Beautifying A Horse's Mane

Aside from basic grooming, a horse's mane benefits from being attached to a healthy horse. While this might seem obvious, it's something that many people overlook when attempting to diagnose why their horse's mane is thin, brittle or simply ratty looking.

Make sure your horse eats a balanced diet and has as much food and water as it needs to thrive and be the picture of good equine health. Let your horse graze as much as possible. Provide it plenty of good quality hay as well. Salt licks and sweet feed will also help your horse's all-around condition.

A horse's mane is a good barometer of the animal's health. A poor-looking mane, especially when combined with a dull or uneven coat, is a sign of possible inadequate nutrition.

In theory, a properly fed and cared-for horse should not need nutritional supplements. In practice, many horses suffer from poor coats and falling hair despite the best of care.

Here are a some nutrients and herbs that can help with a horse's hair deficiencies. These can help your horse's mane to look both thicker and healthier.

These are also safe to use in combination if you really want to mount a concerted effort to enhance the looks of your horse and its mane.

Flax seed - Promotes healthy hair growth.

Biotin - More horse owners should know about this super nutrient. An important vitamin required for both the production and growth of all cells in the body, it is particularly vital for healthy hair.

Cider vinegar - Anothr great supplement. Cider vinegar promotes general health and also combats internal parasites and other organisms that can cause disease.

Garlic - Reduces itching and also strengthens the immune system.

Echinacea - An herb, it is particularly effective in fighting a horse's itching.

It's good to wash your horse's mane at least twice a month, and perhaps a bit more often in the summer. Besides cleaning away dirt and incidental trash such as leaves, washing with a good horse shampoo will reduce the likelihood of skin infections. Following shampooing and rinsing, apply a conditioner to the mane.

Between shampooings, you can rinse your horse's mane with clear water. Don't be afraid to rinse every other day if you wish or if you think the mane needs it.

Of course, you'll want to shampoo and condition your horse prior to any shows.

As for brushing the mane, less if often more. Even the most careful brushing can pull out hairs; too much brushing will leave the horse's mane thin and straggly looking. The same goes for the tail.

When you do brush, use an implement made especially for horses. Some "people brushes" will do a decent job, but it's better to start with one that is made for the special needs of horses. You can use a spray-on conditioner when you comb to minimize hair tearing and to make your job easier.

Believe it or not, your horse's mane can be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars. What do I mean by this?

I personally know of someone who "flips" horses. Now, flipping is a real estate term. People who buy up houses in less-than-stellar condition, then do a little work on them (mostly of the cosmetic variety) and sell them for a quick profit are known as "flippers."

Well, my friend the horse flipper finds horses that are considered average, at best, in appearance, even though they may be in perfectly fine health. Then, she works on their looks to make them more appealing, and usually manages to sell them for much, much more than she paid.

Almost 100% of this friend's improvement efforts go into the horse's mane and tail. She has the knack of growing luxuriant manes and tails on almost any horse she cares to. The results are frankly astonishing.

Even if you don't intend to buy and sell horses for a living, you can make your own horse more valuable in the show ring by attending to its mane and learning the secrets of out-of-this-world equine beauty.

If you start now and take the right measures, you can add up to two feet of luxurious and thick locks to any horse's mane in only 8 to 12 weeks.

Even many experienced horse owners find this difficult to believe, but I've achieved it with my horses and so have others.

Growing luxuriant horse manes (and tails) requires combing, washing and conditioning so as to stop hair breakage and add a layer of protection to the strands; feeding the horse properly to strengthen its skin and hair; and providing growth nutrients, either orally or directly to the hair.

Note: The book mentioned at the link below gives a recipe for an especially powerful mane-and-tail growth formula that is stronger than anything available commercially.