Lottie Fry.
Lovely.
But what do you think about the braided tail? https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19o5PPcfqn/?mibextid=wwXIfr
I love it. I’ve been toying with the idea of braiding my horse’s tail for a show so, I guess if it’s good enough for Everdale, it’s good enough for us. My trainer might have a different take on it, though, lol.
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I never understood why people shave the tails instead of braid. When I was a kid and we just went to schooling shows (hunter/equitation) we would braid the tail and I loved doing it. Then when I got older, no one in any discipline braided and they all shaved the top instead. I think the braid looks better.
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I never did either and I think the shaved tails look absolutely awful.
Can anyone share the history of that? I’ve never run into it in barns I’ve been at.
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Hate shaved tails. Love the braid.and that ride!!! Wow
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The look used to be plucked on the top of the tail to emphasize the hindquarters and full at the bottom. But some horses did not like the hairs plucked and some horses would itch as the hairs grew out and rubbed the top of the tail. You could do a very minimal clip job on the top and then wet or gel the top and wrap so that the top looked sleek. You were told that for dressage you do not braid the tail. And then some horses internationally started to dispense with the top being plucked/clipped and were shown naturally. At the time they looked strange and unkept. Now that looks normal.
I really think I prefer the natural look and braiding the tail looks meh to me. There are enough horses with a “tail toupee” and really full lower tails, that braiding the top looks too restrictive. So i vote no to this trend.
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I don’t know why but I really don’t like the look of braided tails. I don’t find them to be flattering at all. They give me the “ick” and I don’t know why.
I appreciate a well done braid, but they’re just not my thing for some reason. I don’t care if other people want to have a tail braid. Doesn’t really matter to me, but I don’t braid tails.
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When youngest kiddo showed 3-Day and I groomed for her, at her request I braided her horses’ tails. Seems like we saw an upper level rider at some point riding a horse with a braided tail, and after that, she wanted that presentation. I was already braiding tails on two horses for hunter classes with another daughter, so easy enough to do hers. I agree that the shaved tail look is not something I find attractive. DD bestie would pull the tail hairs on her horse --each to their own.
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So, out of curiousity, I’m not sure when/if/at what level you have shown - do you shave (or would you) or would you let the tail be wild and free?
No judgement, just wondering. I haven’t done anything more than a schooling show in dressage so my mare’s mane and tail are both wild and free. She doesn’t like the mane being done up and shakes her head a lot with it the few times I did it and a schooling show isn’t worth that hassle for me.
I remember when trimming the top of the tail was a big dressage thing. I never clipped or pulled. I would, however, trim with scissors - especially the horses that had that bottle brush look at the top of the tail. So just cut those short hairs shorter so they didn’t poke out or hang down on the first bit of the tail. Only difficulty was that you had to keep up with it.
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Coming from hunter-land, I 
a well-braided tail. They look so much more elegant that the pulled/shaved look in dressage/eventing, IMO, though that seems to be less trendy even there. There were quite a few in dressage at the KY 5* this year with braided tails, so the tail braid is definitely spreading out from just hunters.
I generally braid my own for dressage, and cannot do a tail well, so skip it there. But it looks good done up for hunters by a pro!
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It is interesting how we all see the same thing and have different experience to shape our reaction. The braided tail, carried well clear of the haunches and very nicely showing an active hind end, looked good to my eye. I, too, dislike a shaved tail when done to excess but a small amount, done judiciously, can make a big difference in a smart turn out. False tails are ummm, well… slightly excessive?? Docked tails or shaved tails seen in heavy horses are sad. On the other hand, long tails, even to trailing along on the ground, looks seriously wrong to me! I live a land with rain and mud for months of a year so a banged tail makes practical sense.
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Many horses don’t like braided tails, and that’s enough reason for me to not do it. I don’t know anyone who actually “shaves” the top of the tail, but many of us clip the sides of the top to tidy and smooth it. It should never look like a bottlebrush!
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My horse was blessed with a “pony” mane and tail - THICK. braiding the mane was enough of a challenge, but offset by the fact that I did nothing to the tail except keep it clean. And surprisingly it doesn’t tangle much.
I dont mind her braided tail. But I mentally connect them with the hunter ring. At her level of skill, she can do pretty much what she wants.
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it is all simply convention, the rules are open as far as tail grooming, save for things like ribbons
It is like the turn away from brown leather to black. Someone BIG did it and everyone followed. There was never anything wrong with brown tack. I feel brown leather is actually a healthier leather
Now that she did this I predict it will be a growing option with those who can actually do a tail braid
I’ve competed with the tail wild and free. It’s washed, brushed/detangled and banged. Most of my experience comes from Germany, and I don’t remember anyone doing much with tails. They were just cleaned and brushed.
If I had a horse with an unruly tail I guess I’d trim up the top? I dunno, even when I evented I just went as is.
I always braid the mane though.
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That’s what I’ve done as well. Just a scissor trim.
