It was two days before the show. My horse’s mane was long and shaggy and thicker towards the poll. I read earlier about how a “top pro” thinned and shortened the manes of her horses, but it was a two-week process. I had two days. I had to think quickly. I knew that I was going to have to cut it. I was disappointed to learn that I didn’t have thinning shears – a tool which would be useful in creating that “mock natural” look.

I looked at Ima’s mane and thought, “Well, I need to shorten it first.” So I took the scissors and began to cut her mane. However, I cut it differently this time, so I wouldn’t have a blunt cut. I started at the withers and picked up a section of hair about 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide. I pulled it straight up, and cut a straight line across. I let it drop and saw a very natural cut. I proceeded to do this all the way up the mane. When I was finished, I noticed a problem – the mane was longer in the thickest areas even though I used the previously cut area as a guide for measurement.



It was time to thin the mane, which would help even out the length. I began at the middle of the crest where Ima’s mane gets thicker. I used the part of the mane toward the withers as a guideline for length. I combed the long part and the correct part straight down (using the correct length as a guide), held it with my finger where it was too long, and back-combed. I then proceeded to pull the long part in small sections until the whole mane was even in length.

After the mane was even, I sprayed show sheen on it and combed it flat against the neck. This completed that show-ready look I was aiming for.

This article was originally published between 1997 and 2002.

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