I love this look! I’ve never had a horse that a long mane but it almost makes me want to grow Freedom’s so I can try it. How do you think it would look in the hunt field? Probably not such a good idea as I’d imagine the whole braid would start to fly up in the area over fences!
This type of “braiding” is called a lattice, or diamond, braid. This braiding effect is used on horses where the breed standard is a long mane — baroque horses such as Andalusians, Lippizans and Luisitanos, and breeds such as Arabians and Morgans.
So, how do you go about creating a lattice effect?
- Start with a clean, knot-free mane.
- Divide the mane into about 24 sections across the top of the crest, separating them using rubber bands the same color as the horse’s mane. It’s important to make each of these sections uniform in size (about 1 inch wide).
- Wrap each section twice with the band.
- For the next row, start near the horse’s poll. Take the first full section and combine it with half of the next one. Secure the combined hair with an elastic band about 1.5″ below the first row of bands.
- Moving down your horse’s neck, take the remaining half section and combine it with half of the next section. This creates the “diamond” or lattice shape.
- Continue in this manner until you have several rows. The number of rows will ultimately depend on the length of your horse’s mane and how much long mane you’d like below the braids.