Banding your horse’s mane can be a challenge. But you don’t have to resign yourself to a messily banded mane or having to pay someone else to do the job. Jess Duffy, assistant trainer at Aaron Moses Show Horses in Pilot Point, Texas, shares tips to make your horse’s banded mane look neat and uniform. With some practice, you can make your horse’s mane look professionally banded—and maybe even offer your services to other riders for extra cash.

Why Band a Mane?

Most horses showing in western judged events step into the pen with an expertly banded mane. A few reiners today are sporting bands with their long manes. Duffy says this helps the mane stay put and flatters the horse’s neck.

“A good banding job gives a finished look, especially if you have white bands and they’re all in a nice line,” says Duffy. “It just gives an edge over your competition.”

Duffy says halter horses are often banded with rubber bands that match the mane. These days, white bands are king in the other events.

Getting Started with Mane Banding

Before you start, wash your horse’s mane and allow it to dry; no conditioner needed. Your horse’s mane should ideally be about 4 to 5 inches long. You’ll be trimming it to about 2 inches long after you band, so don’t worry about making it the perfect length just yet. Duffy doesn’t thin the mane.

Then assemble your tools. Duffy uses Super Band white bands, a small comb, baby oil gel, a very sharp pair of scissors and a pair of pantyhose.

The Process of Mane Banding

Duffy starts at the base of the neck at the withers, rather than by the head. “Sometimes if the horse is a bit touchy around the ears, by the time I get up there they’re used to it,” she says.

Duffy learned how to band from her mom, Vicky Gough, who also used pantyhose as a secret tool. She ties the pantyhose around the horse’s neck to help hold back the mane she’s not working with while she bands. “Pantyhose keeps the hair out of the way better than a hairclip would,” she explains.

Sectioning off about an inch-wide piece of mane with her comb—making sure the part is perfectly perpendicular to the ground, and each section is the same size as the one previously banded—she’ll dab a bit of baby oil gel on the hair to protect her hands from the friction of the band.

She will then begin twisting the band around from the bottom of where she wants it to lay on the hair to the top, ending closest to the mane after about 12 wraps. As she wraps, she keeps her hands close to the horse’s neck to pull the section down and avoid it sticking up.

“Even if the band isn’t extremely tight, it’s more important to have them in a straight line when you’re done rather than have them all super tight against the neck,” says Duffy. “As you’re working, step back frequently and make sure it’s even.”

When you’re all done banding, go back with your scissors and trim the ends of the mane so that they’re perfectly even. Make sure to stand back and check your progress, and cut the hair underneath as well.

The Forelock

Don’t forget the forelock! Duffy bands down the base of the forelock.

Starting at the top of the poll, make a part so the section is a square of hair. Band just as you did with the mane.

Moving down the forelock at equal intervals, make a part to form a section and band it. Once you’ve reached the end of where the hair grows from the head, make one last section and band it, pulling the back pieces of hair to hold the forelock down to avoid it sticking out.

Troubleshooting

For a multi-colored mane, Duffy would pick one color to band the whole mane. If your horse has a white mane, consider using black bands for contrast.

If your horse has a thick mane, you can make each section slightly smaller. In the thinner part of the mane, avoid making sections too wide.

“You’re better off keeping the width of your sections the same,” says Duffy.

Preserving Your Work

Ideally, you’ll band your horse the day you’ll be showing, leaving little time for your horse to mess it up. Duffy sprays a banded mane with hairspray, then covers it with a slinky hood to protect the bands. A good banding job can last a day or so if the horse doesn’t rub.

This step-by-step guide on mane banding appeared in the June 2020 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Band It Better: Learn How to Band a Western Horse’s Mane Like a Pro appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Style your pony’s mane for English with rubber band braids or western competition with mane banding.

Rubber Band Braids

Materials:
◆ Braiding rubber bands that match your horse’s mane (white was used here so they were easier to see)
◆ Metal pulling comb
◆ Hair clip
◆ Braiding spray or hairspray

Braiding your horse’s mane is easy to learn with this technique using rubber bands. All it takes is a bit of practice! These braids aren’t appropriate for A-circuit hunters (you’ll still need lots of tiny yarn braids there), but should be perfectly fine for schooling shows, jumpers, eventing and dressage competitions.

The first step is to prep your horse’s mane to the right length. If he will let you pull it, this thins out the hair nicely and makes braiding much easier. If he hates having his mane pulled, the good news is you can still do the braids, they’ll just be a lot bigger than what is shown here.

We don’t recommend cutting straight across with scissors to shorten a mane. This leaves a blunt and unnatural edge. Try a SoloComb, clipper blade or scissors turned vertically to shorten while keeping a natural edge if you’re not pulling.
Either way, get the mane to about 5 to 6 inches in length, and you’re ready to go!

1. Starting at the top of the mane, measure a section about as wide across as four fingers. Clip the rest of the hair out of the way. Dampen the hair and braid tightly, pulling downward. Secure at the bottom with a rubber band. To pull the braid up, fold in half and use a second band to secure (shown).

2. Fold in half one more time and finish off with a third band. Always keep braids pointed downward and pushed against the crest of the neck.

3. Continue braiding all the way down the neck, keeping the size of each braid the same.

4. Pull up the braids one by one, folding in half and then folding again. Don’t forget to braid the forelock using the same method. Then you’re done and ready to show!

Banding the Mane

Materials:
◆ Black rubber braiding bands (these work on any color horse)
◆ Comb
◆ Scissors
◆ Hair clip
◆ Braiding spray or hairspray

Banding for the western show pen has the same purpose as braiding: to present a neat, tidy appearance in front of the judge and to show off your horse’s neck. As with braiding, practice, practice, practice makes perfect! Don’t just wing it the morning of your show.

Prep the mane by shortening it to about 4 or 5 inches long; you can always take more off later. Give it a deep clean with shampoo to remove any dirt, dust and dander at the roots. Don’t condition though, because you want to be able to get a good grip on the hair.

1. Spray hair with water or braiding spray and comb. Separate so that the same amount of hair is in each band for the best finished product. Make sure to section off using a comb so the mane is divided with straight lines.

2. Hold the mane down and close to the neck, banding high up on the hair. Wrap the band with no overlap so it lies flat. Don’t wrap so tight that the hair “puckers.”

3. If any bands appear out of line at the end, pull out to either side while keeping the section against the neck to push the band up.

4. As a final step, press the hair down to measure the length and make sure it’s even. Cut straight across with scissors or thinning shears (for a more natural edge) if the length looks uneven.

You can tame the forelock with a bit of baby oil to keep it lying flat, or put a band it in as well. All done!

This article on English rubber band braids and western mane banding originally appeared in the July/August 2019 issue of Young Rider magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Braiding and Banding: How-To’s for Young Riders to Improve Their Skills appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.