Remember when I took P for VA for his Novice debut with Trainer B and thought they were joking about having P braided? Well, that’s NOT going to happen again.
I used to braid aaalllll the time as a kid, and always used yarn. After trying it out last week and realizing it’s NOT like riding a bike, I searched for new techniques.
Some of you mentioned the Quick Knot stuff, which I’d seen (and quickly disregarded because I, ya know, don’t didn’t braid) floating around on FB, so I did a search for that and stumbled across a video with the same premise, but with bobby pins. It was a mesmerizing video (maybe it was the music), but would it work?
After ordering the needed supplies from Amazon, and 30 minutes rather than 10…
It was shocking, really.
I had my doubts when I sectioned his mane off and it was a bit, uhh, wild:
Some of the sections, like the first section in the above picture, were too thin, so those were hard to roll up and not have any pieces sticking out. More hair is better for this type of braid. But I was thrilled with how it turned out.
And it was also easier to see the backs of the bobby pins with the thin braids. So note to self, thicker is better for these.
We headed outside so I could trot him around and make sure they didn’t shake out.
They didn’t.
When I looked at the Quick Knot stuff, they were selling them for 100 for $39.95. Not a bad deal if they’re re-usable. But in their FAQs section it says that they lose strength when used, so I probably wouldn’t re-use them, lest they break at an inopportune time. The bobby pins are not reusable, but I got 200 for $6.99 on Amazon and used 10 (will probably use 8 or 9 next time), so even better.
Ready for the next braiding excursion!
Nice Hack! When May had a mane, I used to just use rubber bands… for BN…which was probably totally unnecessary. Still though, Very Far from my hunter roots, but her thick mane was really well suited to Dressage braids.
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I used to be a pro at hunter braids but when I tried it last week (for the first time in 15 years or so 😬) it just looked ridiculous!
Thought seriously about roaching it, but no way could P pull that off!
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That does look very nice. My last horse had a long (Arabian) mane and I loved how easy the running braid was to do. Kinda not looking forward to having to braid Shiraz but that technique looks quite doable!
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I’ve never done a running braid before but it looks sooo fancy!
Definitely doable, highly recommend
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OMG WIZARDRY. I love it. If I ever grow my horses’ manes out enough to be braided THIS is how I”ll do it.
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It was so easy!
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This is genius!
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I know!
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I tried this but didn’t like how it looked from the back and they didn’t stay in that well with Henry’s super thick mane.
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FWIW I’ve already used a couple of my Quick Knot’s twice, and I’m guessing I’ll get 3-4 uses out of them before I toss it.
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Good to know! I might try them for a comparison.
The first time I did it (for these pictures) I wasn’t so sure about how it looked from the back. But I did it again yesterday and was able to make them all but invisible. And they stayed in for an hour of flatting/jumping/hacking so whew.
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I might try that but Amber’s mane is sorrel instead of dark for bobby pins….I found this great video though for long manes. This lady did dressage braids for her Andalusian, and Amber has nowhere near the thickness or length of that mane but I liked how it worked for her. We did have a few pieces sticking out so maybe hair spray? lol But maybe I’ll play around with it and try the bobby pins!
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WOW WHAT WITCHCRAFT IS THIS
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Right?!
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Whoa! Looks very nice!
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I know, I was so surprised!
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Those look really nice!
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It was shocking that it actually worked!
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I like the speed, but I don’t like the look of the bobby pins on the backside. Of course Levi is itching his mane out so he’s trying to solve the whole braiding dilemma for me.
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Yeah, I wasn’t so sure about the backside as well, but I went and did it again yesterday (much faster) and was able to make them all but invisible. Of course P’s mane is black, so that helps. Not sure you’d be able to find a match for Levi.
Poor guy, I remember you saying he was itchy last year also!
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Hummmm… might have to go practice this… Ive also been looking at Quick Knots and Braideez bc uggg I hate braiding and am getting close to being out of rubber bands… (braids aren’t in long enough for yarn! Or at least not yet 😜)
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I want to try the Quick Knots for a comparison but when I decided to actually try out braiding before a competition, I didn’t want to wait to order them!
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It looks nice. I’ve kinda been wanting to learn how to braid to see if I could do that as a side business. When I was working at a restaurant, I did all sorts of wacky braids on my own hair so I’d probably be good at it. Problem is, I will NOT chop Scarlet’s lovely mane to the proper length to practice braiding on. I’ll have to see if I can convince someone to let me practice on their horse. XD
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I did it as a kid- when my barn would travel to horse shows (I never had a horse), I’d braid for the show team and then for anyone else who’d pay me!
What about a running braid on Scarlet??
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Ive definitely done that. Running braids are pretty easy, imo. Not very useful for practicing for other types of braids. And im not able to show so no need to braid Scarlet atm.
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I definitely miss how easy it was to just do up a running braid on Izzy ….
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I don’t think I’ve ever done one of those before!
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this is why i will never go recognized or above BN 🙂 LOL looking good though. Arent you crafty??
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Ha, I’m sooo not! I was lucky these were actual easy!
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