Now that I'm at work (last night on graveyard shift WOOOOT), I finally have more time to devote to the great mystery of the why's and wherefores of braiding and H/J ettiqutte/attire.

There are a few schools of thought. The old school hard-line show-ring traditionalist would say braid for every show, every division, no matter how small or insignificant. These are also the kind of people who say no to roached manes in the Hunter ring. In contrast, you have the old-school origins-of-the-sport crowd. These people would also say braid every show, every division but they would not be offended by a roached mane, so long as it was appropriate to the horse. In the Hunt Field you see manes of many different stylings - from a tidy pull, to ball-braids, button-braids and roached. So really, whether or not the roached mane is okay depends on which "tradition" you ascribe to.

From that explanation, it seems simple, right? Well - not really. It gets a little bit more complicated when you take the caliber of competition in to account. Starting at the super basic level and working to the top we have Schooling/Unrated/Local, C's, B's, A's and AA's.

At any of the A's or AA's, if you are doing the Hunters, Equitation or Medals you braid. Period. Mane AND tail. You'll see the most flack for a roached mane at this level unless you are in an area heavy with people who also fox-hunt or ascribe to the origin-of-the-sport philosophy. You will occasionally see a Pro taking a client's horse around unbraided in a non-rated division at an A or AA early in the week. However, for the classes that "count", you braid. You will even see some of the bigger Jumpers braid for their big money classes, things like Classics/GP's/etc.

At a B show, most everyone will braid, though there will be the occasional Equitation or Medal horse that goes unbraided and a lot of people will only bother with the tail for Classics/Stakes. People riding in more prestigious divisions (Jr Hunters, A/O Hunters, Regular Working, etc) are going to braid, but you will see a few horses go unbraided in non-rated divisions (Low Hunters, Warm Up Hunters). You'll still get some raised eyebrows for a roached mane at this level, but not as much as a A or AA show.

At a C show people will generally braid for the prestigious divisions. Some will even do the mid-range divisions (Children's and A/A Hunters) unbraided, except for Sunday. Most will skip tails entirely. The non-rated divisions will see numerous horses who are unbraided. Roached manes here will get a quirked brow because they are rare, but you'll find that if horses are going with unbraided manes the roached mane is probably okay.

Schooling, Local and Unrated shows are almost entirely dependent on the culture of your area. My local association is pretty heavily populated with people who also do the rated circuit. There are also people who just do the local circuit. Out of twenty horses at our schooling shows you will see perhaps one that is braided. As you get towards the end of the season and the finals, you will see that number go up. Almost everyone braids for finals, even if it isn't required. Some schooling shows will specifically prohibit braiding. At this level, in my local area, a roached mane is totally okay. Other local areas may be a bit more prim and proper.

All of that said, I do encourage everyone to braid and wear their coats for every show. But, if a coat isn't required, then braiding certainly isn't.

As far as the mule specific situation - the last I heard mules are not eligible to compete at rated USEF competitions, so the "rated show, must braid" factor shouldn't impact you. With regards to unrated schooling shows, it depends on the local organization as to whether or not mules are allowed and then as above, it's a local-culture issue. Some have no problem, others stick to the USEF stipulation of Horses/Ponies only.

There's an odd quirk I should mention - years ago in my area there was a Fjord and an Arab who both trucked around the rated circuit in the Short Stirrup division. The Fjord got away with the traditional Fjord mowhawk - it was kept neat and trimmed well. It never seemed to impact his placings. It was accepted as part of his breed-standard and sort of overlooked. On the other hand, the Arab did the breed circuit with the kidlet's mom and needed a long mane for those classes. She went with a running braid rather than Hunter braids. Far more people commented on the running braid than the Fjord's mowhawk. The prevailing thought on the Arab was that if she was going to be competitive, she should pull the mane and braid "properly".

I believe that the USDF and USEA recently gave mules the official okay. All mules I have seen competing in Dressage have been braided.

Spooksandbolts wrote:
blah, blah, blah, blah and the dog ate your homework and I can smell bovine excrement