tail SOS
Makeover time after a long winter
WHETHER YOU’RE HEADING to your first show of the season or simply giving your horse a spring tidy up, clean and neat manes and tails make all the difference to a horse’s appearance.
Keeping on top of wet and muddy tails and greasy, rubbed-out manes is a challenge in the winter, so how can we get them back to their best heading into the spring?
“If they are really wet and muddy and I’m short on time, I tend to wash manes as it’s easier to remove the wet mud than try and brush it out,” says Jess Errington, head girl for top eventer Harry Meade. “If it’s cold, I use a bucket of hot, soapy water to remove wet mud and then towel dry them off. If horses are just muddy, but not wet, I let the mud dry and then gently brush it out.”
To brush manes, Jess uses a plastic mane comb and not the same hairbrush as she uses on the tails because “the mane and tail detangler makes the manes slippery”.
“Unless they are really dirty with wet mud, I just run a comb through their manes,” says Jess. “I don’t trim a bridlepath because they can look messy and be uncomfortable for the horse when they grow back spiky.”
Jess dislikes rubbed manes, so most of Harry’s horses don’t wear neck covers in the stable.
“Unless they are fully clipped and it’s -5° they only wear necks on their turnout rugs, to prevent their manes being rubbed out,” explains Jess. “I don’t use products on their manes when I’m brushing them because it makes Harry’s reins slippery, which isn’t ideal when he’s riding.”