Horses are one of the most beautiful creatures on planet Earth. They are, perhaps, the only representatives of the animal world that can boast of a mane that is in no way inferior in its length and beauty to the best human hairstyles. But what role can such unusual hair play in their life?
Mane of a horse - what is it?
Horse mane is long hair that grows along the entire length of the comb, from the back of the head to the tail. In many cases, its performance depends on the constitution of the horse and the territory of its residence. That is, the thinner and weaker the animal, and if, in addition, it lives in an area of hot climate, the less and shorter its mane. Northern horses with a stronger and more powerful body have a thick and long head of hair.
The main function of a horse’s mane is protection. The neck area is covered with thin and sensitive skin, subject to various damage and temperature changes. Moreover, even the presence of blood-sucking parasites in this area of the body is undesirable, not to mention their effects. The mane copes with all the tasks assigned to it, often performing even a decorative function, improving the appearance of the horse.
The photo of a horse with a curly mane shows how its hair is bifurcated and lowered on both sides of the neck. This natural feature provides maximum protection for the sensitive part of the body.
If there is a need to harness an animal or use it for riding, then horse hair will interfere, blocking the viewing angles. Therefore, in this case, the mane is laid on the left side of the neck, and in the harness - on the right. To get aesthetically more beautiful pictures of horses, they are photographed from the side where there is no mane.
Why horse care is needed
First of all, horse mane is an indicator of animal grooming. Any hairstyle that its owner prefers - from a long naughty mane to a short-cut neat head, requires a lot of manipulation and special attention, so that the proper look remains for a long time. From the photo of the horse’s mane, you can see how well-groomed hair adorns the animal.
If the mane is not well-groomed, this automatically affects the entire attractiveness of the horse, significantly lowering it. In addition, not combed hair quickly becomes dirty, dumping most of the hair into tangles. They interfere with natural ventilation, which contributes to diaper rash, which irritates the skin. The animal begins to constantly scratch about all nearby objects. If it is scratched, it can bring a dangerous infection into the blood or corny to lose part of the hair. In addition, fallen mane hair can cling and get stuck in all crevices.
To avoid such scenarios, the horse owner will not only have to carry out many manipulations, but also thoroughly work on raising the animal.
What products can be used for washing
Horse hair washing is an indispensable element of animal mane care. Thanks to her, any particles of dirt, foliage, grease or sawdust that provoke the appearance of a fungus or subcutaneous acne can be removed from the hair. During washing, dangerous bacteria are washed off the skin, which eliminates the development of an infectious disease of the integument.
Each horse has its own individual preferences regarding the number of washings per month. For some horses, once is enough to feel great. Others need a weekly wash after compulsory exercise. On average, one wash every two weeks will be enough.
Usually during the summer period horses live in open stalls or in stalls. This time period is dangerous because in the process of performing normal daily work the horse sweats and becomes more polluted than in winter. Therefore, the owner requires increased attention to the condition of the skin and mane and more frequent washing of the animal. During the cleaning process, you can use cleaning products sold at each pet store.
With the onset of winter, it is better to reduce the number of sinks. A good way out of the situation is to clean one mane with shampoo or a special spray.
Sometimes, even with proper care, the animal is tormented by constant irritation, fungus, or diaper rash. In this case, a veterinarian consultation is necessary to exclude the development of the disease. It is quite possible that for the disappearance of such a problem, you just need to replace the usual shampoo for horses with a medical one. The most popular remedies: Listerine, ordinary iodized solution, shampoo with tea tree oil.
Experts recommend using air conditioning for every mane wash. If the owner of the animal plans to braid the hair, it can be set aside. Using a conditioner will make your hair slippery and naughty. In any other case, this tool will make the mane shiny and make it easier to comb. If the tangles are very large, it is best to take them apart with your fingers before combing. Otherwise, the comb simply tears the hair.
The choice of conditioner depends on the preferences of the animal owner. Some of them are divided according to the method of use:
- the product is applied to a wet mane, and then thoroughly washed off with water;
- conditioner is applied on already dry hair.
