Roaching

[FoxFireEMT]

Yesterday I was at the barn & someone brought up the idea of broaching (sp) Legned's Mane. I was talking to them & asking their opinion of cutting Legend's mane the "typical hunter/TB" look... you know real short! They said you should broach it... I said... (duh) whats that?!? (okay I admit, I'm not up on the hip/cool things people do these days) I'm not in the show world & I'm not in a show barn.. hee hee I claim ignorance!! Anyway, she said it was basically shaving her mane... My first question how to do I know it'll grow back to lay on one side like it does now?!? Second question How do people do it and WHY??

She answered my questions but I'm wondering who has done this & give me some pros/cons & your ideas?!?!

Also.. .am I spelling it right?!?! LOL:rolleyes:

[Pinky]

It's roaching, not broaching ;).

And I've never done it - only seen the finished result. I'm not a fan, tbh; I prefer long manes :).

[TacheteTreasures]

Schatze's mane is roached. You literally just take clippers and shave it(but you don't shave the forelock.) It really depends on the breed and shape of horse. Appaloosas generally have really thin, short manes to the point its not even long enough to band, which is one of the cases you would do it. Some breeds its standard to roach a mane. What breed if your horse?

[TheRedHayflinger]

most people leave the forelock and a chunk of hair down by the withers. Mules usually get their forelocks shaved off if mane is roached off(but get to keep the chunk down at the withers if they are a saddle mule)

[natisha]

Some Saddlebreds do it depending on what class they show in, some ropers, some driving horses, some lazy people who don't want to remove burrdocks. I've never seen a H/J with a roached mane, maybe it's a local thing.
They are a pain to grow back, think circus pony, it will stick straight up then fall all over, requires some time to get it back right

[TheRedHayflinger]

depends on the horse I think on the growing back stage.
This mare was roached down in mid december
This picture was taken a few months ago, May I believe...or late April...she had about 5-6 months of hair growth there. It's about another 5 inches longer now.

http://www.baywindfarm.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=617&pictureid=10782

[FoxFireEMT]

Pinky: Ya I said roaching in my subjected then, I went to broaching. It's because my partner was yapping in my ear... Sorry.. I knew what I was saying. LOL..

thanks everyone for your imput!

[FoxFireEMT]

Forgot to say.... she's a TB!

[WashingtonBay]

Is there a problem with her mane that you're trying to solve? i.e. it's too thick or too thin, ratty looking, or are you just wondering?

I've seen a lot of foundation appy people who roach them because the mane is too thin and never looks tidy otherwise. I roached my mustang because it was way too thick! It does have an awkward stage of standing straight up if you decide one day to 'stop' roaching and grow it out, but it will eventually grow out and lay over. Sometimes you can help it along in that with banding or a mane tamer.

[FoxFireEMT]

WB: No, not real problem. Her mane is extremely thin but not ratty looking. I guess I was use to my Arabs thick mane & her mane is just so.... BLAH. I was just really asking to ask & wanted to try something new with her, I GUESS. :) Just looking on a new "due" for her!! :)

[TheRedHayflinger]

well..here is my thought.
It's only hair.
It WILL grow back
At least that is what I told myself the first time I roached off my SSH's 3 1/2 foot long mane :D And yes...it did grow back(although it hasn't quite reached 3 1/2 feet again, since I did it in December it is every bit of 2 1/2 feet or more now)

[WashingtonBay]

Well, even if you decided to, it would not be the end of the world, it'll grow out! :)

Heh... TRH - we cross posted. :D

[Vibe]

I don't think you should roach it, just go with your first idea.

[quest]

Yeah, it's roaching, I have seen some horses like great with it and some horses look terrible. I don't think I would ever roach a horse's mane with a long and thin neck, I think it tends to look better on a neck with more substance

[AUEquine]

I like the extreams of manes... roached or long! I can't stand the hunter/WP style manes!
Almost all polo ponies manes are roached to keep the mane out of the riders hands. And with as many horses as they use there's no time or point to braid them.
I like the roached look, it's very clean, tidy, and extreamly low maintenance! But you lose the security of being able to grab mane if you ever need it. But I do recomend leaving the little bit of mane at the withers where the saddle will go. When it starts to grow out the hair is straight up, and the saddle will irritate that area.

