 Also, in order to keep enemies from getting hold of it in battle, they were known to cut the front short, but leave it long in the back, where it was more out of reach (mullet).A widely held alternative interpretation of the conventional belief is that they kept it long, and simply tied it back in a style known as a ponytail in order to keep it out of their enemies' reach.The ponytail method allowed warriors, who often traveled to battle with a minimal amount of equipment so that they could avoid excessively heavy loads over long marches, to keep their hair manageable with a small piece of string to hold it in place and a knife to cut the back to length with one slice.