matted tails ...

[notpoodle]

not sure how she does it but my pony comes in with a mud encrusted, semi-matted tail from the field every time :rolleyes:

i have been brushing out the dry mud and detangled it on a regular basis but its impossible to keep up with it :rolleyes:

will it do any harm to wash the thing in this cold weather?

does it actually do any harm when her tail is somewhat matted?

ive already lopped about 2 inches of it off as it was beginning to drag on the floor :rolleyes:

julia
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[KarinUS]

How long is her tail bone? Maybe you could wash the 'hair part' so it doesn't make her cold and then towel dry it?

[notpoodle]

not all that long i dont think, never really checked that :rolleyes: she does have an exmoor style 'chute' thing though! i think ill give the hair part a wash at the weekend before riding so it can dry off as she moves around. is there anything i could put on it (conditioner?!) to stop it from clumping up quite so bad?

julia
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[Anth.P]

I wrap Squirrel's tail bone in a tail bandage when I wash his tail in winter. Just gives you a visual guide really so you know where to stop. I just use Carr, Day and Martin Gallop shampoo as usual. I know Squirrel is only a TB so doesn't have a bushy tail but believe me he knows how to get it matted. :rolleyes: :eek: :D

[KarinUS]

Anth,

that's a very smart idea. I might try that on my mare who gets very dangely (even though she is only a QH... :D )

[notpoodle]

am not big on horseshampoo (expensive!) so weve been using tesco own brand babyshampoo over the summer :D

julia
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[Anth.P]

I only use the C,D,M stuff as someone gave me 4 free bottles. :D

I have friends who swear by Tesco shampoo too!! I think it must be a horsey trade secret! :)

Hehe, I don't often get my ideas called smart, I'm thrilled! :D

[notpoodle]

someone at the yard swears by buy-one-get-one free offers for 'umberto' shampoo (also from tesco's!). they come in all sorts of wacky 'flavours', so the horse gets one bottle and she uses the other one herself :D

julia
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[Anth.P]

Hehehe the horse can now truthfully turn down dates as it's washing it's hair. :D

We get baby oil from Tesco as well. That's really good for getting tangles out of tails if you aren't able to wash them. I can't stand the sickly sweet smell but it does work. :)

[Chromelotus]

I frequent an American message board where quite a few people have show Arabs, American saddlebreds, and the like, with those SILLY-long, thick tails that trail 16ft behind them like airplane banners. I started a thread questioning how these people went about growing their horses tail's so long. Obviously we would not want our native pony breeds to have silly long tails that they'd trip over but I picked up some great tips. What these people do is wash the tail (in cold weather just use several buckets of warm water to dunk the tail bone in to rinse the top and save your horse discomfort) and then hose the ends to wash out all the shampoo. Use LOTS of conditioner, comb the tail through and then towel dry. They then braid the tail (being very careful not to braid around the tailbone too tightly and cut off circulation.) The plait is then folded over itself several times and then the tail wrapped in a bandage. They actually leave the tail like this for weeks at a time and it stays clean, unmatted, the hairs don't break and it grows and grows and GROWS. In summer months they attach an extention to the bandaged tailbone so the horse can swat flies!

What I do with my Welshie (who used to come in from the field with a club of mud for a tail! :eek: ) is keep it braided at all times, not bandaged, just in a braid. I've been doing this for about a month now and his tail is already notably longer, thicker and always clean which is great! I started by giving the tail a good wash and soak in conditioner and then towel dried it. Every couple of days I undo the braid, give it a good spray with Canter Mane and Tail Conditioner (which is great stuff and can be purchased from most tack shops.) I comb it through (which takes half a minute, the comb literally falls through the clean, unmatted hair) and then rebraid it, loosely around the tail bone and tightly through the ends. I won't have to wash it again until the summer show season, this method keeps it perfectly clean, even if he rolls around in the field! The Canter spray conditioner really repels dirt and grime too. This saves me ALOT of time and tedious grooming everyday which is great as grooming out all that mud everyday ended up pulling out hairs and thinning out his tail!

[Angiebabe]

Some good ideas there. Spirit came in with a "club of mud" for a tail (wonderful phrase by the way) so I washed it up to dock in cold water with no problem. The I ruthlessly cut off about 3 inches, now I pray it grows back before show season as you're not supposed to touch Fells tails. The main difficulty I have is that it is so thick when I plait it that, as hard as I try, a plaiting band will only go round once and then it falls out. What do I do - get elastic bands or splash out on person hair bands? I tried 3 plaits and that wasn't any better.

[Chromelotus]

WOW! That sounds like one thick tail, lovely! :D I use plaiting bands on Midge's tail, I have some stretchy elastic ones that loop round quite a few times and stay secure. I would go to Tescos, Boots, Superdrug or the like and check out the cosmetics sections. You can get those thin, stretchy hairbands in multicoloured packs of 10 or so and they are excellent quality and quite cheap. I buy loads of them as I'm growing my hair too and keep it in a long plait all the time! LOL Like owner, like horse! :D

[Angiebabe]

It is lovely but not at bath time. I get a chair to sit on while I brush it out cause it kills my back!

