Why does it stay so short (pic)?

Question

My mare has a really short tail. I am not sure if this is just natural sometimes or did someone cut it. If it got cut how long does it take to grow back? I have had her since Oct. 07. I haven't seen much change in that amount of time. Tell me what you like about her if you want. I think she is awesome but I may be biased.

http://s327.photobucket.com/albums/k441/jonzbyz3/

Answer 1

it will take a while.

horses tails grow slowly,

but some grow faster than others,

but i know horses who's tails have never grow back from being cut that short, so it just depends.

pray it'll grow ;)

Answer 2

Hi sally,

Your mare is lovely! Now as I'm sure you are aware the two primary causes of thin manes and tails among horses are, genetics and improper brushing/combing of their manes and tails. Other causes could include :

*Rubbing - check fence posts, gates, etc. for signs of this

*If your horse is pastured with another horse the hair loss could be caused by the other horse- horses are know to eat each others mains and tails.

*Rapping- I believe improper use  can actually cause additional hair loss. (I know a pony who lost his whole tail when a rap was left on for two days)

Remedies:

* Worm your horse regularly

* Don't wash your horse to often (it will dry their skin out)

*Rinse thoroughly

*It doesn't hurt to occasionally give the roots of the mane and tail a bath with a diluted betadine solution. (stops itching)

*Flaxseed and kelp promote healthy cell and hair growth, so both supplements can greatly benefit your horse.

* Biotin. This vitamin is arguably the strongest secret weapon when it comes to supplements. Biotin is a necessity in the production and growth of cells, tissue and of course hair.



Hope this helped you!

Answer 3

first of all shes absolutely gorgeous! and ya her tail is a bit short! it will be fine tho! (i honestly dont know much about tail... just give it time i guess... good luck!

Answer 4

someone MIGHT have had it cropped, but i doubt it. its always a chance though.

Answer 5

Some horses never get a long tail, but hers is better than some.  It does not look like it has been cut to me.  Sounds and looks like you got a winner.

Answer 6

Mmm.  You do not say how old she is but it is likely that she has had her tail chewed by other young horses in her paddock.  Unfortunatetly it might take quite some time.  Ask your feed store manager or vet to recommend feed supplements for hair growth.

When I worked in showjumping yards in Germany hair was plaited into the tails of young short tailed horses to prepare them for sale.  

Meanwhile never ever use a comb on her, just a soft body brush or just your fingers to separate the hairs and detangle them.

Answer 7

She's a really pretty mare! What breed? I think that the tail will grow back, because horses take their time when it comes to growing, so I wouldn't worry. If you are planning on showing, and you NEED her tail to be fully grown, you can buy a tail extension, just MAKE SURE IT'S THE SAME/RIGHT COLOR!!!!!!! Good luck!!!! :)

Answer 8

yes it is slightly short, but it will grow back! my horses tails grows about an inch a month, yours obviously grows slower. If there hasnt been any change in it for a while then it might be because of damage to the hair roots...

Answer 9

my quater horse's tail was hard to grow. . . but i can tell you what we did for our arab's tail (it grew nicely).

washed the tail, brushed it out and braided the tail (note the tail was dry when we braided it) then vet wrapped it. . . about 3 times a week we took off the vet wrap, if it needed brushed, brushed lightly, and rewrapped it. most times we only revet wrapped it b/c we didnt want to over brush/pull out hair, but we wanted to make sure it was healthy. (when the vet wrap got wet we took it all off and let the hair dry out.)

anyway our horse's tail grew to about 2 feet dragging on the ground behind her (we kept it up except for showing so she never did have issues, and we added a few pieces bailing twine to act like a "fake"tail to swat flys.)

it takes time to grow a nice tail, i'd give it a year of wrapping and caring for the tail until it gets to the way you want it (if it ever does, some horse's tails are harder to care for then others)

Answer 10

She's gorgeous!

Sometimes, a horse's tail can get caught in something, like a stall door, and could be badly damaged to where it stunts the growth of the tail. I doubt this in the case, but you may want to check into it.

I trimmed the tips of my horse's tail so that it's straight across, and it took about a year for it to go back to looking natural!

