Mares Tail Tangles in Lines-What Would You Use to Prevent?

[Wind]

What would you recommend to use to keep a tail from getting tangled in the lines while driving? My husband had his first lesson and the stdbred mare we purchased is wonderful; but when she swished her tail a few times, the tail wrapped around one of the lines - no so good. Tks

[Equibrit]

Polo tail ?

[Tiffani B]

I have a small braid in the tail near the base of the tailbone, with a loop of string braided into it. I have a string tied to the center of the cart, and after I hook the horse I tie that string to the loop in the tail. It's a LIFESAVER when driving during heavy fly season!!!

The loop is small enough that it will break should anything unfortunate occur... just don't forget to untie the tail when you unhook! :lol:

[SmokenMirrors]

Braid it up then wrap it with some vet wrap, not tight enough to cut off circulation but enough to keep the braid up and out of the way. Once done unwrap and unbraid...

Good luck.

[tandem4u]

A good idea would be to learn to raise your reins out of the way when you see the horse start to swish it's tail !

[nightmoves]

I have a small braid in the tail near the base of the tailbone, with a loop of string braided into it. I have a string tied to the center of the cart, and after I hook the horse I tie that string to the loop in the tail. It's a LIFESAVER when driving during heavy fly season!!!

The loop is small enough that it will break should anything unfortunate occur... just don't forget to untie the tail when you unhook! :lol:

We do this alot at the racetrack

[Cartfall]

Never would attach the horse's tail to the cart in my opinion. :eek:

You can create a set of Amish rings.

They are a pair of 3 inch rings that are attached with a strap about 8 inches long. The strap goes through the top of the harness where the back strap crosses the hip straps on top of the croup of the horse.

So when you hitch you have 3 rings on each side to run your lines through. This last set keeps the rings up above the tail generally.

And yes, learn to keep your hands "in the box"!

[CDE Driver]

I can't for the life of me remember the name of this, but I have a crupper that has a rigid piece that extends down the tail bone and has three little straps that buckle around the tail. It is designed to keep them from swishing their tail over the lines. If I could remember the name of it I would post a link to a picture of one!

I have one horse that has great aim and with one swish can grab the lines under his tail. This crupper totally makes him unable to do that.

[CDE Driver]

Okay, found it..... this is what I was talking about.

http://www.advancedequine.com/Zilco-Crupper-p/940-z444450.htm

[sk_pacer]

I would braid and tie the tail too. Very common practice on the track. In addition to the Zilco tail tie crupper, there is this one from Protecto that works with any harness http://protectohorse.com/tailwrap.htm

[Tiffani B]

Never would attach the horse's tail to the cart in my opinion. :eek:

Understood BUT the tail is attached so loosely that any problems will cause the ten or so hairs in the braid to break, or the string will break. Much like crosstying a horse with a piece of baling twine on the end of the line. Safety! I would never tie it down SECURELY.

[Tiffani B]

Okay, found it..... this is what I was talking about.

http://www.advancedequine.com/Zilco-Crupper-p/940-z444450.htm

Ooooh I like that! I need a crupper for my new work harness - I think I'll be ordering this one!

[LostFarmer]

That is why my draft mares are docked. :D

[Yip]

Lost Farmer, can you possibly give me instructions for achieving this look? My horse still has her tailbone so it would be longer, but I am seriously thinking about doing this look. Or can yoiu point me to someone or a website that explains how to pull it?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2667/4112099357_e2b13e22bb_o.jpg

Thanks!

Yip

[nightmoves]

Lost Farmer, can you possibly give me instructions for achieving this look? My horse still has her tailbone so it would be longer, but I am seriously thinking about doing this look. Or can yoiu point me to someone or a website that explains how to pull it?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2667/4112099357_e2b13e22bb_o.jpg

Thanks!

Yip

A sharp pocket knife or razor.

[Cielo Azure]

Lost Farmer, can you possibly give me instructions for achieving this look? My horse still has her tailbone so it would be longer, but I am seriously thinking about doing this look. Or can yoiu point me to someone or a website that explains how to pull it?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2667/4112099357_e2b13e22bb_o.jpg

Thanks!

Yip

Again, it is usually accomplished by raking -unless you love to punish yourself and your horse. Raking also creates a more natural looking short tail, as it grows, it all doesn't grow out at the same time.

Honest, Draft people these days tend to rake.

http://www.qcsupply.com/qcsupply/browse/productDetailWithPicker.jsp?productId=51135

You just brush and it cuts. Great on manes too.

If you really want to pull, start with the long hairs and work up. A lot of painful work though on a drafty tail -they will get tired of it. So, plan to do it over a few days.

[Drive NJ]

OOOOOOO I soooo need one of those rakes for our Alex's tail
He's a PerchXTB but only has a few molecules of TB in there
He has a glorious long (should be) white tail that he finds too heavy to pick all the way up to poop, so it usually has black streaks down the sides. It is sooooo thick it takes forever to brush out

Luckily he doesnt flip the tail over the reins but I know what that's about
I used to have a Hackney horse with a docked tail (luckily on the long side) but he HATED bugs and would turn the tail into a whirlybird and then reach up and clamp it over the reins
And you knew he was doing it on purpose cuz you could see him stick up the tail and seek the reins with it, Then he'd rub it against the reins before he'd flip and clamp! Clever Devil!

