"Don't touch the do!" Hahaha I'm not sure on this one...hmm

My understanding of mane pulling is that it hurts! However it depends on meaning, I have fallen foul of different international terminology before (and stuck my foot in it haha) so would appreciate a description of mane pulling from your perspective. Here in UK it can mean twisting the hair, pulling sharply until it comes out at the root! (horrible). Whether or not you are causing him pain he has clearly had pain from it in the past and now anticipates it so will need a lot of desensitising to this. However, there is a bigger question, why do you want to pull the mane? I once had an owner who insisted that it didn't hurt the horse. She had very long hair so I said I'd do a deal with her. If she let me do it to her and it didn't hurt I would do it to the horse. Guess what?! She wouldn't let me lol. There is an alternative comb here called a Solocomb (I think thats the right name) which is apparently painless, I don't know, I've not tried it, will be interested to hear what others say.

Short, clean, well kept manes are necessary in the hunter/jumper show ring. My trainers are 80 something year old twins. They're a bit old fashioned and won't let us cut our manes. We have to pull them because it's the classic way. Mane pulling is when you comb the hair then hold a piece and brush the excess hair upward then you twist the hair around the comb and pull the extra out leaving you with shorter healthier manes. My understanding was that horses don't have feeling in their manes but perhaps I was misinformed.

Yes indeed, you most certainly have been misinformed!!! Even decades ago when mane pulling was the norm, you were taught to do it after exercise so the pore were more open due to being warm so it would be less painful!
I now use a simple Thinning Knife, it's a folding knife, like a penknife, but it has a serrated blade; it's very easy to get used to as you use it in a very similar way to using the comb to pull BUT, as you back comb the hair, instead of pulling it out, you cut a few strand with the knife, so if you are a good trimmer, it will look the same as pulling but without the pain.
My sweetitch pony Ebony couldn't tolerate anything when she came to me as her poor skin was on fire, but now, even she will stand still without being tied up to let me use the trimming knife & this pony still hates being groomed!

HorseCraZ of course it does hurt them, my old mare would rear & box at me or just miss with her teeth but you could do her tail until it was bleeding!
Vicci your right it is a Solocomb. You can also get a thing called a Solorake which we've used on sseveral horses. It has several hooked blades, which are only sharp on the curve, with a handle you just comb through the mane & it shortens it! Our horses once they realise there's no pain seem to enjoy it! If your on the uni fb page I'll post a couple of piccys!

Thanks Tiggy...personally, I can't even bear an eyebrow being plucked, only tried it once, dear God it was painful! Like people some horses are more sensitive than others but as Beryl and Tiggy have said, yes it hurts. A mane can be well kept and beautiful without resorting to pain - good luck HCraz; I hope you manage to reeducate your trainers and start a revolution for the abolition of mane pulling in favour of humane trimming or even better, leaving it alone altogether (ok I know I'm asking for too much with the last one) :-)

Ouch! It was suggested to me once to make Tricka look prettier and to get her main healthier. One pull was enough for me and Tricka. The come sounds a good option as her main is a bit untidy so I may try that.

just one point - why would trimming a mane make it healthier????
It doesn't, it's for aesthetic purposes & also to stop your hands getting caught in the mane when handling the reins - it in no way helps the horse, unless, like my pony who has sweet itch, has to wear a rug & her mane is enormous, so i trim it so it's not so hot & its more comfortable under the rug.

Beryl I know exactly what you mean, the old dragons mane is horrendous!! I took her hunting one boxing day it took me 6 hours to plait her(stitched in) & her mane has got thicker and even more like a gorse bush since then! I now just cut it at about 5" long for the summer so she doesn't get too hot!
The Solorake has 2 sets of blades one side for shortening the other for thinning as fewer blades! Useful tool not much different from an ordinary mane comb.

Before i tried the thinning knife, i used to cut Ebony's mane & tail with scissors - took a lot of practice to get it looking pretty good, but if you cut upwards into the mane, you can get a decent result but that doesn't thin it, so i found the knife better, i've not tried the rakes.

I found this in the Q and A archive :-)
0/29/08: I work with race horses and one of my duties is to pull their manes. To tell you the truth I hate doing it! I don’t want to inflict pain on the horse, they don’t deserve it. But we are always pushed for time and a lot of the times it results in using a twitch for them to stand. I know its stupid, but I actually cry afterwards because I had to use it.

People in my yard think I’m just being over sensitive, but this really bothers me. I’ve managed to do my other duties without hurting the horse. So why not pull manes without pain? But here is my problem- does pulling manes hurt horses and if not, do you have a method to get the horse to stand still and tolerate the pulling? I would really appreciate your help with this.

Monty’s Answer: Dear Erica, this question has many dimensions. The first that I will discuss is the attitude of other people about mane pulling. My suggestion is that you advise these people to request that their barber or hairdresser stop using scissors, razors and other forms of cutting equipment and simply pull their hair out. I feel certain that they would suggest that that was not an appropriate solution.

The next statement they may well make to you is that horses feel very little pain so it’s ok to pull the mane. With that I suggest that you remind them that a horse standing in the field experiencing a tiny fly landing on their back will twitch its skin to remove the pest. If they were so insensitive would this be possible? In fact horses are more sensitive than humans in many portions of their large body.

The next facet of the question I will address is does it matter, and is it ok to use restraining equipment. My answer is yes it matters and it negatively affects the character and disposition of your horse if you or anyone else deliberately causes pain. Flight animals tend to register experiences that aggravate and then take measures to keep them from happening again. With this in mind one might prepare for the horse to kick strike or otherwise fight back.

The next segment of the question requests an alternative to pulling the mane. I am a firm believer that there are at least two plausible alternatives. One certainly is to let the mane grow without being shortened at all. In the racing and showing industry that would be considered an inappropriate option. The fact is however that many disciplines are moving to accept longer manes.

The solo comb was invented by a friend of mine dating back to the early 1950s his name is Thomas Pratt. It is an instrument devised to do the intended job without pulling the mane. The solo comb will also achieve the desired length without causing the remaining main to go all frizzy. While I am not certain I believe that other instruments are now available to accomplish the task. The Internet would be a great resource. Thank you for your question.

Wow you all have been very helpful! Thank you so much for all of the great info :) I'll look into some of those alternative combs thanks!

you're welcome, have fun trying them out

Good find, Vicci. Can't believe I spelt mane wrongly in my previous comment!!!!!