The number of braids was a tradition issue, but also one based in real practice. An odd number promotes a longer looking neck. Try an even number and you will see even a pretty horse looks cobbish, which we have done before by mistake in sorting out the number of braids. Try it and see for yourself. As for the 7-9-11-13 issue, there is no one number that is “correct,” as it depends on the length of the horses neck and how much mane you have to work with. Hunt braids require about twice the length of manes as show braids. So if you have show horse mane, you’ll have to adjust for a lot more braids. The big door knob hunt braids are preferred for hunting, as they were easier to do, but I don’t know of any hunt that is going to complain about show braids or a roached mane, which is also quite traditional and often seen in Ireland and other places where horses are used for polo in the off season.
A small cordless clipper, with lithium batteries (the only ni-cad ones do not last more than a year’s use, we had 5 of them), such as the Wahl Arco Equine 5-in-1 Clipper or the Oster Pro 3000i Cordless Clipper or Oster Volt makes it easy with a lightweight, true cordless horse groomer to precisely trim your horse’s ears, muzzles, and bridle paths. With it, you can precisely trim faces, ears, muzzles, and finish work; yet it is powerful enough to shave bridle paths and fetlocks.