Dressage Show Turnout

The dressage test is a demonstration of one's achievments in training. To present themselves and their horses with pride, riders turn their horses out in fine style. This style is partly for good looks and partly to show off the lines and development of the horse. So, not only should the rider be impeccably dressed in brilliant clean whites, polished boots, clean tack, and a tailored coat, the horse should be a sight to behold as well.

Braiding the horse is part of this. While it is technically not required for a dressage horse to be braided in USEF competition, you would almost never see a rider come in on a horse that is not braided. It would be considered disrespectful to the judge to do so. Horses with short manes go with a line of small braids pulled up tight against the top of the neck. A few styles are common, with "button" braids being the most popular.

http://dressage-connection.com/dressage-braid-article.html

This link shows a method of sewing in button braids.

For horses with a very nice neck conformation AND a good steady contact it can be accentuated by braiding down in "plaits" or skinny flat braids that lay close to the neck and then wrapping them with a piece of white tape made especially for the purpose. The picture above shows my 5yr Hanoverian going with white tape on his plaited braids. Not many horses have a nice enough neck or a steady enough contact on the bit to go this way as any deviation or flaw is highlighted by the flash of white! Its even more critical that the braids be evenly sized and spaced!

On some occasions, I would replace the white tape with metallic silver bands. These in combination with his silver chain browband has a very striking effect that set us apart from the rest of the crowd.

Breeds who traditionally wear a long mane, PRE's, Andalusians, Lusitanos, Lipizzans, Friesians, Arabians, etc. all have the option to either pull the mane short and do short braids or to keep the long hairs and braid them down into a french braid. When the mane is particularly thick as it is on some Iberian stallions, the mane may be parted down the middle of the length of the neck and a french braid done down each side.

For all types of braids its possible to use rubber bands, however they damage the hair and just don't give the polished look that yarn or thread sewn braids do.

Tails

For horses going with a short mane it is proper to square off the end of the tail and trim the long hairs at each side of the dock. How short one trims the base of the tail is partly a matter of preference and what shows off or "doesn't show off" a horse's strengths/weaknesses. A horse with flashy movement behind particularly if its not so flashy in front may be more striking with a shorter tail that doesn't hide the action. A horse whose tail is naturally very full may look more elegant showing off as much of that hair as possible by leaving the tail long. In general, most horses look very sharp with the tail squared off just at the base of the fetlock joint, or an inch above. Be aware that as the horse moves he raises his tail slightly so you may want to watch him move to get an idea of how far he lifts it (arabians tend to lift their tails quite a lot so you would not want to start too short) Thinner tails look a tad thicker when they are slightly shorter. Andalusians and other breeds who value a very long tail should still have the very base of the tail squared off. Not only does dragging hair get damaged in the footing and break off at the ends, it can actually be pulled out from the roots thereby thinning what would be a luxurious tail. For these breeds I typically square the tail just above the heel bulbs and then ask the horse to back up. If it comes too close to getting stepped on in the rein-back, I'll trim it another half and inch or the minimum necessary to take away that risk while leaving as much length as possible.

Muzzles, Ears, etc.

Muzzles and ears do not need to be clipped and for horses that go on regular turnout, it is not recommended unless they wear face protection in the form of a flymask. I've personally found a few of my horses have better ear hygiene however during turnout when I clip the ears while others get eaten alive if I do. Typically American horses have clipped muzzles and ears more than their European counterparts, but this is very much a matter of preference. Horses like Friesians who have feathers will typically be left with the feathers. I've found it helpful however to take a pair of thinning shears and trim at the longest hairs that tangle the most in wet or muddy footing. The thinning shears allow me to make the trim job look natural.

Want more information on grooming and presenting a horse for dressage shows?

Try these informative books: