Mane and tail growth; mane styles

[ladyiceblink]

Hello everyone,
I'm not new by any means, but I don't believe I've ever posted anything besides comments yet, so here goes!
I have a 13-year-old QH/Arabian named Tuffy who seems to dislike having a mane and does what he can to destroy it.

Here is pony in question:

Comments

[windy_withers]

MTG (Mane Tail Groom) we call it Liquid campfire, because thats what it smells like. But it is kind of a cure all from fungus to dry skin and it really stimulates hair growth. My arab/quarter Sugar likes to shed her butt bald then grow in hair in the spring and we put that on there for a few days and shes good as new.

[xihateyourx]

Hmmmmm I will have to go smell my MTG now because I always thought it smelled like either a diner griddle or just plain bacon.

[ihorse]

It smells like bacon to me. It's the sulfur in it... Haha.

[taleofaredhead]

Thirded on the bacon :P

[xihateyourx]

calm coat and MTG from me as well. I also just heard about TailRx and people have told me it works great. It's a whole "system" but I am sure you could apply it to manes?

[chiquita522]

But TailRx is very pricey :(

[ladyiceblink]

I almost bought Calm Coat, does it work the same way as MTG? I don't know where I could get TailRx around here except online And I don't want to be spending a fortune growing back a mane that gets rubbed off anyway..

[xihateyourx]

well if you cure the itchiness then the mane won't get rubbed so tail rx might be worth it then.
anyway, mtg is just as good as calm coat but they both work similarly.

[ladyiceblink]

Thank you very much :) I'm sure he knows it, haha

[dragonflypony]

MTG works but it's gross and isn't supposed to be used everyday for extended periods. I would put it on for a day or two then went to once a week, it says right on the bottle to use over extended periods(cant remember exactly what it said)

Sorry don't have any advice on keeping his mane intact before he destroys it. Maybe try a hair/hoof growth supplement to keep things growing and strong?

personally on your guy i would try to keep it long and natural, but apparently he doesn't want it that way ;)

[ladyiceblink]

Yeah I definitely worded that poorly - I put it on him once and waited. the hives came after 3 days but I only put it on him the one time.
I was thinking a supplement like Omega 3 capsules might help? And I have heard flax seed makes their coats nicer and might help on manes.

I so want him to have a long gorgeous mane, but he just doesn't agree! :(
I would even be okay with it being mid-length, but at least I want it to not have patches that stick up because they are rubbed short..

[dragonflypony]

o ok thats good, i have known people to get a little excited and go overboard with the MTG.

My only other worry would be don't use/try so many different things and with things like the manes and tails it takes a while to actually tell what's working. I'd rule out fungus and dandruff first, then look into a behavioral or insect possibility(or a naughty friend might have found a chew toy lol)

good luck!!

[ladyiceblink]

It's way too stinky to go overboard with it. He smelled like bacon, it was awful :p

His buddies chewing on him might be a possibility - but for some reason I'm under the impression that when they tear each others' manes out because of dominance or what have you, they usually only do it at the withers?
who knows, one of the other horses has an oral fixation and puts everything in his mouth, so maybe he's the culprit :p

[greyskyridge]

The only additional recommendation I would have would be to put him in a sleezy hood.

Or perhaps a french braid down the neck.

He is flat out ADORABLE though!

[ladyiceblink]

I do the french braid on the neck for riding but the rubber bands cut off the hairs at his withers :(
I was thinking a sleazy might help! unless he tore through the sleazy, too..

Thank you very much :)

[chiquita522]

The Quarter Horse Journal ran an article about growing manes and tails a few years ago. A big time reiner suggested that people do 3-5 braids in the mane, straight down, and very loosely. Condition throughout the week, then take them down once a week. You could also try the thin hair bands made for humans; those probably wouldn't cause as much damage.

[ladyiceblink]

That's not a bad idea. Do you leave them down for a day or re-braid right away? That sounds similar to what I do to the tail; braid it in a braid-bag thing, take it out and condition/rebraid it every 5 days or so.
I use the same rubber bands on my hair that I use on his - regular slick bands in awesome rainbow colors :)