Short Mane Syndrome

I got a call last week from a woman in Virginia asking me if I was going to be at a show in Clemson, SC. I wasn't planning on it, but figured since I worked the entire weekend before, I might as well take Friday off, grab my mom, and head down to the show. Who knows, maybe I'd pick up a few more manes. So I decided to go and ended up with three manes to do. When I looked in at the horse about which I was originally called, I knew this would be a challenge. His short short mane was sticking straight up. I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, it would be longer than it looked. It was the perfect length - for banding -- about an two inches, nearly two inches too short. I braided it up, started pulling it up, trying to pull the ends into the crest, and realized it was JUST TOO SHORT. The second half that I tied differently, with the ends folded under the braid against the crest, was much better. Thankfully, I had my wonderful mother with me and she pulled the first half of the braids while I worked on two other manes. I re-braided the first half and it came out as good as it could. It wasn't perfect, but certainly would "do." I have decided, though, that I don' t want no short short mane.