Other remedies have different effects:
- strengthening horse mane;
- Hair Growth;
- healing and softening of hair;
- adding shine to the entire mane;
- easy combing of hair.
Experienced owners prefer proven remedies. Their list includes Cowboy Magic - a lotion that helps to maintain a clean mane for a long time without the effect of static electricity, and Show Sheen, which contains silicone that protects from many external damage and prevents the accumulation of dust and tangles.
In winter, dry shampoos come to the rescue. If you use them together with Listerin, rubbing it into the skin of the mane after combing with shampoo, you can neutralize all the dangerous bacteria.
From the photo of a horse with a white mane, you can see how the hair of an animal will look after applying Listerin.
Proper cleaning
Do not abuse the daily cleaning. The whole process should take a minimum of time. To eliminate damage to the hair, you need to choose the right brush:
- she has large teeth, between which significant gaps;
- the ends of the teeth are soft, rounded in order not to accidentally injure the skin.
Before cleaning, the mane must be untangled, passing all the hair between the fingers. Using this method, you can select all the strands. Then along the line of their growth from the tips to the roots, you need to smoothly comb the entire hair with your fingers. The second step is to repeat the action, but with the help of a large, comfortable comb, whose teeth are large and sparse. When the main part of the hair is free from large pieces of dirt and foreign objects, the comb should be replaced with a smaller brush, and repeat the process to remove all the small debris. As they are cleansed, all the strands are laid one after another away from the rest of the mane.
In order to once again verify the purity of horse hair, breeders advise re-combing each strand after the main brushing. If the brush runs freely along the entire length of the hair, then the mane is well cleaned. As a massage, you can hold a brush and the roots of horse hair. Such movements improve blood circulation, cleanse the skin from dandruff and excess fat, which favorably affects hair growth. To facilitate the entire process of combing and not injure your hair, you can purchase a special conditioner for dry mane.
The need for hair protection
If a horse spends most of his time outdoors, his mane requires special attention due to the aggressive environmental effects. In order for the sun to dry hair less, they can be braided. But the fact that they can cling to nearby objects cannot be ruled out. Therefore, every day it is necessary to check their condition, dissolve once a week and braid on a new one.
It will not be superfluous to remove all sharp objects in those places where the horse most often passes. If she lives with other representatives of her species, it is better to play it safe and regularly treat her neck with an aerosol, which scares off those who want to gnaw other people's manes. Such a tool consists of plants, but still it is better to study the instructions before the first use. Some components cause allergies or general irritation.
A similar spray can be done independently. This requires cayenne pepper or ordinary hot sauce, which is bred with plain water. To check the individual reaction of the horse to such a tool, it is applied to a small area of the skin and kept for several hours. In the absence of negative reactions, you can safely use such an aerosol.
Horse mane
A common problem with horse hair is the tendency to become electrified. To avoid the appearance of such an effect, after cleansing the mane, tamers are used. These are blankets that preserve the hair and protect it from the external effects of natural factors. They can be made independently or purchased at the nearest pet store.
If this is not possible, then the problem of electrification can be solved by using a gel during laying of the mane. It is applied after combing from the roots to the ends. In addition, if you braid the pigtails, the gel will fix them well, preventing even those strands that have come out of the elastic bands.
Sometimes, for some reason, horse mane becomes weak and too rare. An ordinary hedgehog using garden clippers can fix this problem. Only in this case, garden shears are needed, not ordinary ones. They do not damage the ends of the hair and help to maintain smooth haircut lines. You can cut off the entire length of the mane, leaving a couple of centimeters from the roots. New hair will become healthier and thicker. After the haircut, you need to wash the horse with shampoo and a brush, and at the end apply conditioner.
Hairstyles
It is necessary to prepare in advance:
- a small sponge made of natural material;
- a small iron or plastic comb;
- many threads cut from yarn, the length of which is not less than 40 centimeters;
- Crochet hook;
- two scissors;
- a bucket of water.
Horse breeders advise periodically pulling the mane, no matter what color it is - it can be either a horse with a black mane or a different shade of strands. The meaning of these actions is to control the size of horse hair, removing too long hair. Everything is done in stages:
- About 0.5 cm of mane is pulled at a time.
