Tail Help Please!

I need some tail advice!

My mare, who I’ve had for about six months, came to me with a gorgeous, thick tail. I noticed hair loss early this summer and I’ve been trying to figure out the cause since then. I think that I’ve finally figured out that she is suffering from dry skin and that I need to clean her udders nearly daily. In the meantime, however, I tried “benign neglect” to see if that would help. It didn’t and it just caused her tail to clump together in strands. I’ve now thoroughly washed and conditioned her tail (using Eqyss shampoo and conditioner) and it looks way better. But it’s still fairly tangled and I’m not sure the best way to brush it out. .

So that’s my question – what’s the best way to get it nice and brushed out now? Wash/condition again and comb out with conditioner in it? Brush it out dry? And if so, how? Use a wide tooth comb, use a soft bristle brush? What are your tried and true techniques?

Also, any suggestions on how to alleviate the dry skin? Any products to use? Or just more vigorous brushing the tail dock and areas around the top of the tail?

I have a gelding with a terribly scrawny tail. It was in a bag for six months and looked worse afterwards. I recently put him on Platinum CJ and his coat looks great, for the first time we have a tail below his hocks. The product is frustratingly expensive but I’ve been stunned at how effective it is - totally cleared up some chronic stiffness in his left SI, I’m so hooked on the stuff

I’d agree that often a tail (and the hair coat generally) is improved by adding nutrients to the diet. You might try adding flax seen, either ground or whole to the diet, but whether it will help or not depends on what the horse is currently eating.

In terms of getting the tangles out of the tail, if you don’t have a mane and tail brush (as opposed to a comb), it’s worth buying one. Brushes tend to be gentler to the hair and are less likely to break it or pull it out. If the tail is really matted, just take your fingers and gently try to undo the worst mats.

Conditioners might help, but you don’t want to overwash/over-condition the hair, so use your best judgment about how much is too much.

Apply coconut oil from the grocery store and do not wash it out.
My mare had a thick beautiful tail due to the feed her former owner fed at our barn. I feed a grain with less fat due to weight issues. Her tail is 1/3 of what it used to be, but she’s getting a better feed from me.

Coconut oil does work well, and you can massage it into the skin. For tangles, Vetrolin Shine is my favorite product. It doesn’t get gunky or cause breakage, and it works really well at tangles and will last several days. I think the shampoo you are using is soothing to the skin and helps with flakes. You can also use one of th head and shoulders 2 in 1 shampoo/conditioners.

I wash well, condition and finger comb and pick out the tail when it’s sitting in conditioner. Gently work out the tangles with your fingers. It will be easier to be easy on it with your fingers vs a comb or brush, and the conditioner will help the tangles fall out. Rinse, allow to dry, and coat with your favorite detangler (I like Cowboy Magic, but there are a whole lot of them out there.)

I nearly never run a brush or comb all the way through the tail, but ONLY after all of the above steps. Once it’s tangle free and smooth, you can actual brush it, if you’d like, without yanking out a whole bunch of hair.

People product called “the wet brush”- detangles without pulling through some sort of witchcraft. I use it on my hair and my mare’s tail.

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wash, condition, apply comboy magic detangler and work from the end of the tail up. Otherwise the less you mess with the tail the better.

My ponies tail has actually gotten thinner so I did a walk around in the pasture and found quite a few long tail hairs in bushes and briars along the back fence line. I finally put his tail up and wash and condition weekly. It’s finally starting to thicken up again.

I don’t like coconut oil on tails, its too gunky and collects dirt, but I’ve had good luck with the Cantu line for humans as a detangler/conditioner. I usually condition and then add an olive oil spray on top to keep it nice and slick. That way it doesn’t catch on things and stays cleaner. I only brush/ comb weekly when I have it down. Otherwise, I just run a wet rice root brush over the feathers and the mane.

The mare I bought this spring had a short, scraggly tail from a foal chewing it off. It is a naturally stringy tail and tends to clump in strands as you describe as well.

The strategy I’ve been using on her, which has resulted in about 6" of added length in 4 months is as follows (ideally, I’d do this weekly, but I don’t always get around to it):

If there is a bad snarl, I would work that out using a wide tooth comb and Cowboy Magic BEFORE washing.

Wash and condition tail
When dry or nearly dry, work in coconut oil. I use a paddle bristle brush and squirt liquid coconut oil on it and brush it through. In your mare’s case, I’d also work the oil into the dock by hand, and maybe put a little on her udders as well.
After the coconut oil has soaked in for a half hour or so, finish with Cowboy Magic. This “seals” it and keeps the hair slippery so it doesn’t tangle and catch on things as easily.

Ignore tail until next treatment.

Thanks everyone! I should have clarified that she’s rubbing it off from itchiness from the dry skin – you can see the broken hairs at the top. So it’s not a diet issue. I am pretty sure I just need to keep her moisturized and clean and we’ll be okay once I deal with the current tangles. I ordered a wet brush and will plan on brushing from bottom up after using a detangler. I am having a hard time imagining coconut oil being what I’m looking for… I have some at home for cooking and it’s solid at room temp. Is that what people are using or is there a liquid version?

Buy some Corona ointment and rub it in twice a day on the spot that she’s rubbing/scratching. I’ve had a lot of success with that.

Definitely clean her udders. They will itch from this as well.

I swear by MTG - it smells kind of like a BBQ, but it works wonders…stops tail itching pretty much on the spot, and also helps with rain rot, fungus, etc

My gelding also gets dry skin on the dock of his tail and it itches & makes him rub his tail. For dry skin, I swear by MTG. I put it in a small container with a nozzle (or get their smaller size as an “applicator” and the big one to refill with) and put it on as your hair stylist would color your roots. Wear latex gloves (it soaks into your skin and you will not be able to get rid of the smell - trust me on this!) and rub it in, even using a little light fingernail scratching if your horse likes it. Don’t neglect the sides of the tail but be careful not to get it (ahem) under the tail. I do this at least every other day in hot or changing weather, sometimes 2 days in a row with the 3rd day being a tail-wash day.

As far as brushing, I like to wash, condition and let the tail dry, then use copious amounts of a detangler like Cowboy Magic. Vetrolin & Absorbine have similar stuff now. If your horse has coarse, curly tail hair you may want to add some Pink conditioner to calm the frizz. Then I carefully brush with a big paddle brush with rounded bristles. If there’s a bad tangle, stop and finger-comb it out, then go back to the brush. Don’t ever brush a tail when you’re pressed for time.

Update – mostly to rave about the Wet Brush. I washed and conditioned last weekend. Didn’t have time to let if dry and brush it out all in one sitting, so resumed yesterday. I used a small amount of Biosilk and very slowly and carefully used the wet brush. I worked strand by strand, from the bottom up. I clipped the strands I brushed out to the side as I was working. The Wet Brush was amazing! It really did a great job on tangles and I think I pulled out maybe two hairs during the entire session. Took me about an hour, but her tail looks so much better!!! Thanks to all for the advice.

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You may also want to check her for worms, or a parasite on the tail bone that could be causing her to be so itchy. Another good product for dry skin is Healthy Horse coat conditioner. It’s the pink stuff you dilute with water. Use a medicated shampoo, Mane & tail makes a nice one. I think you need more than just a conditioner to start with.

When my gelding gets an itchy scaly tail, I make sure his stealth clean and I use a scrub to get the scaly stuff off, then deep condition the tail bone.