Only thing we could do to prevent it was to hold the reins higher when he was fidgitty like that

[Sithly]

Lost Farmer, can you possibly give me instructions for achieving this look? My horse still has her tailbone so it would be longer, but I am seriously thinking about doing this look. Or can yoiu point me to someone or a website that explains how to pull it?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2667/4112099357_e2b13e22bb_o.jpg

Thanks!

Yip

My farrier cuts the tail straight across below the dock, then bunches the tail up in his fist and runs clippers over it to give it a nice, rounded look. It doesn't look quite like your picture, but it looks very attractive on his horses.

[twofatponies]

OOOOOOO I soooo need one of those rakes for our Alex's tail
He's a PerchXTB but only has a few molecules of TB in there
He has a glorious long (should be) white tail that he finds too heavy to pick all the way up to poop, so it usually has black streaks down the sides. It is sooooo thick it takes forever to brush out

Luckily he doesnt flip the tail over the reins but I know what that's about
I used to have a Hackney horse with a docked tail (luckily on the long side) but he HATED bugs and would turn the tail into a whirlybird and then reach up and clamp it over the reins
And you knew he was doing it on purpose cuz you could see him stick up the tail and seek the reins with it, Then he'd rub it against the reins before he'd flip and clamp! Clever Devil!

Only thing we could do to prevent it was to hold the reins higher when he was fidgitty like that

My Morgan mare had a "monkey tail." I swear she knew exactly what she was doing. It didn't happen often, only if she was really bored or tired: like towards the end of a long day at a driving show. She would flip her tail up and around, aiming to grab a rein. I got very good at raising my hands up just in time. And she was very good about letting me snatch the rein back if she did get it: I'd just reach forward, grab her tail, lift, and extract. Some horses aren't that tolerant of the rein under the tail.

[Yip]

Sithly, that's a great idea! I have her long tail banged, but didn't know how it would look short banged. I like your farrier's method of rounding the poof out..

Jill, you had mentioned raking before, maybe in my post about this on the Horse Care board, but I didn't understand. I have rakes for my collie's and sheltie's coats, but they don't *cut*. Seeing the tool, now I get it. I'm definitely going to order one. I have never pulled a mane or tail and sure didn't want to begin now. And I think this is just the tool I need for thinning dogbellies every summer.

Thanks for the trimming ideas and the heads/hands up about the tails over lines!

Yip

[Cielo Azure]

Sithly, that's a great idea! I have her long tail banged, but didn't know how it would look short banged. I like your farrier's method of rounding the poof out..

Jill, you had mentioned raking before, maybe in my post about this on the Horse Care board, but I didn't understand. I have rakes for my collie's and sheltie's coats, but they don't *cut*. Seeing the tool, now I get it. I'm definitely going to order one. I have never pulled a mane or tail and sure didn't want to begin now. And I think this is just the tool I need for thinning dogbellies every summer.

Thanks for the trimming ideas and the heads/hands up about the tails over lines!

Yip

I have a Perch with a REALLY long dock, tail down to his fetlocks. Last Dec, I thought about taking him to auction (Gordyville), so the tail had to come off.

Here it is after ten minutes with a rake:
http://www.cieloazure.com/corbeau.html

Just remember, what comes off in ten minutes can takes two years to grow back! His tail still isn't near as long as it once was (I decided to geld him and pair him with his full sister -so he is a "keeper.") My first gelding to fool around with in seven years of mares and stallions!

[Yip]

Very nice work! Do you do farm calls, lol?!

And gorgeous boy! I'm glad you decided to keep him. He looks like he belongs in those pictures.

Since it would be such a big change, I think I would start long and work my way shorter as I feel comfortable.

Yip

[Drive NJ]

Yip,

Keep two things in mind if you are shortening the tail this drastically -

1. If you are from a buggy area you will drastically reduce his ability to deal with bugs with his tail. Our docked Hackney was both sensitive and allergic to bugs and it was a bear trying to keep him comfortable in the summer in NJ. I'd rather have had the tail and dealt with the tail clamp by learning to manage keeping the reins away from it.

2. If you show in pleasure classes, a full tail is considered more appropriate than a tail that has been docked, banged short or raked short unless the horse is of a breed that is still commonly docked. Then appropriate to the breed is good.

[rugbygirl]

My filly chewed my Arabian's tail most of the way off (he has a tail bag now), and we're in a very buggy area. If you like the shorter tail for driving, you can always use a short, loose braid to fix some long pieces of baling twine into the tail, which the horse can use as a fly swish. Commercially available tail bags also work as a substitute.

I find the baling twine sort of frays into strands roughly similar in texture to tail hairs, so my horse didn't seem to mind. Accidental tail loss happens, and you can solve the fly swish problem. The solutions work just as well for planned tail loss :)