[Rabid_Raccoon]

Personally I think if you roach a horse's mane you should kind of "shape it" to compliment the neck. Curve it a little, instead of just shaving it down all the way... unless your horse naturally has a great neck and you just want to show it off ;)

[AppyLover]

I like the roached look. But it depends on the horse. Some horses just look awsome when the mane is gone, but others....well they really need to keep it. But as said it is only hair so if you so it the mane will grow back.

Here is Abby, I keep her roached all the way down and then I let it grow, as long as it stays spiked, to about 5-6 inches then I reroach it down.

http://www.baywindfarm.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=56&pictureid=3946&thumb=1 ('http://www.baywindfarm.com/forum/album.php?albumid=56&pictureid=3946')

As far as a security goes....If I may offer an opinion, IF someone is constantly grabbing the mane to keep their seat or correct something whatever the case may be for grabbing it in the first place...Roach the mane. Shave it all the way down. Grabbing the mane can become a security blanket just like always riding in a saddle, the rider can develop bad habits or even a crutch. This can lead to insecurities in the rider's mind about their own ability when in truth they already know how to ride through the situation that is spooking them.

[John Boy]

Early spring I did my TB.

Never would of done it to a TB , but his mane has split , and I no longer could train it to go 100% to the right.
After I did it ,, yes the hairs started growing straight up , but that was the time I started training it correctly.

Haven't pulled since , just brushing it , and looks great.
Probably by autumn , I'll need to pull it , but I am happy with the results.

I would not keep it roached 100% of the time , ,, this was a fix for my gelding.
Northern wisc... what little mane helps with bugs , and during the winter I let it grow a tab long , because of the cold winters.

[Dakota Sunrise]

As far as a security goes....If I may offer an opinion, IF someone is constantly grabbing the mane to keep their seat or correct something whatever the case may be for grabbing it in the first place...Roach the mane. Shave it all the way down. Grabbing the mane can become a security blanket just like always riding in a saddle, the rider can develop bad habits or even a crutch. This can lead to insecurities in the rider's mind about their own ability when in truth they already know how to ride through the situation that is spooking them.


Although you do have a point, I don't really see a problem with grabbing the mane if you need to regain your balance once in a while or are starting to slip of your horse's butt going up a steep hill:p (that has happened to me, I almost went off, hehe my bad:innocent:). I trail ride bareback 90% of the time over all kinds of terrain at all gaits (complete with spooks and tantrum bucks:rolleyes:), and although I don't use his mane that much, it is nice to have when you're going up a steep hill, climbing a bank, or running, etc. Although my equitation is not the best, I have a decent seat & balance when it comes to riding Dakota, but I do grab his mane sometimes for a little added security.

But you are right, if a person is relying totally on the horse's mane to keep them on his/her back and doesn't have the balance, seat, or leg strength to stay on without it, then having the mane there to grab will only hinder them in the long run. If that was the situation you'd be right- roaching the mane would be the best thing.
When I was younger I could not ride bareback to save my life. I constantly fell off. Finally my neighbor (my riding partner- I used to ride her horses before I got my own:)) asked me, "Liz, are you holding on with your legs at all?!" Me: "uhhhh...":innocent:
Well it turned out I wasn't gripping with my legs at all!:rolleyes: When I took lessons (this was a longggg time ago) I always rode in a saddle and used my feet to balance, like by pushing down in my stirrups. I had never even been taught to squeeze with my legs, or if I had I never picked up on it (like I said, this was a long time ago and I was only 11), and my instructers never noticed. There was a very easy, simple, and quick fix for this though- take away the stirrups.;) I started riding bareback all the time and after a while I got tired of falling off over stupid stuff and finally began remembering to hold on with me leg muscles.;) It took a while, but fast forward to where I am now and you can see that it worked pretty well.:D

Anyway, sorry for the novel!:innocent:

[quest]

i don't use the mane as a "crutch" but it is nice to have something extra to grab on to when i'm mounting! I do know when i'm bareback though I definetely need to grab some mane going up and down some steep hills- keeps me from sliding off the butt ;) and if for a person who is just starting to jump it is much better to grab mane then whack with your seat on landing. so the mane is definetely handy in many circumstances.
When I ride bareback I don't "grip" with my legs, I use a little more thigh, but most of what I do is go with the flow in my seat

[Dakota Sunrise]

i don't use the mane as a "crutch" but it is nice to have something extra to grab on to when i'm mounting! I do know when i'm bareback though I definetely need to grab some mane going up and down some steep hills- keeps me from sliding off the butt ;) and if for a person who is just starting to jump it is much better to grab mane then whack with your seat on landing. so the mane is definetely handy in many circumstances.

