What are your best methods to growing a horses tail out?

Question

Hello there folks,

I have a few horses, but one of my higher level dressage horses in particular who have short tails, let me give you background and my question:

I am trying to find the best prefered methods for enhanced tail growth, currentley here is our feed schedule so they are getting lots of nutrition and they are brushed 2-3 times per day depending on work load(they get the third brushing if exsercized and are brushed AM and PM irregardless.)

They eat( and quantity of each differs horse to horse)

Nutrena XTN and Purina Ultium

Soaked Beet Pulp Shreds

Corn Oil and supplements contain (on our privately owned horses) Corta Flx, Mirra Coat, Apple A Day, Strongid C2x and Maxum Crumbles vitamins.

These horses I am thinking of applying MTG as I have in the past but want to know what others think. I do braid and bag some of them but my Dutch gelding whose tail only goes between hocks and chestnuts always gets his tail bag off.

Let me know some "tricks" you may have! Thanks! :)

Answer 1

braided and put in a tail wrap

hope that helps

Answer 2

When I was grooming my horse twice a day he developed some minor skin irrations (hot spots, dandruff & scaley patches).  Fearing a fungal outbreak I called the vet out and he told me I was brushing too much and removing all the beneficial oils and overly irratating his skin.  I dropped the grooming schedule down to less than 15 mins once a day and my gelding's skin immediately improved.

Also, I read an article on show grooming by a groom for the USET and she said she only bathes and brushes tails before a show, other than that she leaves them alone with no brushing and only plain water rinsing.

So, I guess according to both of these resources too much brushing of either coat or tail is too much of a good thing.

A woman at my barn used the MTG product on two of her horses' tails.  One horse's tail improved immensely, the other's slightly.  (Although the stuff smells AWFUL!)

So I would suggest you brush it less and use some MTG.

Good luck!

~~ETA~~

Keep in mind, a horse's tail is genetically programmed to be thin, thick, long, short, etc. and there is only so much you can do.  

Also, during this hot summer of intense flies, I think it is a bit inconsiderate to take a horse's best fly defense system and render it useless by tying it up in a bag.  I am an adament "Anti-Tail Bagger", unless one adds a fly swatting attachment as well.

Answer 3

Some horses will just never have nice long tails, but here's my suggestions to help them at least keep the tails they've already got!

Don't keep a tailbag in 24/7.  I've seen a lot of horses who will catch the exposed hair on a piece of wood, bucket, etc and then rip out chunks of hair.

Washing and conditioning is a good idea, just don't overdo it.  The natural oils in their hair helps keep the tail hairs nice and flexible to resist breakage.  I use a spray on, leave-in conditioner as well.

Don't brush the tail when it's wet.  WHen the tail is wet, it's heavier and more prone to breaking if it's brushed.  The hairs are already stretched from the weight of the water, and they aren't as able to hold up to brushing.  Condition the tail, let it dry, then brush.

You probably already know, but brush from the bottom up.  It keeps the tail from knotting as you brush and won't cause too much breakage.  

I always work on small pieces at a time.  I grab a small chunk, brush it out, and get another chunk, repeat.

Answer 4

I don't think you can do much to make the horse's tail grow faster, but you can protect it from breaking and damage.  I have a friend whose horse's tail drags 3 feet on the ground.  This is what she does:

Wash the tail and load it up with conditioner (just leave the conditioner on it, don't wash it out).

Braid it, starting about 2 inches below the tail bone.

Since the braid is long, take it and fold it up and run it through the braid at the top (so it stays up there).  If the tail is really long you might have to do this a couple times.

Then tie some strings or sections of a ripped up sheet to the bottom of what you have folded up (so they have something to swat flies with).

Vetwrap the whole thing, and put a bit of tape around the outside of the vetwrap so that it stays put.  And make sure you put the vetwrap through the braided part of the tail at the top so that it stays on, otherwise it will slip off.

She does this once in the fall and once in the spring.  The horse's tail stays wrapped unless she is going to a show.  Some people re-do it monthly, it doesn't really matter.  The top bit gets a little tangled after all those months, so you have to be ready to spend a little time getting those knots out (20-30 minutes).  But otherwise it works like a charm.  Unless your horse rubs it's tail, then you have a problem...

Good luck!

Answer 5

Do not comb it out! It pulls the hair out and must makes it that much thinner and shorter. There's not really anything you can do to make it grow, but there are things you can do to keep it healthy and keep it from falling out and thinning. Keep it clean and when need be, untangle it with your fingers very carefully. After a bath, use a tail wrap and wrap it nice and tight to prevent it from being rubbed and pulled out. Also make sure the other horses aren't pulling or chewing on it. If need be, get tail extensions.

Answer 6

Tail extensions...some horses just DON'T grow tails...Hope that helps!

Answer 7

My horse gets a biotin supplement (Biotin Plus or NuHoof Maximizer) because he does not grow hoof wall fast enough. However, biotin also enhances mane/tail growth!

That said, animals, like people, have naturally shorter or longer hair and you can't completely change an individual's genetic tendency.  But the biotin will enhance it.

Excessive grooming of the tail, especially combing it without a detangler, will break the hairs and should therefore be avoided. I always spray with ShowSheen and wait before combing out my horse's tail. (and, BTW, he has a really beautiful mane and tail!)

Answer 8

Comb it out everyday! Then wrap it...

Answer 9

Have you tried anything made for that? I haven't had that problem before. But, yeah, they make like, spray in stuff that makes the horses tail grow. Sorry. Couldn't find the link! Hope I helped!

Answer 10

Bagging tails does not help them grow or get fuller, I think it makes them worse because it breaks the hair. I also think brushing them makes them worse. I bathe my horse's tail once a week, and brush it then when it has conditioner in it. I use a product called Survivor Detangler & Shine, by Eqyss. It seems to work very well and it is all natural, made with herbs rather than silicon. I rub that into her tail either every day, or every other day, that way the tail has no tangles when I brush it once a week. The hair is also stronger that way, so it doesn't break off. Worst chance, you could just braid the tail every night, but I don't really think that is necessary. It could help prevent breakage though.

I try not to brush my horse's tail unless I have some one watching me ride, and of course for competitions or clinics. I try to brush the tail as little as possible, but keep it detangled so it still looks nice.

You could try feeding ground flax seed, but it looks like they are already on a coat supplement. I feed a product by the Natural Horse Vet, called H2Oil Omega Coat Check, which is designed for coats, but I noticed a major difference in the strength of the hair in her tail too. You can get it through this link:

http://www.thenaturalpetvet.net/cgi-bin/...

Good luck! Hope it helps!