Traditionally, plaits are finished using a needle and thread, but today we're using bands, as it tends to make the process much quicker and easier. Plenty of people still choose to use thread to secure the plaits in place (and you'll still need to for best turn out), or even a combination of the two methods, to ensure a neater, more professional look. But bands were introduced as a more modern technique and the advantages mean they are more commonly used nowadays where sewing them in is not required.
Before you start you'll want to make sure you have the correct colour of bands for your horse's mane and tail, to ensure they're not visible.
1. Brush your horse's mane over to the right hand side, using a plaiting spray to dampen the mane. Brushing it through with water will also do the trick if you don't have any special products to hand.
2. To ensure your plaits are of equal size and relatively evenly spaced, first divide the mane into even sections with your bands. It's more important that there's the same amount of hair in each of the sections than it is to make sure they are an equal distance apart. You're aiming to end up with an uneven number of plaits in the mane - usually 9, 11 or 13 - and one in the forelock. The number of plaits and how big you make them will depend on your horse's size and conformation.
3. When starting to plait, it's advisable to begin at the top of the mane and work your way down, as your horse is likely to get more fidgety as time goes on and it's easier to plait the bottom while they're moving their head about (you'll see that we didn't actually take our own advice in our video demonstration below)!
Take your first section of mane out of the holding band and brush it through again using a short toothed pulling comb. Divide the section of hair into 3 even pieces, aiming to keep the length of the pieces as even as possible so that you'll be able to plait right down to the very end. Plait that section, keeping the plait nice and tight, paying particular attention to the very beginning of the plait.
Plait the section as far down as you possibly can and then secure it with a band at the bottom. Fold the very bottom of the plait up, to tuck away any loose ends, and secure with another band.
4. Next, you want to fold your plait under on itself, bringing the end of the plait up to the top of the plait underneath so you are doubling it, and then continue to fold or roll in the same way (2-3 folds should do it) until you end up with a tiny little bun. Secure it with a band or two to keep it in place.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you have plaited every section of the mane into little balls and then finish with a fixing spray (if your horse doesn't mind).
Our plaits weren’t the best because Lucy was fidgeting and we were in a bit of a rush (always leave yourself more than enough time - plaiting against the clock is stressful)! You need to pick between being slow and neat and being fast and effective. If you’re slow and your plaits are rubbish, practice until you can do them nicely, or just speed up the job. If you’re fast but your plaits are rubbish, either take more time, or practice until you can do them quickly and neatly. Lauren (today’s plaiting expert) is very, very fast (so much so that I joked that she didn’t have to do the video time lapse herself!), but her plaits are still tight and similar in size, despite Lucy’s funky mane.
Top tip: Clever use of plaits can help disguise conformation weaknesses; more plaits will make the neck look longer, while fewer plaits help create the appearance of a shorter neck. Similarly, plaits that stand up above the horse's neck can help make a weak neck appear more developed or those plaited tightly into the neck will help reduce the appearance of a strong crest.
12 сен 2024
