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[RC] Braiding Manes - k s swigartAngie said: This should be a no-brainer, but if your horse has a long heavy mane for goodness sakes braid it. I am not going to say that this is wrong, because it does, indeed, seem like a no-brainer; however, I am not 100% convinced that this is the right thing to do. And here's why. My current horse has an exceptionally long, thick mane. I don't braid it for training rides at all (although, after last weekend's little jumping mishap, I think I will be more religious about braiding it for jumping, but that is because I don't want to end up with a hand full of mane along with my reins and not be able to take them up quickly, which, of course, has nothing to do with cooling). But I digress, the reason I am not convinced that it is appropriate to braid my horse's long mane is that when I work him hard enough to work up a sweat on his neck, he only sweats on the side WITHOUT the mane. He almost never sweats under his mane. Since he sweats under his saddle pad first, I don't believe that the reason for this is that his system somehow knows that sweating under his mane won't be effective for evaporative cooling, so doesn't bother...it would appear, that for some reason, it is cooler UNDER his mane. Maybe because the mane creates shade????? If some thermo-physicist would like to take a stab at why my horse doesn't sweat under his mane like he does on the other side of his neck but he does if I braid self-same mane to get it out of the way, I am all ears. I am not saying it is wrong to braid the mane, I am just saying that I am not convinced it is as much of a no-brainer as it first appears. And it doesn't change the fact that braiding it DOES get it out of the way of your hands on the reins. I never braided his dad's mane, which was just as thick, but not quite as long (and both of their manes extend below their necks). And did almost 2000 miles of competition on him, including many desert rides, but then, overheating was NOT one of Saber's problems; HE did the first day of the Outlaw Trail without even breaking a sweat...except under the saddle blanket. About the only time he ever really sweat very much was in the winter time when he had a heavier coat (llike Death Valley) or when I would put him into a full racing gallop (like, at home). However, until I hear otherwise, I suspect that I will continue to not braid his mane unless I am jumping him, because my two rat study suggests that a long mane covering the neck has some cooling properties of which I am unaware. It might be different where it is humid. If you're just heading out for a training ride a quick French braid will do. Nor do I understand why a quick French braid won't do for any time you want to braid a long mane. What difference does it make if it is a training ride or not? And besides, a French braid is better for getting the hair out of the way of the hands :). kat Orange County, Calif. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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