I can bet that every horse person has experienced this certain situation. You go out in the morning to see your beloved horse and their mane is an absolute mess! It is twisted and turned in every direction, just a clutter of horse hair! You scan the perimeter to see if they had gotten caught on something or rubbed it on the fence, but there's nothing. These knots seem to appear out of nowhere, but they are almost impossible to get out. As frustrating as it is, there is a really cool "tail" behind it. It is an incredible fantasy/myth that will hopefully make you feel a little better the next time you find these knots.

The Fairy Knot Fantasy:

The knots that appear in a horse's mane are known as Fairy Knots. During the night, it is said that a group of fairies wander out in search of horses. Once their ideal horse is found, they actually twist their manes to form little stirrups and reins on the horse. They then ride the horses all through the night and take them on magical adventures. The horses are always returned by morning, but the knots are left for when the fairies come again. It is said to be bad luck if you untwist the mane because when the fairies do come back, they have to redo all their hard work before they can ride once more. This makes them a little upset. Some tales also elaborate that if you leave your horse's mane braided, the fairies think more highly of them and ride them with more elegance. 

There is no real way to prove if Fairy Knots are real, but it may just solve the knotted mane mystery! Regardless, I think it is absolutely adorable and the idea of my horses being taken on fairy adventures just makes me smile. Instead of getting angry at these pesky knots next time, I think you should feel pretty special! After-all, fairies can pick any horse, but they chose yours! 

(picture credit: https://www.horsenation.com/2017/10/24/the-tale-of-the-witchs-knot-plus-details-on-our-halloween-short-story-contest/)