How to use thinning shears on a horses mane?

Question

uhmm any ideas?

its a 4'' mane.

tht is thick!!!

Answer 1

I see another poster mentioned the solo comb...a better way to do it.

If you do use the thinning shears, pick the side the mane naturally falls toward and start working on that side, using a regular comb to section thinner portions to cut each time.  Work from top to bottom on about a 1/4 inch wide section at a time.  Clip off the finished sections with hair clips as you complete them. When you get 3/4 of the way through the entire thickness of the mane, remove your clips, comb it and see if you're finished.

Answer 2

Don't go near your horse with thinning shears.  Look in Dover Catalog or do seach for "solo comb".  I use it on horses that won't tolerate pulling, horses with very thin manes and can't afford to loose any hair.

Use it like a pulling comb...grasp long hairs and tease back the rest and then press the handle and a razor cut the hair at or above the desired lenght/thickness.  Because you cut the hair at a different level with each teasing, the mane won't look cut and you can shorten or thin very easily with a really nice result.  The comb is a little expensive, but worth the price.  There are other knock off combs on the market, but they are not as good as the original.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/pr...

good luck

Answer 3

You just start near the top, and start snipping to thin, and then pull out the stragglers.  If its thick, then start closer to the bottom lenght-wise of the mane, and slowly work up to lenght you want it to be.

Answer 4

Thinning shears are a fast but lousy way to thin a thick mane. What you end up getting is a lot of short hairs that will end up standing straight up as it grows in (which looks terrible) and it never looks completely natural. You are much better off thinning the mane by pulling it. It takes much more time and should be done gradually, but you'll end up with a much more natural effect that looks a great deal better than the mohawk look you can get from shears.

Any tack store or on-line supply company like Dover will sell thin-toothed pulling combs. The best time to do this is after your horse has worked and is warmed because his pores will be open and the hairs will pull out more easily. Use the comb to catch a few of the hairs and wrap them around the comb so you can pull them out. Most horses don't find this uncomfortable if you don't overdo it at once and it also allow you much more control in how much hair you're actually removing. The rest of the mane will be much more manageable and unlike shearing where the hair will grow back very quickly, a pulled mane will fill in much more slowly.

The important thing with pulling is to keep up on it when grooming your horse so that once the mane is in the shape you want it, it will only take moderate maintainence to keep the look.

Answer 5

Use scissors to trim the very ends of the mane - all the way across.  You don't have to cut a lot -- unless you want to.

Wash the horse's mane -- dirt will cause the mane to tangle.

Use some kind of conditioner or detangler on the mane .. use a lot of it to help get the mane untangled in a better manner.   Make sure all of it is rinsed out perfectly.

You might want to divide the mane into sections.

Thinning shears are designed not to cut straight - and only cut a small amount of the hairs in it's grip.   Always  use thinning shears vertically. Use thinning shears like scissoring UP on the mane once,  then comb  through the mane with your hand or fingers, scissor again, comb again, etc.

When you finish, it would probably be best to shampoo again.