I had a mare like that! Drove me nuts. I could spend so much time on her tail and it would be so nice, and within a day or two be back in witches knots.
Fwiw, I did find using a good quality human conditioner to help. Usually I just buy whatever (human) conditioner Costco is selling in big containers, and that’s always been fine for other horses. When I used something better for her tail, it made a surprising difference.
I don’t show so I don’t really care what their tails look like and I think they thrive on that neglect lol
I probably brush them out once a month or so by throwing some Cowboy Magic or Showsheen on them and starting at the bottom. They get rinsed whenever the horse’s get hosed after work but an actual shampooing maybe once or twice a year?
I double shampoo the dock, shampoo the tail, then dunk the tail in a bucket of water to distribute the product, shampoo again, rinse thoroughly, and finally dilute human grade conditioner in water and swish the tail through that wringing it out and dunking until all of the hair is saturated, and then a final rinse. It’s the most boring 30 minutes of my life to not even get 2 days of pretty tail out of it 
.
That’s impressive you can get all that done in only 30 minutes
What I mean though is using a higher quality human conditioner directly on the tail made a (surprisingly!) big difference, versus using a general “buy in bulk” human conditioner. The “whatever is on sale at Costco” approach works fine for my others but stepping up to a better quality product really helped that one horse.
I usually wash the tail, apply conditioner, bathe the rest of the horse, pick through the tail, then rinse the conditioner.
Anywho, trying a higher quality conditioner might be worth a shot! Taking the time to get the tail really nice only to have it all tangled and twisty in a day or two drove me bonkers, too 
It is worth a shot.
I use Infusium 23 on my horse that does the whole spinning dreadlock thing in their tail and I have not found it lasts long enough to not have the starts of the typical twisted globs the very next day.
It certainly makes the tail soft and easier to brush out the twists, but they come right back.
@Simkie, is there a product you have found works best for you?
I would just grab whatever conditioner I was using on my own hair at the time. I never really had the forethought to get something especially for her. But stepping up the quality made a big difference over Kirkland/Pantene/whatever else Costco usually sells in big containers.
Today I’d find a good quality conditioner for ethnic hair. I think that would probably would’ve worked great. Something one step above grocery store brands.
My local indian grocery store sells large containers of black seed oil for hair treatment. I believe it’s DEEP brand. Works amazing and of course, good for our hair too.
I bet that would work great!
My palomino has a lovely thick tail. BUT it cords in a way that would make a Komondor proud. It does keep the tail from otherwise tangling, but not the look I want. Even with heavy, leave-in conditioner it is twisting up within a couple of days.
I do love the look when I brush it all out. I only pick out debris in the winter and do a little hand separating if it is warmer. In the warm weather I will brush it out every two or three weeks on average.
I use people shampoo and conditioner on my horse’s tail. The conditioner (Garnier Sleek and Shine) is leave in and seems to work quite well. Not sticky or attractive to all the dust dirt. I think the current shampoo is some kind of Suave. Nothing the but best for my horse’s tail .
I have a QH with the most gorgeous tail I’ve ever had. It GROWS and it is thick. I usually have to cut off 8 to 10 inches every spring so she doesn’t step on it. I keep it in a TailBoot at all times. I only full brush it when I have washed and conditioned it, and dried fully. That’s maybe once every 2 weeks or so. Because it truthfully takes forever to wash; it is SO immensely thick.
However, in winter (I live in North Dakota), then it’s not washed until it’s warm enough to wash, so usually from October to about April or so. I do tidy it up about once a month during the winter. This was one of those times. Do a light brushing to get some of the snarls out from where the TailBoot wraps in, using Cowboy Magic. Honestly, keeping it up 24/7 keeps the stains out and prevents any of the fairy knots, so it does make it really easy to maintain.
My younger mare in the picture, I was able to achieve a lot of growth with her too, doing the same method. When I bought her a year ago, her tail was barely longer than her hocks. This spring, it was touching the ground!!
Really great progress on hers. Less is more when it comes to tail care!
@goodhors I’m curious about the soybean meal. Years ago I worked at a place that top dressed it.
My aged gelding grows hair (and hoof) so slowly. His tail is thick to his hocks then gets thinner, so I banged it to the hocks in the winter. It helped, but didn’t grow as much as I had hoped it would.
You build the meal in to your grain ration, or top dress?
I’m interested in this Tail Boot thing! My grey gelding has a perpetually yellow tail that just won’t grow out it seems. And then my bay gelding is too lazy to lift his heavy tail all the way when he poops. His tail seems to be thinning though and I wonder if the boot would protect it. Do you find that it gives them enough swish to deal with the flies though?
Where in ND do you live?
Also, your ponies are gorgeous!
