Braided Brilliance | FEI groom and equine braider

Braiding hunter manes is not the same as braiding jumpers or dressage manes. As we all know.

I feel like Goldilocks explaining to my clients how I like the mane prepped: not too short, not too long, not too thin, not too thick. It should be juuuuust right lol.

However, I will deal with manes that are thicker or longer rather than something that’s too thin or short.

Especially when they’re too short.

The ideal rule is that the mane should be 4 fingers long. And many of my clients do this religiously… except that they don’t take the crest foldover into account.

They’ll measure the mane starting from the middle of the crest going straight up. Not by folding it over.

*Cue tears*

Ideally you fold the mane over to the right side and measure the 4 fingers from the bottom of the crest (mane line) so that the 4 fingers is the part that we braid (we don’t braid over the crest, obviously).

Like this:

So, why do short manes make me cry?

😭 It’s hard to grab because I have nothing there to grab.

😭 Because I can’t grab it well, it’s hard to make the braids tight enough.

😭 Tying the braid up tight enough is difficult… or at least it’s hard to make it stay nice and flat against the neck.

😭 All of this really hurts my hands.

When in doubt, leave some length! It’s easier for me to take some length and thickness off the mane than it is for me to grow some extra length lol.

And yes, I know I can add some yarn when I need to reconstruct a braid. But come on, who wants to add yarn for every single braid for the whole mane? When it could have been avoided? Not me lol. Also, if the mane is short enough, adding yarn is also hard if not impossible: after all, the yarn needs to be twisted in for a couple of twists for it to stay in there and not slip out.

If you’re unsure about how long the mane should be, ask your braider! Send us pictures! Ask us to come and pull the manes! Or if all else fails… leave some length ❤️