bad tail

[aimee21]

i am thinking of showing my horse i share. she is a 15.1hh cob and is dark bay. she has a hogged mane and brown leather tack, hunter like with a snaffle bridle. i have 1 problem. her tail. i thinned it last year which i much regret and it then got too thin. it hasnt grown back very well and is all rubbed and scruffy. it is also going all grey which it never used to:( her tail is a big let down as she is very well kept and very pretty and smart. has anyone got any tips for me to either help it grow or make it look better! oh and its also very puffy, she has rubbed it and all the ends have stuck out, not to good. thanks xx
also has anyone got any showing tips for me. im a complete novice and would love to get somewhere with her, but to be honest i dont really know what im doins :s ive never done it before and i just want to do something small, though i expect it will be very competative and ill get nowhere :( im going to give it a try anyway, i have a tweed jacket cream gloves the boots etc. do i HAVE to wear a shirt and tie????
thanks xx

[galadriel]

If she is rubbing her tail badly, then she needs something; it may be that her teats need cleaning, or that she needs dewormer. She may simply have rubbed it enough that it's always uncomfortable, and putting something on it to soothe it will help her get past feeling the need to rub it. I read yesterday that calomine lotion or benadryl/hydrocortisone cream may help such itchies; all of those are easily available at your local pharmacy.

[aimee21]

thanks for your help galadriel...
i think i will get something for her tail, i think she is just itchy and it gets sore. do you have any ideas if i can do anything to make it look better as i have a small show tomorrow...
thanks

[galadriel]

Yeah, it sounds like she's itchy. A horse who's scratching her tail may actually be itchy behind the tail, though; the tail's just all the can reach. Pinworms or cruddy teats can also make a horse rub her tail.

To make her tail look better for the show...um. Use hair gel to cement it in place and try to cover up the spots that look bad?

[Kanuma]

yes you do have to wear a shirt and tie and technically you should wear brown gloves and boots. i have a big problem with stan and him rubbing his tail, he also had a thin tail last year as he rubbed it all off. to help it grow better find a suppliment that has lots of Biotin in it as that promotes hair growth. to cover patches of baldness i use some matt black horsemakeup and a little bit of baby oil (only a tiny bit!) then i run a fine toothed comb through it! it only works on very clean tails though!!

have a look on ES's website for details on what to do at shows i cant remember the adress but pm her and she'll be happy yo tell you, Also if she is scratching alot give her a bath with an insectisidal shampoo it helps stan!

[aimee21]

thanks 4 all your help guys,
i did the show yesterday and i used mousse on her tail and a bit of my brother's hair gel to tame the hairs that stuck up! it did work but i had 2 redo it twice :) the show didnt go too bad, i got 5th out of 8 and we did an inhand and got 6th out of about 9 i think. i wore my shirt etc. glad i did because everyone had their shirts and ties on!

Aimee xx