Horses are one of the most beautiful creatures on the planet Earth. They are perhaps the only representatives of the animal world who 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 lives?
Horse's mane - what is it?
Horse's 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 a hot climate, the rarer and shorter its mane. Northern horses with a stronger and more powerful body have thick and long hair.
The main function of a horse's mane is protection. The neck area is covered with thin and sensitive skin, subject to various damages and temperature changes. In addition, even the presence of blood-sucking parasites in this area of the body is undesirable, not to mention their impact. The mane perfectly copes with all the tasks assigned to it, often performing even a decorative function, improving the appearancehorse.
A photo of a horse with a curly mane shows how its hair splits and falls on both sides of the neck. This natural feature provides maximum protection for the sensitive part of the body.
If it becomes necessary to harness an animal or use it for riding, then horse hair will interfere, blocking viewing angles. Therefore, in this case, the mane is laid on the left side of the neck, and in the harness - on the right. For more aesthetically pleasing shots, horses are photographed from the side where there is no mane.
Why horse mane care is necessary
First of all, a horse's mane is an indicator of the grooming of an animal. Any hairstyle that its owner prefers - from a long unruly mane to a neatly trimmed head, requires a lot of manipulation and special attention to keep the proper look for a long time. From the photo of the horse's mane, you can see how much well-groomed hair decorates the animal.
If the mane is not well-groomed, it automatically affects the whole attractiveness of the horse, significantly belittling it. In addition, uncombed hair becomes dirty faster, dumping most of the hair into tangles. They interfere with natural ventilation, which contributes to the appearance of diaper rash that irritates the skin. The animal begins to constantly itch about all nearby objects. If it is scratched, it can bring a dangerous infection into the blood or simply lose part of the hair. In addition, matted mane haircan snag and get stuck in all crevices.
To avoid such scenarios, the owner of the horse will have to not only carry out a lot of manipulations, but also thoroughly work on raising the animal.
What products can be used for washing
Horse hair washing is an essential part of caring for an animal's mane. Thanks to it, any particles of dirt, leaves, fat or sawdust that provoke the appearance of fungus or subcutaneous acne can be removed from the hair. In the process of washing, dangerous bacteria are washed off the skin, which eliminates the development of an infectious disease of the integument.
Each horse has individual preferences regarding the number of washes per month. For some horses, once is enough to feel great. Others need a weekly wash after mandatory physical exertion. On average, one wash every two weeks will be sufficient.
Usually during the summer period, horses live in open stalls or stalls. This time period is dangerous because in the process of performing normal daily work, the horse sweats and gets dirty more than in winter. Therefore, the owner requires increased attention to the condition of the skin and mane and more frequent washing of the animal. In the washing process, you can use cleaning products sold in every pet store.
With the onset of winter, it is better to reduce the number of washes. A good way out of the situation is to clean one mane with shampoo or a special spray.
Sometimes, even with proper care, an anim altormented by constant irritation, fungus or diaper rash. In this case, it is necessary to consult a veterinarian to exclude the development of the disease. It is possible that for the disappearance of such a problem, you just need to replace the usual shampoo for horses with a medicinal one. Most popular products: Listerine, plain iodized solution, tea tree oil shampoo.
Experts recommend using conditioner every time you wash your mane. If the owner of the animal plans to braid his hair, he can be set aside. Using a conditioner will make your hair slippery and unruly. In any other case, this tool will make the mane shiny and easier to comb. If the tangles are very large, it is better to disassemble them with your fingers before combing. Otherwise, the comb will simply tear the hair.
The choice of air conditioner depends on the preferences of the owner of the animal. Some of them are divided according to the way they are used:
- the product is applied to a wet mane, and then thoroughly washed off with water;
- conditioner applied to already dry hair.
Other remedies have different effects:
- strengthening the horse's mane;
- hair growth;
- he alth and softening of the hair;
- adding shine to the entire mane;
- easy combing hair.
Experienced owners prefer proven products. Their list includes Cowboy Magic, a lotion that helps maintain a clean mane for a long time without the effect of static electricity, and Show Sheen, which contains silicone that protects against many external damage andprevents the accumulation of dust and tangles.
Dry shampoos come to the rescue in winter. If you use them together with Listerine, rubbing it into the skin of the mane after combing with shampoo, you can neutralize all dangerous bacteria.
From the photo of a horse with a white mane, you can see how the animal's hair will look after applying Listerine.
Proper brushing
Do not abuse daily brushing. The whole process should take a minimum of time. To avoid hair damage, you need to choose the right brush:
- she has big teeth with significant gaps between them;
- the ends of the teeth are soft, rounded so as not to accidentally injure the skin.
Before cleaning, the mane must be untangled, passing all the hair between the fingers. With 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 steps, but with the help of a large comfortable comb, whose teeth are large and rare. 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 the process repeated to remove all small debris. As you cleanse, all the strands are set aside one by one from the rest of the mane.
In order to once again ensure the degree of cleanliness of horse hair, horse breeders advise re-combing each strand after the main cleaning. If the brush passes freely over the entirelength of hair, then the mane is well cleaned. As a massage, you can also brush over the roots of horse hair. Such movements improve blood circulation, cleanse the skin of dandruff and excess fat, which favorably affects hair growth. To facilitate the whole process of combing and not injure the 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 needs special attention due to the aggressive effects of the environment. In order for the sun to dry your hair less, you can braid it in pigtails. But the fact that they can cling to nearby objects cannot be ruled out. Therefore, every day you need to check their condition, once a week to dissolve and re-braid.
