Does anyone know, please??

[Monty]

About the correctness of banging tails for dressage, and plaiting manes??Rebel's mane plits beautfully.But professionals have failed with his tail.Banging has been suggested.Is this acceptable for dressage, folks??

[intouch]

Sorry Monty, but what do you mean by banging?

[IrisSilverMoon]

in dressage they don't braid tails, you just pull the tops of them to make the rear end look bigger. ;) is that what you mean by banging?

*sigh* sooooo much easier to get ready for a dressage show...fewer braids too!!! umm...i think it's about 15 braids for a dressage horse. Or if you have a long mane and don't want to pull it you can french braid it down the neck.

[Monty]

The top 4-6" of tail is trimmed by pulling,so that it is neater and narrower than below, and it sort of gently fans out after the 6" or so.Does this make sense.It looks very smart,done well;but not everyone is good at it......e.g me!! I just wondered if was acceptable for dressage.

[IrisSilverMoon]

^^^^^^that's what you're supposed to do :)

[myEllie]

Yeah, I have never seen a braided tail for dressage, just pull it and bang it.

[Wally]

I suppose a great deal depends upon the breed you are competing on. A friend has a Haflinger who she competes at high levels on. You know, canter pirouettes, flying changes and the like. She shows him full, no pulling, no trimming mane and tail flying!

[IrisSilverMoon]

it's not really breed...it's more personal choice. Dressage riders do the banging and pulling to accent the horses rear and and make it look bigger. Doesn't really matter all that much if it's done or not.

[Lgd]

Mine are always plaited, but it is really a matter of personal choice. There is no wrong or right for dressage in the UK, quite a lot of people do have pulled tails. It is also a matter of personal choice as to plaiting the forelock or not. My older mare gets really fussy if hers is plaited so it is left loose. The easiest solution is to get a native pony and go 'au naturel' - long flowing mane and tail, no trimming.

[Monty]

OK then.I think we need to bang said tail.Because this trying to plait lark is really getting me down.I'm not bad at mane plaiting now, and tails have always been a doddle for me (daughter...french plaits!!) but Rebel's has a mind of its own!!!
I'll take a photo of his rear end after it's pulled, to show you.Thanks folks!

[LindaAd]

I'm sure full tails are acceptable if they're trimmed and tidy. At least our instructor does affiliated competitions with her young horse - she plaits for big occasions, but I don't think she pulls his tail.

[mikka]

Think it may depend upon the country. In Canada, I've never seen a plaited tail in dressage (but don't put much store in that as advice!). Banging seems to be standard. Manes have about 11-13 plaits.