Tails being cut at boarding barn

[grayarabians]

Three horses so far.
The “barn” has four barns.
The three are in the back barn.
One Arabian, one QH, one TB.
The tails have been cut straight across - looks like a pro job.
The QH had it’s forelock cut almost to nothing.
The Arabian is mine. He had hoof surgery in March. I thought perhaps the hospital had to cut his tail as a safely measure in recovery.
Tail was previously long and dragging the ground.
I asked. They said defininantly not.
Around that time the TB’s tail was cut.
This past week the QH’s tail and forelock were out.
“Banged” like for a show.

Also I had noticed my horse’s hind ergots had grown very long. I made a mental note two days prior to farrier visit to ask him to trim them.
Farrier day both were gone.
What are the odds both fell off in a two day span?
Do they even fall off?
I think whoever cut the tails cut off the ergots.
Who does this?

[walkinthewalk]

Conniving losers who want the mane and tail hair to make jewelry, then sell it for a big fat profit.

If you have time, and there are any type of fairs, shows, (including car shows or biker events), check out the jewelry vendors, just in case that was the reason for cutting tails.

Or someone could also be selling the jewelry, trinkets, even horse memorials on-line. My understanding horse hair jewelry is quite a moneymaker if the creator is good at what they do.

[LilDunFilly]

I would never have thought of that!

OP my barn had also had a rogue hairdresser type cutting hair. A lesson pony with a semi long, if messy, mane and tail had both trimmed. Tail was neatly banged at the fetlocks. Mane was turned into a misshapen bowl cut of about an inch long. No one owned up to it. Barn figured an adult had tried to trim up the hair a bit, made a bad cut, tried to fix it, then got carried away.

[goodhors]

I am reading this as most of the tail gone. Jewelry makers want long hair to keep surfaces smoother without adding in new hairs with poky ends.

Did you talk to the Barn Owner? Perhaps you can put in security cameras in the barn and watching the pasture gates to see who is coming and going. Don’t tell anyone about them except BO, since anyone else could be doing it. As many stories on COTH show us, thieves could be anyone at the barn, surprise you that they do it.

Sounds nasty and I would be REALLY mad about it. Anyone made a Police report yet? I would get them involved, might scare off the thieves.

Hair for fake tails also sells by the pound, can be made into the tail switches. Another end alternative to jewelry, for horse hair. Special colors, greys, palomino blonde might sell for more money. Mane hair is softer, desirable for horsehair rope used with bosal hackamores.

[grayarabians]

The tails were not cut completely off.
I’m guessing about a foot off of mine.
Was dragging ground - Now inches from the ground.
IIRC it’s somewhat difficult to get a perfectly straight across cut.
Someone would have to know what they’re doing?

An OCD groomer on the loose?
Done out of spite?

Looking for clues.
Hence my question about my horse’s missing ergots. Both didnt suddenly fall off?
Tail cutter cut them as well?
Yes we’re angry wondering who did it and why.
Someone went in the stalls to do it.

[goodhors]

Well those details make it even more peculiar!

It does sound like an OCD groomer hit the barn!! Those small cut lengths of tail would not braid up easily or make up into fake tails. The shearing of the forelocks doesn’t make sense. Draft horses get sheared forelocks for easy bridling, but not done on light horses who show.

The ergot part is even more weird. Did they peel the chestnuts too?

Try some cameras on any untrimmed horses or put a “bait” horse out there with a long tail to film barn visitors.

[grayarabians]

Tks. Boarders are thinking about cameras.
I need to send email to barn manager tonight about tail situation and another matter.

What would be Coth’s general consensus about ergots? They fall off within days of each other? Or need to be trimmed?

I think my horse’s chestnut were not touched.

Angry that someone would smeak in my stall and others to do this.

[Scribbler]

There’s another thread about a barn rat pulling a privately owned horses mane and bring defensive.

I’d also suggest some barn person, tween or nutty adult without boundaries, who has been watching YouTube grooming videos and thinks they are doing you a favor. BO needs to make a Big Deal about this to scare the grooming fairy away.

[TheDBYC]

Sounds like someone who is convinced their disciplines style of grooming is the only way. (I’m a dressage/jumper type, my teenager a hunter. The non-banged tails on hunters drive me forking insane. Yet, I will never bang the tail of any hunter we lease like I do my horses because I know it is not correct for a hunter, for example.) I feel like it must be someone in a position of semi-authority due to the number of horses involved & the consistency of the grooming.

We lease an Arabian X jumper. Banging her tail ahead of the first show we went to was a millimeter by millimeter painstaking process. Teenager holding pony’s tail waaaaaaay up to simulate that Arabian tail set while I snipped more cautiously than a hairdresser giving a “just the split ends” trim.

[Hippolyta]

I don’t know about ergots falling off. They sort of peel right off, like the chestnuts. It would be very simple for someone to remove them, not involved at all, no tools, etc. Unlike pulling or cutting mane/tail.

I have heard stories of vindictive sickos really hacking at mane and tail. This version is weird in it’s own way.

[trubandloki]

It definitely sounds like someone is lacking boundaries.
Maybe some tween that is hanging out because they are off from school?

[StormyDay]

Yeah sounds like someone thought the horse needed a hair cut. I’d tell the BO, and possibly see if an email could be sent out about how not ok that is.

[candyappy]

Sounds like you need some security person to work nights and patrol the barns?

[TheDBYC]

Rogue violin bow maker on the loose?

[Polopony20]

We had a housekeeper (horsekeeper?) do this to my brother’s mare while we were on vacation. ONLY HER! Its been YEARS since then, and only in these past 2-3 years has it grown below her hocks, but now its thin.

[KBC]

Lol, maybe there isn’t a list of specific things you can’t do, and someone who has been allowed to interact before did all this, because of lack of communication

[Jenerationx]

Yes. You definitely need to make a poster with a complete list of things not to do to your horse. This is clearly all your fault for not telling everyone at the barn everything that they are not allowed to do to your horse.

[ComingAttraction]

Cameras.

[grayarabians]

Well it happened again.
BO and BM didn’t do anything after the previous three tails were cut.
This week a boarder arrived to find her horse’s tail cut. Boarder went ballistic and all boarders got an email from BM - that if “cutter” was discovered that person would be gone.
Whoever is doing this is either:
Fellow boarder,
Lesson student (mostly teens - don’t board),
Someone who works at barn,
Someone sneaking onto property.

This time the chosen horse:
Big, black PerchX mare.
I wouldn’t go on that mare’s stall - so who would?
Out of the horses to choose from I wouldn’t think a non-horsey person would have chosen the most intimidating horse on the property.
All four in the same 30-horse barn - not main barn or lesson barn.
Tail colors:
Gray (dirty/not white) (mine),
Chestnut (very orange). (Tail and forelock),
Black. (Big bay TBX). (Somewhat intimidating),
Black. (Black PerchX).

It infuriates me all over again that someone went in our horse’s stalls and did this.

We want to find out who this someone is.
Doubtful barn will fix/ enable the security cameras.
I want to hire a detective and have everyone questioned. Seriously.
I know - not gonna happen.
IMHO the consensus is the POS is someone who knows the horses.
Ideas for clues?
I also feel like making a police report.
Wonder if its just our barn - or others near us also hit.
NW Houston.
TIA.

[Scribbler]

Is this a major chop job or just a bad job of banging the tail? Do they leave the hair or take it away?

Generally this kind of shenanigans is an inside job.

If you feel that the if barn cannot keep your horse safe you should move.