Exactly!:D

When I ride bareback I don't "grip" with my legs, I use a little more thigh, but most of what I do is go with the flow in my seat


yeah, I guess I do the same thing. It's not really 'gripping' with my legs, that was the wrong word. I just kind of move with him. I'm actually not sure how I do it, lol. Although I do grip with my legs when we're going up hills, lol. Which is also when grabbing some mane comes in handy, hehe.;)

[TheRedHayflinger]

that is another reason to leave a tuft at the bottom....for going up steep hills(if you need it) and mounting up

[FatSpottedAppy]

I rarely ride with a saddle, but I do use the mane as an aid at times.. Going up hill I either latch onto the mane or hug their neck. When I lose focus when galloping or can't seem to find my seat(or I am getting lost on Tyke's EXTREME trot), I use the mane to steady myself until I can. This doesn't happen often but it's notable. :) 90% of the time I use the mane for mounting, and I grip a hold of it when the horse starts acting spooky. I also (usually) grip a hold of it on new horses because I don't know what they're going to go. It's all just a security thing.

But when I roach I don't leave anything at all. I just deal without, I don't like the look when there's a section left.. Lol.

[AppyLover]

I was only offering an opinion. I never said there was anything wrong with grabbing the mane, I only stated if someone is relying on the mane. I guess I should clarify by saying OVERLY relying on. And when I called it a crutch, it is in reference to someone who has no choice but to ride a horse with a mane available to grab. If this same person was to ride a horse without a mane, they would sike themselves out and not be able to.

I hope that makes better sense.

;)

[TheRedHayflinger]

I haven't used a chunk of mane for going up hills in years myself, after awhile, you just get used to it...and we've got some nice steep ones. I also tend not to use my stirrups either half the time on the trails...started that when I worked at the boy scout camp and was spending 6+ hours a day in the saddle--would take my legs out to streeeetch..and then never put them back in...lol

When I roached my ponys mane and left the tuft at the end(I use it to mount up with as I don't like using the horn which seems to be more popular to do around here)....I called it her mullet!

Every pony should sport a mullet at some point!

[Dakota Sunrise]

I was only offering an opinion. I never said there was anything wrong with grabbing the mane,


I never said you did say something was wrong with it, and I wasn't saying your opinion was incorrect (lol I think I used way too many versions of the word "say" in that setence:p). I was just offering my opinion too, and continuing a friendly, interesting discussion.:)


I only stated if someone is relying on the mane. I guess I should clarify by saying OVERLY relying on. And when I called it a crutch, it is in reference to someone who has no choice but to ride a horse with a mane available to grab. If this same person was to ride a horse without a mane, they would sike themselves out and not be able to.

I hope that makes better sense.

;)

It does and I agree.:)

[quest]

Every pony except my pony :P lol, i think it would be a sin to roach her mane!

[Country Girl 43]

depends on the horse I think on the growing back stage.
This mare was roached down in mid december
This picture was taken a few months ago, May I believe...or late April...she had about 5-6 months of hair growth there. It's about another 5 inches longer now.

http://www.baywindfarm.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=617&pictureid=10782

Did you use anything on her mane to help it grow back so lovely? Any particular supplements? I might have to roach Joes mane and it's killing me to think about it. :(

[TheRedHayflinger]

she just gets her normal food--grass/some alfalfa mix hay, TizWhiz Structure, BOSS....and I didn't even start braiding it until about 3 weeks after I took that picture. She's just got great mane genetics I think.

[FoxFireEMT]

thanks everyone for your comments & suggestions! I'm not sure what I'm gonna do. I did cut it way back & it looks cute, now so I'm not sure I'm gonna attempt the roaching yet... I'm scared! LOL.

Appy thanks for the picture I was wondering what it looked like.