I try to leave it in the winter, like it would be in the fells but I can't if it gets too bad. Its worse now he's on shavings as I can't possibly brush them out before I ride so I just shake it.
I'm just glad its not grey/white! I have no idea how they keep theirs clean - they must bandage them all the time.

[Chromelotus]

My pony is a palomino! His tail has stayed almost 100% white since its been washed and braided :) I used to think I'd leave him 'au natural' as he was afterall a mountain pony. Now the little guy has a blanket clip, a rug with a full neck, plus the braided tail. He certainly doesn't mind and I couldn't imagine it any other way as I ride him at least four days a week and used to knacker myself out 'removing the field from the pony' after bringing him in!!! :D LOL! I think taking these measures makes our lives easier and ends us up with a seriously well turned out pony with an exquisite tail that everyone will remark on come the summer show season!

[rocklanenancy]

I use baby oil on the ends of bonnys tail, it seems to stop the mud from sticking, just put a bit on and comb it through. Just be careful if you leave a tail bandage on, I went to a show yard where a very expensive show horse had a tail bangdage left on overnight, the groom put it on too tight and didnt bend the tail to allow the blood supply back after bandaging. the next day when they took it off ALL of his tail hairs fell out too! Last time I heard he had to wear a false tail in shows til it grew back. needless to say the groom didnt work there much longer!:rolleyes:

I agree the cheaper shampoos seem to work better, co-op do a good one for 99p. I wash Flashes tail in this weather and he doesnt mind,I suppose it depends on your pony, he has a thin tail and it dries quickly with a towel.

Nicola

[Chromelotus]

Originally posted by rocklanenancy
I use baby oil on the ends of bonnys tail, it seems to stop the mud from sticking, just put a bit on and comb it through. Just be careful if you leave a tail bandage on, I went to a show yard where a very expensive show horse had a tail bangdage left on overnight, the groom put it on too tight and didnt bend the tail to allow the blood supply back after bandaging. the next day when they took it off ALL of his tail hairs fell out too! Last time I heard he had to wear a false tail in shows til it grew back. needless to say the groom didnt work there much longer!:rolleyes:

I agree the cheaper shampoos seem to work better, co-op do a good one for 99p. I wash Flashes tail in this weather and he doesnt mind,I suppose it depends on your pony, he has a thin tail and it dries quickly with a towel.

Nicola

I've heard horror stories to that effect, Losing the hair is bad enough but cutting off the circulation can result in the loss of the tail bone as well!!! :eek: When done correctly its a very safe procedure!

[rocklanenancy]

Yes of course when its done properly its fine! I tried putting them on bonny but the swine just rubs it on the wall til it falls off and her tail resembles a bog brush:rolleyes: She probably got bored of me putting them on her when I was practising bandaging for my exams.

Nicola

[Anth.P]

ditto Rocklanenancy, sorry for not spelling it out. Never leave a tail bandage on for too long. :)

[eventerbabe]

I usually just wash the hair part of tobys tail once a week then use an intensive detangler such as the cowboy magic one. that will keep his tail tangle free for the rest of the week. i'm not a fan of using human shampoo on horses, our YO gave her horse dandruff coz she used human shampoo that stripped all the oil and moisture out of her horses hair and coat.

[rocklanenancy]

Found this its interesting http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2004/jan/29/yehey/life/20040129lif2.html

Nicola

[cvb]

Lynn Palm wraps her horses tails - or at least she used to ! I saw how she did it when I was over there in 1991, but sadly made the mistake of not buying one of her wraps :rolleyes:

However, I then worked out how to replicate it - using 3 legs of old tights.

You only wrap the part below the dock, and it is self-supporting - so no issues with blood supply etc.

Depending on the tight supply ;) let down every one or two weeks, brush through - rewrap !

One thing you do find is that cos you only brish the tail through every so often, and its wrapped in between - that the hairs that would have been shed along the way and you wouldn't notice (in the field etc) all come out when you brush it through. But actually the tail is longer and thicker - its just the hair loss that you wouldn't normally see.

This was to keep our horses tails out of deep clay-y mud when we were in Cambridgeshire. Don't need to do it here cos the soil is very different.

We did get some odd looks when we rode out...

I guess if you had "novelty" tights you could have fun as well. (not sure fish-nets would work very well :p )

[rockyrobin]

hi notpoodle, you are fine to wash tails in the winter. I use tesco cheap brand & ditto onditioner, helps keep the mud at bay for all of 2 days!! sorry that was really c**p advice wasnt it?

[notpoodle]

hehe i dont actually own a tailbandage :D

ill try with the conditioner first, failing that .. some mane and tail maybe?

im not too fussed about what her tail looks like but im worried it wont untangle EVER if i dont manage to sort it out and im sure shed appreciate being able to SWISH properly and not just wag a clump of mud around :D

julia
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[jessie123]

Try some furniture polish when you brush, you'll find the brush goes smoothly through and there's no need to wash:)

[notpoodle]

euston! we have a tail again :D

i spent an hour washing it, drying it and sifting through it strand by strand .... now she has a tail to swish again, as opposed to an x-large dreadlock :D

julia
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