How can I get her tail back???

[ShainaTN]

Ever since Rusty was born... My horse's tail has been disappearing! He apparently has chewed them off. I'm going to be showing her soon and I need a tail! Her tail used to drag the ground, and now it's short and choppy thanks to our own horse hair stylist, Rusty.

Here is a before and after(Rusty was born) pic....

Two years ago....

www.tailfeathersnetwork.com/gallery/details.php?image_id=2119&s=aded8d0bfbbf529c76bf73d207244c2e

Today...



HOW CAN I GROW IT BACK WITHOUT HAVING TO BUY A FAKE ONE? and the fake ones are very expensive.

[brocadosmom]

I have had good luck with a product called MTG. You can get it at most feed/tack stores. You have to wash the tail...put the MTG on the tail bone...can also run it down and thru the hair. Should stimulate new growth and make what she has left stronger and more elastic.

Some people have put Vetrolin on the tail bone also and said that that worked for them, I personally never tried it, cuz I was afraid it would dry the skin out and make my horse itch his tail.

The MTG though keeps my horses tail pretty good, even in heavy show season when he is braided a lot. I show Hunter Pleasure, so his tail might get braided 5 times in a weekend.

I also keep my horses tail up at all times. You comb the tail...hold all of the hair in one hand just below the tail bone...take fingers of other hand and pull out outside hairs, running fingers down the sides and top of the tail bone...take what is left in the center and braid it...leaving about three inches from the bottom of the tail bone to the top of the braid. Braid all the way down...can rubber band or tie with thread if you want, I don't. Then, roll the braid back up thru the top where you started, making a roll of hair. You can then wrap with a sock, vet wrap, guardtex...if you use vetwrap or guard tex, be sure you leave the tabs where you can get to them easily...frustrated tail wrappers have been known to get out the scissors and cut tail along with the vetwrap.

I roll it thru and put a cloth covered rubber band around the ball...stays up well for me...you will have to experiment with your horses tail and your abilities. The sock is probably the safest if you haven't done this before. Go get one of your old socks, a size suitable for the amount of tail you have, cut the top so you have two pieces to tie with, put the tail roll in the foot and tie the sock on.

It is very important to leave some of the hair out of the braid...a lot of people don't do that. If you don't, that hair will break off at the braid and the top of your horses tail will be bushy. If you leave it out, it will grow longer and when you take the tail done, everything will flow smoothly.
So remember to only braid the hair that grows out of the bottom of the tail bone.

Also, get Rusty's naughty little mouth away from her.....Chewing tails if bad..very bad....naughty naughty. If he is still doing this, try the sock with some apple bitters or chew stop or something...or maybe a muzzle for him!!!!

You will want to wash her tail and check it weekly for optimal growth.

Good luck.

[bndranch]

Ya what she said LOL! I have never liked the sock just a personal preference. I also didn't like the vet wrap just because when you do take the tail down you have more kinks in it. You can buy tail bags made out of lycra (I make mine REALLY easy). But the best ones that I have found are the ones that are three tubes. You take each part of the braid through the tube then you braid the tube together. That way no hair on hair braiding takes place!
When I bought my palomino mare her previous pasture mate had chewed her tail off above the hocks. Now I have her on a good grain suppliment plus vitamins (which helps with growth too). The MTG is AWESOME stuff. Her tail is slowly growing but we are below the hocks now!!!
Good luck, but yes get your tail chewer away from her!!
Brittany

[brocadosmom]

A note as to why I suggested the sock...mostly because you don't have a lot of tail left.

My background and experience is in Arabian horses...we have always rolled our tails so that they are off of the ground...if you use the sock you can keep everything up and things stay clean inside the braid. Use a short sock that will hold the tail ball tightly.

The tail bags to me are a nuisance to other horses. When the horse swishes his tail, they swing around and make noise...very annoying to other horses...especially at a show when you are working in a confined area. The three strand wrap that Brittany was talking about looks more appealing...in fact I considered buying one once, but decided not to change what I was doing cuz it was working for me...They at least won't make a lot of noise because they are made out of fleece, but they are pretty long...so you would have a lot of stuff hanging from her tail or you would have to tie it up and that would get bulky.

Anyway...those are my thoughts...try what you think works best for you...all of them work...it is all a preference...

You'd better get going on something tho, show season is around the corner...

[Steph @ Elements]

I had the same problem last year! Magic is a gorgeous black mare and had a long flowing mane and tail. It took her colt less than a week to chew her tail to the bone and her mane and forelock to about 2-3 inches long. I was so angry at him that I practically GAVE the bugger away when he was weaned!

this was before:




and after... Although she had already had several months of growing back by that time. <sigh>


I would LOVE to show her this year, since we didn't dare attempt to show her LAST year looking like that...

[bndranch]

Just a quick note on the individual wrap tube thingy LOL, you can cut it to your desired length. Also non of my tail bags make noise, I make mine out of lycra, I have found othewise your tail will get caught in seam. Also just another quick note. Depending on what level of show you are at and what you are going to show if you don't have a fake tail you are the odd ball out. Okay now before everyone yells at me LOL, I do alot of trail and I do not and will not use a tail but when I show halter or pleasure I will have to look into buying her a tail for a more fuller look (this is for regional shows though). I won't use one for local shows. And you think a fake black tail is bad go look at the palomino ones or white ones (ya I'm in trouble LOL)

[ShainaTN]

I think I will try it and see how it works.... I found it on Valley Vet's website and will probably get it and a tail wrap and see what happens... Baylee will also be getting some of this because her tail is at the hocks too! Mr. Rusty has a very long tail that almost touches the ground and he isn't two years old yet.... will he grow out of this hair chewing stage? I know that is what the babies like to do.

[brocadosmom]

If he is still chewing tails it is probably one of a couple of things:

1 a habit...get him away from them; or tell them it is ok to kick him when he does it...

2 could be a mineral deficiency...get a good mineral supplement...not just a mineral salt block, they are still 90% salt...a good loose mineral supplement...I feed MooreMans...there is a mix for alfalfa fed horses and one for grass fed horses...put a small bucket half full or better in his stall...watch what he does...if he goes for the minerals and starts eating them a lot, leave the bucket there with him until he stops...then take the bucket out...feed it as top dressing on his grain...

I put buckets in my stalls every few months, just to make sure the horses are getting what they need...if they need it they will eat extra, if they are good, the top dressing is enough.

3 Rusty is just naughty...if you can't separate them, try spraying the tails with something like the apple bitters or chew stop...might be messy for a while, but you have to break him of that.

Good Luck