Tail Bags?

Question

i show in Western Pleasure classes but at lots of shows she must stay in a stall all night. i hate having to wash the tail night and morning. is there a certain braid or something i must do before putting it in the tail bag??? i would think that if i braided it then the next morning it would be all wavy??? please help....

Thanks. ..

holly

Answer 1

well, if your not using a fake tail you can do a mud wrap and leave it for one night, and ONE NIGHT ONLY.

it will be wavy the next day, but what does it matter? lots of horses have natural wavy tails so it doesn't matter.

now, to do a mud wrap you split the tail into 3 parts, and braid each one and tie it off, then you take the three braids and braid them together, and tie it off.  Then you fold the braid up (so the end is by the start of the tail) and vet wrap it all the way around.  Don't do it too tight, just enough to hold.. but it will give your horse a nice wavy tail and keep it completely clean.  All you have to do the next day is take it all down, brush it out (carefully) and your good to go!

this is a mud wrap; http://www.american-flex.com/malina%20ta...  (this is a mare & foal but you get the idea..)

Answer 2

There are two options for keeping your horse's tail nice.  First, if your horse isn't getting manure or urine on her tail, I would probably just leave it plain and brush out the shavings in the morning.

But it sounds as though you must wash her tail in the morning if she's stalled, I'm not certain why that would be.  Does she not lift her tail properly when blanketed, and therefore dirty her own tail?  In normal circumstances horses keep their tails quite clean, even in a stall.  If she is dirtying it when blanketed, you probably need to adjust the blanket's straps so she can properly lift her tail.

So if keeping it plain and simple isn't a great option, then simply wash it and allow it to air dry.  When it's totally dry, spray some "Show Sheen" or other leave in conditioner type product.  Then braid her tail lightly from the dock down.  You want to leave it loose because you don't want her tail to be a tight curl when you remove the braid in the morning.  Once the tail is loosely braided, apply a tail bag properly.  Obviously this just goes below the dock, so there is still potential that your horse could dirty the upper hairs if she lays in manure, but it is very unlikely.

In the morning remove the tail bag and unbraid the tail.  If you didn't get it too tight it will be fluffy more than actually curly.  Just brush it out well and apply more "Show Sheen" and you should be ready to go.

By the way, if you use a tail extension or switch, do NOT leave it in overnight, even in a tail bag.  They are at a real risk of hooking on something, and pulling alot of hairs loose.  You can leave in the small braid that you use to fasten the switch, if you wish.  If you do use a switch, and you braid your horse's real tail at night to protect it, then you should also lightly braid the switch when you store it.   That way the horse's real and fake tail will have a similiar appearance and texture.

You've had a variety of suggestions on how to protect your mare's tail, so obviously there is more than one way to keep it clean.  But I just had a couple of comments.  First, how do you keep a tail bag on if you don't braid the tail?  Perhaps there is a way, but I don't know it.  Without the braid the tail bag will easily slip down the shaft of the tail and slide off, you need the braid to fasten the bag to.  Secondly, I wouldn't be in a huge rush to double your horse's tail back onto itself (I think people are calling it a mud rap, or something similiar)  I know from past experience that most horse's get a real 'kink' in their tail that's tough to brush out if you leave it doubled up on itself overnight, you're probably going to have to wet it down to get it to lay properly.  The mud wrap idea is perfect if your horse is in fact in real danger of getting mud and grime in her tail, but it isn't ideal if you want to unwrap it and show the next morning!

Lastly, some horses tend to hook their tails on the water buckets in a stall.  You may want to use duct tape to make sure there is nothing the tail can accidently catch on during the night.

Hope that helps.  Good luck and have fun.

Answer 3

usually you don't want to leave braids in at night because the horses tend to rub and it causes the hair to fall out. but i think if you used  tailbag they couldn't rub the hair off.. but the trick is that when you un-braid wet the tail before you do so and i will come out straight ;]

Answer 4

braiding the tail isnt necessary, just put it into the bag and leave it, but if you want to plait it down when you take it out the next day wet the tail then brush it straight, then put some sort of the tail shine through it.

Answer 5

Well, looking wavy is beautiful

Plait the tail into 9 small normal plaits

then plait those together

then plait those together

Put the tail bandage on

You don't have to braid/plait the tail at all, you should also bandage the tail as well, incase she rubs the tail bag off

Tip: Wet the tail before plaiting

Good luck!

~Pip~

Answer 6

well i wouldn't use a tail bag i would use a mud not. it is wear you braid the tail and then fold it up and tie it up. i forgot how to do the last part wear you tie it up though. but if you still want to use a tail bag do a big loose braid but when you take it out make it a little damp and brush it and brush it and all the waves should come out. Good luck at your shows. Sabrina