Thursday, June 20, 2013

Hogged

I have a love/hate relationship with manes.

I have to admit, I'm a purist when it comes to hairdos. I want a neatly pulled mane, I want it all to lay flat on the right side of the neck, and I want it to STAY like that. I don't want hair flying in every direction and it drives me crazy when it does. I want everything to look neat and tidy, and not like I have a wild hairy mountain goat that doesn't get properly groomed. I WANT ORDER, MANE HAIRS. YOU STAY PUT.

But they never stay put. I can painstakingly pull and braid the hair over, but it always flies right back to where it doesn't belong. I spent almost two years perfecting Gogo's mane, which reached a beautiful pulled pinnacle right in time for the AECs. TWO YEARS worth of painstaking braiding and pulling and meticulous care, but I did it.

The perfect mane:


Oh, how beautiful. 
Well, here's what it looked like MOST of the time:


OH GOD WHY.

When she retired, I couldn't stand it anymore. I threw up my hands and said F*!@^ it, I'm shaving the whole thing off. (I did the same thing with Quincy, ironically. His mane was just as horrible!)

She looked a little bit naked at first, like they all do...



But when it grew in a little....



BAM! That is one sexy look. 

Now that I have O, I am having a similar hair issue. O's mane, even with excessive braiding over and pulling, is just plain EVERYWHERE all the time. 



QUELLE HORREUR. 

I brushed, I pulled, I braided over. I watched it fly right back to where it wanted to be - everywhere. I tried again. Again, it went off like the atom bomb when it came out of braids. BOOM - hair everywhere.
Finally, I snapped. NO MORE OF THIS HAIR. She's not show-ready yet, so I don't need to worry about braids (and anyway, if you have a hogged mane that's perfectly acceptable at events). I decided that if I hated it, it would grow back, no harm no foul.
That settled it. It was time for a roach.



Bzzzz.... what's that sound? MY CLIPPERS SINGING THE SONG OF THEIR PEOPLE? 



ALL GONE!

That's not exactly a flattering picture - she was asleep and her neck was understandably sagging because of it. I'll get better ones tomorrow.
When it grows in a little, and I can sculpt it a bit.... OH YEA. It's going to look completely amazing. I REGRET NOTHING. Well, except not getting better pictures of it today.

Stay tuned, because not only did she get a shave and a haircut today, but she also JUMPED for the first time... more on that soon!!

12 comments:

  1. I truly admire your passion for a perfect mane, it's also hilarious and could be the one thing that could send you 'round the bend. I am glad you cut your losses before it was too late. (pun intended) I think she looks beautiful with the roach, well, she looks beautiful no matter what, but I think it's a good move. I look forward to reading about the jump!

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  2. Oh my gosh!! The horror! Just kidding, but as a Haflinger owner, I love a mane! But it is a lot of work, especially when you have certain requirements for showing. Hope it grows back the way you want :)

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  3. I nominated you for a Liebster award. I love hearing the stories of your girls. I also loved your blog about Gogo!

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  4. Fiction's mane does the same thing! I've pulled it, attempted to braid it/band it over, slicked it down with hairspray, etc., and nothing ever works. Right now it sticks straight up like a mowhawk which I think is super cute, but definitely not the best for a show :( I should put more effort into taming it, but it just never seems to work out -.- The roach looks good on O!

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  5. Ha, after working a bit in polo over the last year, I've gotten completely used to the shaved mane look. Altho, they shave it completely, several times a week, which is a bit more drastic than a roach. I kind of like it, on the right neck. :)

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  6. Hahah... Echo's mane splits EXACTLY down the middle of his neck - half on one side, half on the other. And it's so thick, I could literally do a full set of braids on BOTH sides and it would be fine. Fortunately, I'm fine with it as-is. But if you ever do actually come to visit me, remind me to hide my clippers from you... ;)

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  7. I actually think the wild mane is cute, but I roached my gelding's mane in November. It's grown back now and it a really cute length. I will probably roach it again this year.

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  8. This made me LOL. I feel the same way, but I can't roach and I have NO IDEA how to tame the beast. Please post instructions. Please help me. I own a thin mane mohawk at the moment.

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  9. Henry has the THICKEST mane ever! His goes everywhere despite me keeping it clean and tidily pulled.

    I love that you roached their manes! :)

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  10. I hogged Skye's mane last summer and I was so glad that I did. I loved the look on her and it sure made show prep that much easier! My current lease gelding has a mane just about down to his shoulders and I HATE IT. Sure, it looks pretty, but it just kind of flops wherever it wants to. If I had my way I would trim it up and have it at least pulled. However, his owner wants to left alone.

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