FIVE SECRETS FOR FRENCH BRAIDING THE FORELOCK
Have you ever struggled to French braid your horse’s forelock? In this post, I’m sharing five secrets I use to create a beautiful French braided forelock.
French braiding the forelock can be tricky business. Given the right knowledge, you can create a perfect forelock braid with ease on your horse.
Here’s where most riders get stuck when French braiding the forelock:
- By creating too wide of a bridle path leaving little room to tuck the braid up.
- Struggling to add hair into the braid.
- Keeping the braid tight.
- Braiding down too far beyond the scalp of the forelock.
- Getting their latch hook stuck in the forelock braid when pulling the braid up.
- Too much of the braid sticking out the front of the finished forelock.
- Neglecting to have a friend hold their antsy horse for forelock braiding.
This mane braiding tutorial and video are designed to teach you exactly what to focus on to achieve amazing results. Plus you’ll avoid the common pitfalls when french braiding the forelock.
BRIDLE PATH 101
Start by creating a bridle path that’s about an inch wide and positioned exactly where your horse’s bridle sits. Don’t remove hair that’s in front of or behind the bridle path area. If you increase the width of the bridle path by removing more hair toward your horse’s forehead, you will rob yourself of the space you need to tuck the forelock braid up into.
VIDEO: FIVE SECRETS FOR FRENCH BRAIDING THE FORELOCK
If you prefer to learn by video, I’ve created a French forelock braiding video that’s located in my Free Resource Library. Braid Secrets community members can click on the button below to access the FREE Resource Library and watch the video now.
Not a member yet? Click here to Sign up for Instant Access to the Library.
The video features a close-up view of the braiding techniques I’m sharing below. Plus, clear explanations so you can master these techniques.
HOW TO START THE FORELOCK BRAID
Comb out the forelock so it’s tangle free. Wet the hair so that it will braid nice and neat. To get started braiding, take your clippie and section off a piece of hair (about an inch thick) by making a horizontal part across the forelock, right in front of the bridle path. Take the piece of hair you sectioned off and divide it into three equal pieces. To start the braid, cross the outside section on the left over the middle section and pull all sections of hair tight. Place your thumb on top of the braid so that it holds the braid tight. Next, cross the outside section from the right over the middle section of hair and pull all sections of hair tight. Place your thumb on top of the braid again.
HOW TO ADD HAIR INTO THE FORELOCK BRAID
On the 3rd cross over, start adding hair into a french forelock braid.
After you’ve completed one cross over from each side, cross the section of hair over from the left side again and then add hair (that’s located to the left of the braid) into that section. Pull the braid tight and place your thumb on top of the braid. Now cross the section of hair from the right over the middle section of the braid. Add hair into the braid from the right of the braid. Pull the braid tight and place your thumb on top.
Continue to braid by repeating these steps:
-
- Cross the outside section of hair over the braid
- Add hair into that section
- Pull the braid tight by using the new outside section underneath.
- Placing your thumb on top of the braid to hold the tension.
Take your time learning these steps until they become easy for you. Be sure to add sections of hair into the braid that originate directly across from your thumb. The hair you add needs come straight into the braid for a neat appearance. Once you’re comfortable adding hair into the braid, try adding more small sections of hair. This helps you achieve the fanciest look to your forelock braid.
BRAIDING DOWN THE FORELOCK
Continue to braid beyond the scalp of the forelock.
As you braid down the forelock, you will eventually run out of hair to add in. When this happens you just continue to braid. Keep the braid nice and tight (below the scalp) by pulling up slightly on the outside section of hair after every crossover. I demonstrated this technique in the 5 Secrets for Perfect Mane Braids video available in the Free Resource Library.
As soon as you’ve braided down about two inches beyond the scalp of the forelock, add in a 20-inch piece of yarn that’s folded in half by placing the fold under your thumb so that the yarn pieces join two different sections of hair. Then continue to braid. The yarn color should match your horse’s mane color. Braid the yarn in at least a couple of inches.