Just be patient, because it doesn't matter what the cause, your horse's tail will take a long time to grow long.

Answer 11

Your mare is beautiful! Yes, her tail is a bit short but it should grow.  You need to understand that horsehair is much stronger and thicker than people hair and that it takes a longer amount of time to grow back.  I'd say just wait a little longer and maybe put a horse-friendly contitioner on the ends so that they dont break off as it grows.  Origianally, it may have been cut, stuck in a stall door or maybe even stepped on, but it should grow back so give it some time.  Your mare is beautiful so good luck with her!

Answer 12

that isn't a really short tail, it's normal.

Answer 13

To me it has the genetic look of a short tail...born to have a shorter, thinner tail.

My girl has a ratty tail (wish it looked like your girls!)

some remedies you can try:

MTG massaged into the tail bone

Wrap tail to protect from being pulled out

Leave wrap on for a week then reapply MTG and re-wrap

(Know how to wrap tails or you can cause severe damage to the tail bone)

Some people wrap tails for an entire year and only unwrap for shows.

Supplements:

Flaxseed worked well for my boy whom rubbed off his mane and tail (sweetitch)  It's better if you grind it as it is utilized by the horses digestive system more easily.

Omega fats (any supplement containing this)

Biotin (any supplement containing this)

I LOVE Omegatin by Kent feeds.  It has both Omegas and the Biotin.  The results are phenomenal.  

http://www.omegatin.com/What-is-Omegatin...

Horseshoers secret is great too!  It also has both Omega (Flaxseed) and Biotin.

http://www.horseshoerssecret.com/hss_ori...

Massage the tail bone

TIME (it takes a LONG time for tail hair to grow)

*edit*  so busy typing and getting the links Shadow was able to post and mentions the wrapping, takes time, a year of doing so, etc....  I agree with everything she said!

hahahaha

Answer 14

How old is she?

It's take a bit of time, if she wasn't cared for her body is using the food she's getting know for muscle, weight and so on.  I would add about a cup of corn oil to her feed, mix in over a couple wk time, they love it, it's great for weight, hooves, can help with colic, won't make her "hot", skin and coat.  Wonderful all the way around.  My girl rubbed her mane OFF, in the middle!  Stinker anyways with about 8 wks it was 1/2 back she get pasture, hay, oats (small amount) and corn oil:)  Her reward for coming in at night.

Answer 15

Apply MTG by pouring it over the base of the tail once a week (no more) this will help it grow.  Unfortunately about an inch a month is max so it will take a long while to see the difference.  Often this occurs so slowly we do not notice.

Answer 16

You should try MTG, Mane & tail growth. It helps a LOT. Keep her tail well conditioned and put some if this in her feed and hopefully her tail will grow, but if that's just how short her tail usually is it might just be that way. I think she's really cute, love her color, and usually I don't go for the sorrels. :)

Answer 17

i used to have a mare with a very short tail like yours all i did was trim the very, very ends every so often i know it sounds daft when your trying to grow it! but trimming hair helps it to re grow, cause looking at her picture it grows into a point so if you trimmed it so it was sqaured at the bottom it would look thicker and fuller.Then you've just gotta wait for it to grow really it will grow back i promise you! my horses did it took a while but once i'd trimmed it square it did look much better! if all else fails you could take her to the hairdressers and get her some extentions! lol

Answer 18

Some horses tails grow faster than others. It all depends on them. I think there is a hair growing shampoo/conditioner for the mane that you could probably use for the tail (if there is not one for the tail) too.

Just give it time, it will grow back and be beautiful.

Answer 19

She is a lovely girl!

Yup - I'd say her tail is short too!

  Was or is she pastured with any goats or sheep? Sometimes they like to chew tails of horses...I had to add chile powder to my MTG to stop a goat from doing this!

Another horse (espcially a youngster) might be chewing it...

Condition condition condition - and be sure you are only gently brushing the tail with a HAIR brush.

Of course if she were a yearling her tail is the right length!

Enjoy her!

Answer 20

You might try a conditioner on the ends of the hair to keep what she is growing from breaking off.  If she is swatting flies with it or it is particularly brittle, it could just be breaking off as fast as it is growing.  Nice mare.