Top of Tail Tidiness

[Rapunzel]

What are your thoughts on tidying up the top of the horse’s tail?

It used to be that pulling or clipping the top of the tail was the popular way to go, but that seems to have fallen out of fashion a bit the past few years. I think clipping is more “humane” than pulling, probably a bit personal preference, but essentially the result of either is the same.

There seem to be a lot of natural tails left “fluffy” at the top. MJ always comes to mind for me as one of the first to noticeably leave them this way.

And, braiding tails seems to have made its way into the eventing world, but this takes some great skill (that I do not have).

I love the look of a pulled/clipped tail and think it would be most flattering on my horse. However, I am hesitant to make the plunge because it seems like it would take a loooooong time to grow back if this is really not considered fashionable anymore.

Does anyone have any strong feelings one way or another?!
Any tips on tidying without creating a mess of it?

[Rnichols]

I had a trainer convince me to clip the top of the tail once (emphasis on this word) and it took FOREVER to grow back out to where it looked normal again. I will never clip the tail again for this reason alone.

Could you try bandaging / wrapping (like with an ace bandage?) the top of the tail, overnight if you have an early ride time or for a couple hours before your ride? I’ve seem people do this and have thought about trying it but not sure how the finished look turns out / how long it lasts.

[CoconutEventer25]

I clip my horses tail. I start with scissors and go in with clippers for underneath. I then use scissors again to touch up the sides. It’s something that can easily be done poorly, so I always recommend before going back in to touch it up, give it a day. It’s too easy to start cutting and cutting and cutting and before you know it, it’s botched.
I would never take clippers to the actual top of the tail, only the sides and underneath are what you’re cutting.

It takes about two years for it to look normal again if you decide to tidy it up.

I really like the look of a tidied tail that is quite short (just below hocks), so that’s what I go for on my horse

[LCDR]

Will an eventing judge will penalize a horse, otherwise well groomed, with a fluffy tail top?

[Rapunzel]

I have never gotten the impression that the horse is judged differently with a fluffy tail and have had judges leave comments at the bottom of my tests complimenting my horse’s turnout that way.

My personal opinion is that trimming the top of the tail is just more flattering on some horses.

[evtrmom]

This is what we do too

[FLeventer]

I used to pull tails. It was just the way I was taught and I personally liked the look. A few years ago, I tried pulling my geldings tail and he had a strong aversion to it. It was very uncomfortable for him and I started rethinking pulling in general.

I clipped his tail and clipped a lot of tails for the trainer I was working for. I went over them with a razor, the little purple ones you’d use for the nose and it looked quite good. You really have to take in the horses build and kind of plan though. Each tail is different.

I sold a horse to a jumper and the whole time she complained about the tail being shaved.

I now leave them natural. I’ll wet them and wrap, which makes them look quite good. No issues and honestly I like the look. It’s grown on me. I like a natural tail.

[beowulf]

@LCDR

Will an eventing judge will penalize a horse, otherwise well groomed, with a fluffy tail top?

Not explicitly, however, a side effect of working correctly over the back and into to the contact is a lifted tail – AKA, daylight between the tail and the hindquarters. The base if the tail is clipped/groomed to the skin to really highlight that open daylight between the tail and the haunches.

[HJdaydream]

I noticed during Kentucky that it looked like Will Coleman’s horses had the tops of their tails braided very discreetly for dressage and SJ. I thought it looked really nice!

[Willesdon]

@HJdaydream At a big international Event like Kentucky, the groom is likely to have only one horse to look after for five days. There is plenty of time to really polish up the horse and do the nice-to-have things.

[Sticky_Situation]

It seems like braided tails have become common in eventing dressage these days.

I know traditionally the dressage folks thought that braiding a tail could lead to tension in the back end (or at last the appearance of it) and a loose tail looked more “relaxed” but I don’t know if there’s actually any truth to that

[fordtraktor]

If you want something in between, I use a SmartGrooming rake on the sides of my horse’s tail. It thins down poofiness but looks very natural.

I show dressage and nobody is braiding over here, or I would braid. I used to braid hunters and can do a really nice tail. I do think the braids look pretty!

[KellyS]

@Rnichols

Could you try bandaging / wrapping (like with an ace bandage?) the top of the tail, overnight if you have an early ride time or for a couple hours before your ride?

I would respectfully recommend not bandaging a tail overnight or for any length of time. I worked in a vet clinic the year before university, and we had a horse come in that had to have its tail amputated because the wrap had been on too long, affecting circulation and causing necrosis.

Obviously, this is an extreme example, but it had quite an impact on me. Typically I wrap before warm-up and then remove prior to going in the ring, and avoid having a bandage on for longer than an hour. If I don’t have someone on the ground with me to pull it off, I don’t worry about wrapping.

I think a pulled/clipped tail looks really sharp, but it requires a lot of upkeep and none of our horses is competing enough to make it worth it.

I am tempted to braid the tail after spending many years braiding tails in the hunters, but I haven’t seen that trend show up at “regular” dressage shows yet.

[Rnichols]

Oh wow! That’s wild. I haven’t bandaged my mares tail yet but that’s definitely something for me to keep in mind, thanks for bringing that up as a warning.

[Jealoushe]

I think most judges prefer a fluff tail imo

I trim one of my girls but only because she gets very hot under her tail and it helps her keep cooler in the summer. The rest stay fluffy.

[Trak_Eventer]

My mares have crazy thick hair. I enjoy the trimmed top and then wrap with an ace bandage when I start grooming to get them ready to slick it down. Pull the wrap off right before getting on.

[Argo]

Professional’s Choice makes a tail wrap for trailering that is easy and low risk to put on and take off. Works great for taming the poof.

[Xanthoria]

@Jealoushe

I trim one of my girls but only because she gets very hot under her tail and it helps her keep cooler in the summer. The rest stay fluffy.

I’ve considered this as a good reason to trim the dock as it’s hot here in the summer so overheating can be a risk.

My mare also dislikes getting her tail wet and occasionally will do a little buck. So I bang the tail the traditional 6” below point of hock when carried.

I like the look of a clipped dock and a short banged tail too - it looks sporty and businesslike to me, and shows off a muscled butt.

And tail braiding… no, let’s not start that! Another fiddly, time consuming (or expensive) thing to worry about on black tack day‽

[Jealoushe]

100% on board with the banged tail. Nothing in my barn without one lol. Messy tail ends make me cringe.

I actually learned at the Arabian museum in Kentucky that the reason Arabs have a high tail set is to let heat out from their dock and keep them cooler in the desert. I figured it might be worth trying my mare who gets so hot and itchy back there and voila, worked.

[Xanthoria]

That’s interesting! Ok I feel validated My mare carries her tail high and does the vertical tail flick over jumps so maybe my dock trimming is pointless but I still like the look!