The key here is not to braid down longer than the size of the forelock area you have to tuck the braid up into. If your horse has a really long forelock and you braid down to the bottom, you’ll have a giant braid sticking out the front. You can only braid down as long as the space you have to tuck the braid up into. This is why you don’t want a wide bridle path because you’ll have less room to tuck the braid up.
TYING THE BRAID OFF AT THE BOTTOM
To tie the braid off, wait until you are at a point in the braid when you have both yarn pieces on the same side of the braid. Lay both yarn pieces over the braid, put your fingers through the loop you just created, go behind the braid, and grab the yarn pieces on the other side and pull them back through so you tie a knot just above your thumb. (Your thumb and first finger pinch the braid off while you’re tying the knot).
USE A FORELOCK TOOL TO PULL THE BRAID UP
Now use a forelock tool which is a long wire tool with a loop at the bottom to pull the braid up. There’s a tutorial on how to DIY your own forelock tool in a few minutes (with materials you likely have) in the Free Resource Library. The benefit to using a forelock tool is that it’s long enough to go all the way down through the forelock and catch the yarn pieces. That’s why it’s better for this task than your latch hook which has a much shorter shank. What often happens is riders insert their latch hook down into the forelock braid and it’s not long enough to come out the bottom of the braid and catch the yarn pieces. So the latch hook then gets caught in the braid. So make yourself a forelock tool, it will come in handy! It can also be used to pull all of your braids up in a pinch if you ever lose your latch hook.
Use a forelock tool to pull the yarn pieces up through the braid.
Insert the forelock tool down through the center of the braid until you can see it come out the bottom. Now, insert the yarn pieces in the loop. (TIP: Make the loop at the bottom of your forelock tool big enough so that it’s easy to do this.) Pull the yarn pieces up through the braid and out the top. If your horse has a really long forelock, you will have quite a bit of hair below the knot you tied to secure the braid. In this case, wrap the hair around the braid just above the knot, right before you pull the braid up inside the forelock and the hair will tuck up nicely too. Or, you can even go back down with the forelock tool and grab the hair pieces and pull them up.
FINISHING THE FORELOCK BRAID
Hold the braid at the bottom and pull on the yarn pieces at the top of the braid until you have just a little turn (under) of the braid in the front of the forelock. Pull the braid up until you achieve this.
To finish off the forelock, bring your forelock tool in through the side of the braid (up near the top of the forelock) and catch one of the yarn pieces and pull it out to the side. Tie two single knots or a surgeon’s knot and trim the yarn pieces with scissors.
Remember, the more sections of hair you add into the braid the fancier the forelock braid will look, so take your time.
HERE’S WHAT YOU LEARNED ABOUT BRAIDING THE FORELOCK
Focus on the following to achieve amazing forelock braiding results:
- Place your thumb on top of the braid so that it holds the braid tight.
- Add sections of hair into the braid that originate directly across from your thumb (which is holding the braid) so that the hair comes straight into the braid for the neatest appearance.
- Once you get comfortable french braiding the forelock, try adding more (smaller) sections of hair into the forelock braid so that you get the fanciest results.
- Only braid down (beyond the scalp) as long as the space you have to tuck the braid up into so that you have just a neat turn under of the braid in front.
- Use a forelock tool to pull your braid up so that you don’t get your latch hook tool stuck in the forelock braid.
Follow the steps I’ve outlined here and demonstrated in the video. Train yourself to focus on the italicized points in this post when you braid the forelock and you will master the forelock braid. It’s worth the effort because it looks amazing when your horse is bridled and truly is the crowning jewel of your winning turnout.
You’ve Got This!
Mary Beth
P.S. Comment with any questions or let me know how it’s going when you braid the forelock.
Pingback: BRAIDED HORSE MANES: Why, How-to & Expert Advice - Craft Your Best Braids Ever