Then again the Tattersalls sales have started and horse aren't going to transport themselves, that's my excuse anyway!
So where was I? Oh yes, my very favourite horsey company Smart Grooming. Georgie and I aren't brand ambassadors for nothing, we genuinely do believe in these unsung heroes and their wonder products. Showing season may have ended but I well remember getting up at 4am to plait, wash and spruce and their wonderful products make it quicker and easier to get your horse show ring ready.
A little while back they sent me a couple of mane and tail 'Smart Tails'. Sadly I haven't been able to try it on Beanies tail yet but I will - Georgie keeps beating me to it and I'm not there to take any photos. Saying that, in the mean time I have had to thin out his name, so rather than pull his mane (which often makes horses head shy, or reluctant to be plaited because they always think you're going to yank their hair out) I'd see how the Smart Tail worked.
You what I'm talking about, you're mid-way through the perfect plait, but you have to pull it tight to get it to stay in..only for your horse to have other ideas and shake their head, or fidget. So, I tried to Smart Tail on thinning out his rather thick mane, which has a tendency to get pretty heavy in the middle.
First of all it was given a good wash and shampoo. Then conditioner was put in and that was brushed through, making sure to remove all the tangles. Now it was nice, soft and tangle free it was towel dried to remove most of the water, then I brushed the mane onto the 'wrong side' so the underside of his mane was now on the outside. Then with a Medium thickness Smart Tail I brushed it lightly through the mane to remove some of the thickness.
By doing so I wasn't removing big lumps of hair from the root like I would do if I was pulling the mane, which could leave you with a patchy thin mane. And that is absolutely not what you want! It took out some of the weight and thickness, without taking too much out. That's the beauty of having the different teeth and blade strengths.
Without taking too much hair out, I evened out the entire mane until it was one uniform thickness, thus eliminating a thick middle mane and the subsequent golf ball plaits that would have resulted if I didn't thin it.
All the while not pulling the hair from the root, and not damaging the hair follical - It's all very well in the summer when you horse has lovely thick aerated hair follicals, but come mid-winter when you horse has a neck cover on 24/7 and you've got suffocated hair frolics (making the hair more likely to die and fall out) and rubbed patches, then you'll wish you hadn't pulled it so vigorously all summer!
The result, a nice even thickness, and because you're not hurting your horse it means they're less likely to fidget and pull away from you every time you come to plait, and when you do need to plait up, your plaits are even and uniform in size.
To finish, take your thinning scissors and give the ends a trim to make your mane all one length, without it being dead straight.
The Standard Smart Tails come in course, medium and fine and are £15 each
I even spotted Smart Tails in my local tack shop - Gibsons Saddlers in Newmarket. Oh and some whisker trimmers too!
The 'yellow handle range' (above) Smart Tails are £22 and come in course, medium, fine and super fine.
Or if you're feeling like splurging then the wooden handle 'professional range' of Smart Tails are £30 and also come in course, medium, fine and super fine.
All can be found in the new Smart Grooming Site - Totallysmart.com
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