The soybean meal is mixed with the grain. We got the grain mix recipe during a nutrition talk by Dr Tiznic, years ago. He was huge on feeding plain grains, not the mixes sold as complete feeds. Told us they always have “misc” on the list of ingredients, which could include anything! Might be floor sweepings at the end of the day.
We get our grain mixed at the local elevator. The current recipe is 250# of oats, 250# of cracked corn, to equal 500#. 50% of that is 50#s. So I end up with 550#s of grain total. You can modify the percentages on the corn and oats mix to suit your equines. When we had Western horses I mixed it 1/3 cracked corn, 2/3s oats because they didn’t need the fat from a higher corn ratio. Same 10% soybean meal added of corn/oats total. We do add vitamins and Selenium with Vit E, both being top-dressed because our soil has no Selenium. We top dress because we feed a small amount of grain once daily and top dressing insures everyone gets their correct amount. Our horses are pastured daily with room to move, run and fed good hay in winter. They get plenty of exercise along with most being worked pretty regularly.
You could top dress the soybean meal if horse is getting minimal quantity of grain or you prefer to feed a commercial grain mix. Start with a smaller amount like 1/4cup to see if he eats it for you. You can feed a bit more as things go on.
I do think more exercise helps hoof growth because it increases blood flow in the legs. If he is older, not rideable, perhaps just being ponied for more exercise would help increase blood flow. Can be done walking in a ring, though going down the road or trail seems to perk a horse up with new stuff to look at.
Some grays don’t have a white tail and it will just have that “yellow” look to it; especially as they age.
I could work harder to get my mare’s tail even more white but the tail boot helps immensely and I don’t have to spend so much time soaking it when I do wash it. Because that’s the idea. It keeps her from getting urine and manure in it and that helps with the staining, so I can spent less time soaking it in your purple shampoo of choice.
The old wive’s tale is that the WEIGHT of the tail boot stimulates growth. Don’t know if that’s true or not, but it does seem to work! I’m really, really impressed with how much tail my young mare grew in a year’s time. I have done figure 8 knots with vet wrap before on my geldings (who do not have white tails so staining doesn’t matter) and that worked well too. But the TailBoot works the best to keep the tail covered up and not in contact with urine/manure.
Yes, plenty of swish for the flies - that’s what the swisher end is for. When the flies are bad and they are swishing alot, I do have to redo the tail boot every other day or so, because it will “loosen up” the braid faster.
This picture was last year in the spring … when I tidied it up but hadn’t cut her growth for the winter yet.
And then put it back in the TailBoot. She wears a large or an extra large. Rest of my horses wear a medium.
Central area.
The tail boot looks fascinating, my only concern is my goats that live with my pony eat the swatter part. They already nibble his tail.
Does it get removed or bothered by other horses in the pasture?
You don’t find that the weight pulls hair out?
I had a very thick, heavy tailed horse, and whenever I tried to tie it up or bag it or whatever, it would always pull hair out at the root, just from the weight.
Was really frustrating, and did a big number on her tail every time I tried. Turned me entirely off putting tails up at all.
I think genetics and diet are going to be way more important generally than how much you brush/what products you use. Using some kind of detangler/conditioner will help with brushing through the tail without causing unnecessary breakage- I typically don’t brush without something in the tail.
My TB has a pretty impressive tail- not cob-thick or anything, but it’s quite thick and full for a TB, always has been since I’ve had him. I bang it a bit above the fetlock, it will almost hit the ground if I don’t. I have always (over a decade) show sheened and brushed it with some regularity. I find the show sheen lasts longer in the winter when he isn’t getting hosed and swishing his tail so much, so he ends up with more show sheen in the summer. I tend to brush it out at least a few times a week. I shampoo and condition it when I wash him, which used to be more but in the last few years is maybe 1-2 times a year. His tail has been the same gorgeous full tail the whole time I’ve had him. So FWIW, that’s my experience- show sheen and brushing regularly have had no negative effect on his tail.
My bay horse has a pretty thick tail, but the individual hairs are fine, and it’s so prone to tangling. Especially when he wrings it into the dirt rolling side to side (he loves to roll allll the way over and back). If I don’t keep it somewhat detangled, he catches it on everything. Have sent fly spray bottles and a variety of other objects in the grooming stall flying with the tail.
My chestnut tends to be itchy (he’s allergic to everything), and he grows a very long tail that I’m always trimming, but it’s prone to breakage and he will rub it. So I keep his tail cleaner and more conditioned to help keep him from wanting to rub it, and to make the hair more elastic and slippery if he does rub. His hair also tends to get a little brittle out west because it’s more coarse than the other guy.
I really like Equifuse products in general, but I am totally loving how soft and elastic the conditioner is making their hair (helps with tangled and dandruffy mane too). Keeps me from using as many other detangling/shine products which aren’t that great for the hair. And accomplishes a lot of the goals without as much brushing out.
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