# Which side of your horse's neck is correct to plait/lie mane on?



## arwenplusone (24 December 2007)

I have ALWAYS plaited and tried to lie my horses' manes on the right, without exception as this is what I have been taught.

However, at Olympia about 60% of the horses had their manes on the left - Including the household cavalry  
	
	
		
		
	


	





Have I missed something?  could someone please set me right?  My horse's mane persistently lies on the left so I would be very willing to change my ways  
	
	
		
		
	


	





Thanks!


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## L00bey (24 December 2007)

i have always been taught mane on the right. Ellies is on the right, plaited on the right...


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## miller (24 December 2007)

Always done rhs too - although my lad has enough thickness of mane to do both sides even when pulled - maybe I should start a new trend


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## pootler (24 December 2007)

I think this is an evil practice created in the 19th century to torture grooms.  Both my horses manes want to lie on the left, I have been wrestling with one of the boys mane for years.  I have now given up with the other and am flying in the face of convention and having his mane on the left hand side.  

As you can see, based on the horses at Olympia, I am actually very current and contemporary in my views......


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## arwenplusone (24 December 2007)

[ QUOTE ]

As you can see, based on the horses at Olympia, I am actually very current and contemporary in my views...... 

[/ QUOTE ]

PMSL - me too then!


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## ann-jen (24 December 2007)

I'm surprised about the household cavalry as I always believed the tradition to plait on the right stemmed from cavalry officers having to hold the reins in their left hand and a sword in the right hand and so the mane was trained to the right so it didn't tangle in the reins.


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## joy (24 December 2007)

My mares mane falls to the left, when I was competing her I gave in and plaited to the left!


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## not_with_it (24 December 2007)

I always plait to the left, stuff tradition. 
	
	
		
		
	


	





I think for showing you should plait to the right but I do dressage so who cares.


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## monica987 (24 December 2007)

I have always been taught the right was right


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## kerilli (24 December 2007)

i plait to whichever side the mane wants to lie, sick to death of battling with manes which want to be on the other side! i event though, so no-one's likely to mark me down for the horse being incorrectly plaited! one or two people have remarked on it over the years though.
someone told me once that, years ago, mares' manes were plaited to one side, geldings' to the other. don't know whether this is true or not though.
it's not true that if the stud groom smooths the mane to the right side the moment the foal is born, it will always grow neatly to that side (which i was always told!) i've done it with a few foals now, and it still persists in going to whichever side it wants!


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## katie_and_toto (24 December 2007)

Toto's mane used to lie half on the left so we trained it over to the right and plait it on the right


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## alphanumeric (24 December 2007)

Another vote for right here, but if you're not showing then it's not important so whatever is easier.


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## christine48 (24 December 2007)

the english usually tend to pull and plait manes on the off side. The continental horses manes (most of the horses at Olympia were WBs ) tend to lie on the near side. saying that all mine seem to lie on the near side so i've just given in


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## Hollycat (24 December 2007)

I vote for anarchy and plaits on both sides for thick manes


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## lilpinkdonkey4 (24 December 2007)

As memo has said i always believed that the left was for the continental horses too... so left is for the french, maybe its to do with what side you drive on!!! although, maybe not... we drive on the left... hmmm not sure!


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## Stella (25 December 2007)

My mare's mane lies on the left and (at this early stage - only just started the taking her out palavour) I am still forcing it to the right to plait due to the chorus of groans and cries from those around me when I even consider doing otherwise  
	
	
		
		
	


	




 I weaken lest people think I have done it because I don't know about tradition (sad I know)!

We're only doing dressage too.


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## madhector (25 December 2007)

J's lies on the left and I had hapily left it like this as he is never going to show, mosly just event, so figured it didnt realy matter. 

Then when I broke my leg and he went away for 5 weeks my trainer decided to make it lie on the right (she is very fussy about this LOL) 



It  now sticks straight up in the air what ever I do!!!!!


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## Persephone (26 December 2007)

Star lies to the left and I don't care! Yah boo sucks to tradition!


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## Hollycat (27 December 2007)

I guess since it is winter it is the idea time to force it to the correct side with the use of a neck rug.  If I pull/trim my boys mane short it goes curly like an affro   
	
	
		
		
	


	




 and sticks stright up, so I have to leave it long.  But I LOVE short, smart manes.  Am going to shorten it then try and train it with his neck rug.


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## WishfulThinker (27 December 2007)

I was taught right to.  But if its to the left, then its not all bad as it can give the plaits a decent 'lift' if you plait to the right - plus all the broken hairs will be underneath


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## pepperandoran (28 December 2007)

My horse is a warmblood and came from Holland with his mane immaculately lying on the left!  It seems to want to stay there as well


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## Cop-Pop (28 December 2007)

I pull my mares mane too short to plait as it lies on both sides all the way up and is so thick it was too much of a fiddle to plait it


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## arizonahoney (13 September 2010)

What about hairies and traditionals - should mane also lie to the right of the neck?


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## only_me (13 September 2010)

The correct side is the off side  

Same for traditionals etc. 

My horse's mane lies half on the off and half on the near side! 

it is a particular bug bear of mine to have manes plaited on the near side


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## Equi (21 September 2014)

Wanted to revive this thread, cause my new loans mane is on the left and my first comment was about how i woul dhave fun relayin it. Does it just look better on the right????


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## Cortez (21 September 2014)

Oh who cares; what difference does it make? Manes grow the way they grow and to worry about which side is "correct" is just plain silly, IMO.


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## Elf On A Shelf (21 September 2014)

My scruffbag shetlands have theirs laying which ever side they want to lay on. My show shetlands get it trained to the right. My TB's have always been trained to the right to make it easier for pulling - nothing worse than trying to pull a mane on the right that is trained to the left! Takes twice as long!

At work they just lay wherever the want.

Always plait on the right though no matter what.


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## PolarSkye (21 September 2014)

madhector said:



			It  now sticks straight up in the air what ever I do!!!!!
		
Click to expand...

Left to its own devices, Kal's mane lies to the right until halfway down his neck, when it switches to the left for about three inches, and then reverts to the right . . . I pull/plait to the right, but this usually results in him sporting a mohawk - particularly when he's rolled and there is just enough dirt/dust in the base of his mane to stiffen it and make it stand straight up .

P


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## Tnavas (21 September 2014)

Hollycat said:



			I vote for anarchy and plaits on both sides for thick manes  
	
	
		
		
	


	




Click to expand...

My friend has a Lusitano stallion and this is what she does, but uses a mane roll. One plait that travels down the neck line.

Always have plaited to the right, I remember having to loosely plait mains to the right to try to train them over. 

I guess like many things traditions are being lost.


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## Capriole (21 September 2014)

I was thinking about this thread earlier when I was mane pulling.  Got two new arrivals with horrendously scruffy long manes, one lies nicely to the right, the other to the left. I made an executive decision to leave the left lying mane as it is, rather than try to train it over and risk the mohawk look. At least it's tidily all on one side.  She's lacking in muscle though so we will see if it separates and flips when she's built up some neck. If it does I will train it over then.

I always plait to the right, but not all countries have the same tradition so I wouldn't expect to see horses at an International show all plaited on the same side as we do in the UK.


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## diamonddogs (22 September 2014)

My mare's lays on the left, but as it's quite a silky mane it will plait on the right.

I tried to train it over when she first arrived, but she could have plaits in all week under her rug, but as soon as you took the plaits out it would be back on the left within an hour or so.


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## el_Snowflakes (22 September 2014)

My mares mane falls to the left. I plait it to the right for shows so it makes no odds....actually makes the plaits sit up better I think!


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