It will not be superfluous to remove all sharp objects in those places where the horse most often passes. If she lives with other members of her own species, it is better to play it safe and regularly treat her neck with an aerosol that repels those who want to gnaw on other people's manes. Such a remedy consists of plants, but it is still better to study the instructions before the first use. Some ingredients cause allergies or general irritation.
You can make a similar aerosol yourself. This requires cayenne pepper or regular hot sauce, which is diluted with plain water. To test the individual reaction of the horse to such a remedy, it is applied to a small area of \u200b\u200bthe skin and kept for several hours. In the absence of negative reactions, you can safely use thisaerosol.
Horse mane styling
A common problem with horse hair is the tendency to become electrified. To avoid the appearance of such an effect, tamers are used after cleansing the mane. These are blankets that preserve the hairstyle and protect it from external influences of natural factors. You can make them yourself or purchase them at your nearest pet store.
If this is not possible, then the problem of electrification can be solved by using a gel during the laying of the mane. It is applied after combing from roots to ends. In addition, if you braid the pigtails, the gel will fix them well, not allowing even those strands that have come out of the elastic bands to be disheveled.
Sometimes, under the influence of any reasons, the horse's mane becomes weak and too rare. This problem can be corrected by a simple buzz cut with garden shears. Only in this case, garden shears are needed, and not ordinary ones. They do not damage the ends of the hair and help maintain even haircut lines. You can cut the entire length of the mane, leaving a couple of centimeters from the roots. New hair will become he althier and thicker. After clipping, wash the horse with shampoo and brush, and apply conditioner at the end.
Hairstyles
Need to prepare in advance:
- a small natural sponge;
- small iron or plastic comb;
- many threads cut from yarn, the length of which is not less than 40 centimeters;
- crochet hook;
- twoscissors;
- bucket of water.
Horse breeders advise periodically pulling the mane, regardless of what color it is - it can be either a horse with a black mane or with a different shade of strands. The meaning of these actions is to control the size of the horse's hair by removing too long hair. Everything is done in stages:
- About 0.5 cm of mane is pulled through at a time.
- Longer hair is held by hand, and short hair is selected with a comb, and leans back to the other side of the mane.
- Long hair is twisted around an iron comb and pulled out.
The reaction of an animal to such a process is purely individual. Some horses do not like mane tugging, while others are completely indifferent. Therefore, if his owner 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 horse's mane looks neater. In addition, it will facilitate the process of braiding braids and the formation of any other hairstyle. Thinned strands will look spectacular on horse hair. This effect cannot be achieved with a single haircut, so pulling is indispensable.
In order to easily and simply pull the mane, the whole process is best done after the horse has worked, when the skin has warmed up and its pores are as open as possible. A small strand is grabbed by the tip, and the rest of the hair is combed out to the sides with a comb. Thosethe hair that remains in the hand must be wound around the comb, and pulled out with a sharp downward movement. If the strand could not be removed, then it is made less often. And in this way they process all the hair, adhering to the direction from the ears to the withers.
Today, the western style horse hairstyle is in demand. Its highlight is that the hair is styled with elastic bands and ribbons so that the mane looks thin and neat. When composing 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 a couple of centimeters from the base of the mane. It is not recommended to do this closely, because the hair will look ugly. And in this way all the strands of the horse's mane are fixed. During the 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 many ponytails. If desired, the elastic bands can be disguised by picking them up in a color similar to the shades of the mane. If the horse's profile is nice and clear, it can be accentuated by choosing white rubber bands.
When a horse owner plans to braid his horse's mane often, he can purchase special tools from the store. But this is not necessary, improvised means 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 must exactly repeat the shade of the horse's mane;
- small rubber bands;
- iron crochet hook (in its absence, you can make a similar one from a thick wire);
- small pins;
- scissors;
- Styling product.
Hunting pigtails look original. They are braided immediately after washing or with a styling product 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 through the ring, which is in the middle. Hairpins fix those hairs that are next to the working strand. And then they begin to weave down a pigtail 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 together with the lace. The end of the pigtail is fixed with two threads as follows: the strands are wrapped around with a 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, protruding strands and threads are removed inside all the braids with a crochet. If you use white ribbons to pull off the bases 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: wrap the base of the pigtail a couple of times with one end of the ribbon, tie it in a knot to secure it and pull it to the neighboring pigtail, wrapping it in the same way. When all the pigtails are wrapped,the excess part of the tape can simply be cut off.
Elongated French braids are a good option, but long strands are needed to complete them. Continental braids look very beautiful. This is a popular weaving method 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 of length, the disassembled ends are connected with elastic bands to each other. Again, after 7 cm of length, you can repeat the process, and continue it as long as the length of the mane allows. The end result should look like a grid. If there is a desire to add contrast, then the places where the strands are fastened can be wrapped with colored ribbons.
The horse with the most beautiful mane in the world
All horses boast exceptional performance. But among them there is a king who has no equal. This is not just a horse with a beautiful mane. In the photo, the best representative of his species is Frederick the Great.
This handsome man has earned his popularity with luxurious hair, which has no equal in the whole world. But to be fair, the other stats are also at an excellent level: a large body of impressive size with developed muscles, a shiny thick coat as black as coal, and excellent he alth with endurance that the best draft animals can envy.