- Long hair is held by hand, and short ones are selected by a comb, and recline on the other side of the mane.
- Long hair is wound on an iron comb and pulled out.
The reaction of the animal to a similar process is purely individual. Some horses do not like mane pulling, while others are completely indifferent. Therefore, if his master conducts such actions for the first time, then it is better for him to enlist the help of a more experienced person who will follow the correctness of the process and observe the reaction of the horse itself.
After pulling the mane of the horse it looks more neat. In addition, this will facilitate the process of braiding braids and the formation of any other hairstyle. Thinning strands will look spectacular on horse hair. This effect can not be achieved with a single haircut, so without pulling can not do.
In order to easily and easily pull the mane, the whole process is best done after the work of the horse, when the skin has warmed up and its pores are as open as possible. A small strand is grabbed by the tip, and the remaining hair is combed out with a comb to the sides. The hair that remained in the hand must be wound on a comb, and pulled out with a sharp movement down. If the strand could not be removed, then it is made less often. And in this way they process all the hair, following the direction from the ears to the withers.
Western horse hair is in demand today. Its highlight is that the hair is laid with elastic bands and ribbons so that the mane looks thin and neat. In the preparation of hairstyles, in addition to hairpins and elastic bands, you can use plastic clothespins, combs and styling gel.
In the process, a small strand is isolated and fixed with an elastic band, clothespin or comb in a couple of centimeters from the base of the mane. This is not recommended to be done closely, because the hair will look ugly. And thus all strands of horse mane are fixed. During fixation of each of them, it is necessary to monitor the resulting line so that it runs smoothly and evenly. As a result, the mane should resemble a lot of tails. If desired, the gum can be masked by picking them in a color similar to shades of mane. If the horse profile is beautiful and clear, it can be emphasized by choosing gum in white.
When the horse owner plans to often braid the horse's mane, he can purchase special tools in the store. But this is not necessary, improvised tools can be made from what is at hand. This list includes:
- laces cut from yarn, the length of which does not exceed 30 cm, and the color should exactly repeat the shade of a horse's mane;
- small gum;
- an iron hook for knitting (in its absence, you can make a similar one from a thick wire);
- small hairpins;
- scissors;
- styling agent.
Hunting braids look original. They are braided immediately after washing or with a styling agent so that the hair keeps its shape well. To facilitate the braiding process, it is recommended to stand on a stool and start from the base of the mane on the head. One lace is folded in half and threaded into a ring that is in the middle. Hairpins fix the hair that is next to the working strand. And then they begin to weave down a braid of three strands, tightening it as tightly as possible. In the middle of weaving, you need to stop and attach a lace to the central strand. Then they continue to weave the pigtail to the end already with the lace. The end of the pigtail is fixed with two threads as follows: the strands are wound around the thread, then it is threaded between the strands at the base, the base itself is wrapped and then the thread is twisted into a knot. And so they continue until the end of the mane. The result should be many braids of approximately the same length. For the finishing touch, the sticking strands and threads inside all the braids are crocheted. If you use the white ribbons to pull off the base of the braids, you can get a beautiful curly comb. Such ribbons should be about 2 meters long and at least 1 cm wide. They are tied in this way: the base of the pigtail must be wrapped a couple of times with one end of the ribbon, tied with a knot for fastening and pulled to the adjacent pigtail, similarly wrapped. When all the braids are wrapped, the excess part of the tape can simply be cut off.
A good option would be elongated French braids, but long strands are needed for their implementation. Continental braids look very beautiful. This is a popular method of weaving on Arabian horses. They are braided differently: the entire mane is taken apart into strands, and they are fixed separately from each other. Then each of them is divided into two strands, and connected with elastic bands at a distance of 7 cm from the base with the nearest strands. After 7 cm in length, the disassembled ends are connected with elastic bands. Again, after 7 cm in length, you can repeat the process, and continue it until the length of the mane allows. The result should be a kind of mesh. If there is a desire to add contrast, then the places of fastening of the strands can be wrapped with colored ribbons.
