Mane Restoration: Truffles’ Bad Hair Day
My horse, Truffles, has always had a beautiful mane. Since the day she arrived at 6 months old her hair has been to die for. Truffles is a reining-bred Quarter Horse, and has the genetics to back that glorious mane that reiners are known for.
So, you can imagine my horror when I came to the barn one afternoon last summer to find she had rubbed out a chunk, about three inches long, right in the middle of her beautiful mane! We spent that summer battling her itchiness and trying to save the remainder of her mane. Once her discomfort was tackled, I knew I had to find a way to save the rest of her mane before she started showing this year.
Rescuing Truffles mane has been a multi-pronged problem to work through. I must keep the hair she has now in great condition, as well as encourage new growth to try and fill in the gap she rubbed out. With that in mind, I broke this into three steps for my master mane restoration plan: topical products, hair maintenance, and supplementation.
Topical Product for Moisture and Strength
When it comes to topical products, I immediately went to my long time favorite, equiFUSE GLEAM Moisturizer + Shine Serum. This product is fantastic for moisturizing the mane to keep it healthy and shiny with Macadamia nut oil and Vitamin E. Once a week I apply this to Truffle’s mane and thoroughly coat the whole length of her hair, with a focus on her roots to make sure her new growth is coming in strong and healthy. I like to massage this into her mane with my hands, I feel you get better control over the spread of this serum versus using a brush.
Once I am sure the equiFUSE GLEAM is thoroughly worked into her mane, I’ll go through with a brush to detangle and prepare her hair for braiding. My favorite brush for manes, and tails, is the Epona Queen’s Brush. This brush is super lightweight and easy to use, it’s the perfect size for brushing out horse hair as well. The Queen’s Brush is also designed in a flexible spiral that reduces yanking and ripping of hair. I find Truffles definitely prefers this hairbrush over others we have used in the past, and I love that it’s helping to reduce any breakage or ripping that might happen with other brushes!
Continued Haircare for Protection
After brushing out Truffles’ mane, I go through and braid it. I like to do small braids in sections of about .5”-.75” in width down the length of her mane, leaving a loose section of hair about 6” long over her withers and the base of her neck. Doing these small braids reduces pulling on the hair roots from movement, as there’s less tension due to the smaller sections. Additionally, I leave the loose section at the end of Truffle’s mane as this is the part of a horse’s neck that stretches the most with their natural movement and can have a lot of breaking and ripping if you do braid it.
Personally, I prefer to use bands for my braids. My favorite bands are the Super Bands, which I have used for years. I specifically like to use these bands for Truffles due to their fantastic hold, and the little seam ripper they come with! That seam ripper makes taking her braids out a breeze when I need to redo them. Usually, I will leave her braids in for about five days, then take them out and give her mane two days to rest, then re-do the braids afterwards.
On the two days that Truffles’ mane is out of her braids and resting, I like to keep it free from tangles and well managed with a coating of Healthy HairCare Hair Moisturizer and a quick brush with her Queen’s Brush. Healthy HairCare is a blend of oils including lanolin that help to moisturize the hair and give support to issues like dandruff and dry skin. Using this in between her braiding days really helps to keep her hair healthy and reduce the chance of damage from snarls and snags while it isn’t braided. This product is a concentrate that you mix yourself in a spray bottle. The concentrate lasts for a long time, it’s a great price for the amount of product you can make with it. Healthy HairCare also smells fantastic and is a lovely shade of pink that is very on brand for Truffles!
Supplements for Growth and Wellness
Beyond all the topical products and braiding process, Truffles also receives SmartOmega 3 & E Ultra. This is one of my favorite wellness supplements that we have because of the simple but fundamental ingredients of omega 3 fatty acids and Vitamin E. Since Truffles rubbed out her hair due to some combining itchiness factors, I wanted to make sure she had immune support as a foundation alongside with ingredients to bring her mane back to glory. The natural Vitamin E in this supplement immediately fit the bill, I especially love that it provides 1,500 IU which is relatively high compared to other supplements such as this out there!
The other component of SmartOmega 3 & E Ultra is the omega 3 fatty acids. A serving provides a minimum of 6,500 mg of omega 3 fatty acids, which also is a fantastic level for this kind of product. Those omega 3 fatty acids play an important role in immune health as well as skin and coat health and a normal response to inflammation. In total, that was the perfect addition to help give Truffles the immune support she needed with her itchiness, as well as promote her mane health so it can grow as strong and healthy as possible.
Results and Takeaways
Truffles has been on her hair care regimen for several months now, and I have seen some fantastic results with it. The mane that she spared from her rubbing fiasco has maintained its length, and continues to grow strong and healthy. The area that she rubbed out has grown significantly, too, and I’d say she has a good four inches of mane now where it was down to the stubble before!
Additionally, I feel prepared going into this spring that she will have the immune support needed to battle her itchiness and keep her mane healthy, which is the most important part. As a SmartPaker and a longtime supplement fan, I know that one of the best ways I can make sure Truffles looks and feels great is by continuing these maintenance and supportive strategies for her with consistency.
This show season her mane might look a little funky with the chunk that is growing out, and that's okay! It's just the aesthetic part that's silly looking, because I know the health part we've got on lock! Despite any feelings I have around having to grow out part of her mane, I’m happy to know that the mane Truffles is growing now is healthy and strong.
That’s the best thing about hair, despite how sad it might look in the moment, it grows back. Truffles’ mane certainly is growing, and with the right hair care regimen and nutrition for her to boot!