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!
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