Brushing tails

[Kyrabee]

This is how I found my horse’s tail today .

Luckily, they (willow tree seeds) came out pretty easily with finger combing

[jvanrens]

Be thankful they aren’t burrs!

[Kyrabee]

Oh yeah…long ago, my horses were in a pasture that had burdock in it. . That is a nasty plant.

[jvanrens]

I swear my first couple of ponies thought the best grass grew between them.

[Kyrabee]

Oh yes. With my horses, the burdock was mostly in the shade so yes, nice tender grass over there. I was just renting the pasture (owners were elderly and could not do much pasture work). I would go on a search and destroy mission but I always missed a few.

[beau159]

@Simkie

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.

Nope. The grey pictured, I bought her 4 years ago and I’ve always kept her tail in a TailBoot. If weight were the problem, she should have no tail by now.

Perhaps you are tying something too tightly or too close to the tail bone? You do need to always make sure whatever you do is BELOW the tail bone, so as not to do any damage there.

One winter, I experimented with figure 8 knots. I did a final washing in the fall before winter and then put figure 8 knots in everyone’s tails (below the tail bone but as snug to it as I could) and wrapped the knots in vet wrap and electrical tape. Six months later in the spring, took them out and washed up, and had a decent amount of growth too! I opted not to continue on the figure 8 knots only because my mare would still get pee stains in it, since the whole thing wasn’t all wrapped up, so I went back to using the TailBoot.

[endlessclimb]

I’ve found with any sort of tail bag that there ends up breakage at the top of the bag, making the tail look weird. I won’t bag them anymore, personally.

I also find that I get nervous with tails that are at the ground, so really there’s not much point. I cut mid-fetlock so they can’t step on it.

I brushed tails yesterday, I couldn’t remember how I did it but tried to pay attention this time. I run detangler through the tail, then I stand just behind the horse facing their front, off to the side just a half step. I put the tail across my thigh and with one hand I grasp the whole tail to prevent pulling hair out, and with the other brush against my thigh, moving the grasping hand up as the tangles work out. I might have one or two hairs pulled out when I’m done - that’s it.

[pony_baloney]

I brush my pony’s tail the same way. Just pull it through the still brush, instead of running the brush through the hair. My favorite tools at the moment are the Haas Mane & Tail brush and Manely Long Hair detangler. His long mane is much nicer than his tail so I don’t fuss over it too much, just a weekly detangle.

[albytb]

I’ll be honest… my filly’s tail is so thick I don’t mind if some hair gets pulled out lol. That being said I leave it be except a light detangle every couple weeks since it’s still growing length wise

But when I had my TB gelding… delicate brushing only done before shows!!!

[RosebudLaVie]

I brush my mare’s tail pretty frequently, because the more tangled it gets, the more annoyed she is at the long brushing session! She is very prone to dry hair, and found that the Knotty Horse apricot oil products really help to detangle and shine without any breakage. It also helps the brush glide, and maintains better tail quality between washes/conditioning sessions!