Tail Envy

Okay, there are many things that I envy about other riders and their horses...the ability to do tempi changes is one, the access to a truck and trailer is another, but most importantly is a great horse tail! Super thick and full and really long horse tails. So heavy that the horse can barely pick it up with his tail bone!

The welsh cob in the photo above has a great tail. My friend's friesian has a great tail. The horses at the S.P. clinic all had great tails. It is the one thing Red lacks. He has sort of a skimpy tail. And thanks to his great, great great grand daddy Lapis, he likes to carry it really high l It has lots of beautiful blond highlights but they make his tail look really puny. Another thing is that Red loves to rub his tail during the hot sweaty summers and rub off the very tippy top of his tail.

Here's a picture of his short, skimpy tail that he like to carry like an Arab:

Here is Lapis, his great, great, great grandaddy- an Arab. Red looks just like this when he gets all excited!

But enough was enough! I was no longer going to let his genetics and my laziness get the best of us!

This summer I was very dilligent about taking care of his tail. I started out by saying farewell to the uneven ends of it, banging it, and in doing so it was just below the top of his hocks. (Sniff) Brushing it very infrequently, hand picking it and conditioning it.

A few weeks ago, Aussie WEG eventer and all around cool guy (aren't all Aussies cool?) posted pictures of his 4* horse HJ Hampton (Henny) at the WEG. I have major tail envy. Henny has a great tail, long and thick. It looks so heavy that I don't know how he carries it over the jumps! I was so distracted by Henny's tail that I had to contact Peter on Facebook and ask him how he takes care of Henny's tail. Peter said the following:

Henry has an amazing tail to begin with but the thing you saw on the top to have it looking sharp in the ring was an ACE bandage. You can get them at the drug store. All you do is put a little water on the top of his tail so it sticks and w...rap it down, then when you get to the end tuck it into itself and it will hold. Just be careful to not leave them on to long or put them on to tight! As for the fullness of the tail the trick to keeping it that way is to not brush them to much and ALWAYS make sure there is lots of Cowboy magic or some sort of detangler in it when you do brush it. Use a comb to not a hair brush. Hope that helps:)

I haven't had a chance to try the Ace bandage trick (but I will!). Then the first thing I did was toss out the old tail brush and comb.

I am now using a comb with super long tines, like this one:

The new comb works great! The long tines work nicely through the hair, with less strokes and a lot less hair breakage!

Another piece of advice I got from the DN (who has two horses with really nice full tails) is to, "NEVER EVER USE SHOW SHEEN. IT CONTAINS ALCOHOL!" So now the Show Sheen has been relegated to to the old storage trunk for clipping only.

The coat/tail products I am now using:

Healthy Hair Care Conditioner: This was recommended to me by a pro groom. It is a concentrated formula (mix with water) , contains lanolin and no silicone or alcohol.

Cowboy Magic:I think a little silicone (okay- alot- like a silver dollar sized amount) keeps the hair strands slick and makes the comb go through easier!

Vetrolin Shine: Great for after a bath, wet the tail and coat it.  It is also really nice for all over body shine!