Spanish Horse Mane Care

In the spanish horse, mane care is a rewarding, and necessary part of owning and looking after a PRE. The thick long hair is a special part of his classic beauty.

Final length and thickness is genetically determined, but there is a lot you can do to assist an andalusian tail and mane to look good, and grow to the fullest beauty possible.

Caring for the Mane of our Spanish Horses

We follow these guidelines

1. Never brush the mane - or at most with a very soft brush. Use fingers only.
   A de-tangler is fine, just don’t overdo it.
2. Wash the mane and tail once a week with a medical soap such as Orsan / Betadine. Really get down into the roots, and be sure to rinse well. This helps to keeps it ’itch-free’ and helps to stop rubbing.
3. Feed one of the additives with biotin that are recommended for hooves.
4. If the horse is living out, running in the paddock, or tends to get his hair tangled or full of mud /straw, plait it into loose long plaits.

Plaiting the Andalusian Mane

For the everyday maintenance and care plaits

• Do NOT start the plait tight up against the top of the neck. Leave a loose section so there is no pressure.
• Do NOT use a rubber band to secure the plait. Weave in a piece of tape or string, and use that. Or use one of the covered elasticated bands that children use. Rubber bands split the hair and cause breakage.

Spanish Horse Mane - Cutting and Hogging

Hogging cannot speed up growth.

The idea that cutting or hogging the mane of a spanish horse makes it grow thicker is erroneous. The number of hairs on a horse’s head, just as on our own, is predetermined. The hairs grow

• at a specific rate
• to a predetermined length
• for a definite time.

Then they fall out, and the growth cycle of that particular hair follicle begins again.

The apparent thick re-growth after hogging is due to all the hairs being visible at a particular point at the same time. However, some of them may be at the beginning of their growth phase, others halfway thru, and still others near the end. After a few months, the mane of any spanish horse resettles into its predetermined state.

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Spanish Horse Mane Care - Rubbing and Scratching

If your PRE is rubbing his lovely long mane on a fence, find his ’rubbing territory’ patch if you can, and neutralise it. A piece of foam stuck underneath a fence bar, electric tape to keep him away from that spot, etc.

Original images © Josephine Cánovas