Horse Grooming - The Tail

The Tail

Basic tail grooming begins with simply brushing out foreign material, snarls, and tangles, sometimes with the aid of a detangling product. Horses used in exhibition or competition may have far more extensive grooming. However, the tail's main purpose is fly protection, and certain types of show grooming can inhibit the use of this natural defense.

In show grooming, the dock of the tail (the flesh-covered part of the tail where the hair is rooted) and the "skirt" (the hair below the tip of the dock) may be styled in a wide variety of ways: The tail may be kept natural and encouraged to grow as long as possible, and sometimes even has additional hair artificially attached. Other times, it may be clipped, thinned, or even cut very short. A few breeds are shown with docked tails.

A "natural" tail is not clipped nor braided when the horse is presented in the ring. The tail may be encouraged to grow as long as possible, often by keeping the skirt of the tail in a long braid when not in competition, usually also folded up and covered by a wrap to keep it clean. The shorter hairs of the dock are allowed to hang loose so that the horse can still swat flies. "Natural" tails can also be thinned and shaped by pulling hairs at the sides of the dock, or by pulling the longest hairs in the skirt of the tail, to make the tail shorter and less full, though retaining a natural shape.

Tail hairs are also cut. "Clipping" the tail usually refers to trimming the sides of the dock, to a point about halfway down the dock. Banging the tail involves cutting the bottom of the tail straight at the bottom. In modern competition, this is usually done well below the hocks. On the other hand, Tail extensions, also known as "false tails," or "tail wigs," are false hairpieces which are braided or tied into the tail to make it longer or fuller.

Braiding the dock of the tail in a French braid with the skirt left loose is commonly seen in hunter competition and hunt seat equitation. In polo, draft horse showing and on Lipizzan horses that perform the capriole, the entire tail, dock and skirt, is generally braided and the braid is folded or rolled into a knot, with or without added ribbons and other decorative elements. In inclement weather, many other show disciplines will allow competitors to put up the skirt of the tail into a similar type of stylized knot known as a mud tail.

In the draft horse and some harness breeds the tail is cut very short to keep it from being tangled in a harness. The term "docked" or "docking" may simply mean cutting the hair of the tail skirt very short, just past the end of the natural dock of the tail. However, it can also refer to partial tail amputation. This type of docking is banned in some places, and either type of docking can make it difficult for a horse to effectively swat flies. Another controversial practice, tail setting, involves placing the dock of the tail in a device that causes it to be carried at all times in an arched position desired for show. The set is used when the horses are stalled, and removed during performances. It stretches the muscles to keep the tail in position, and is not used after the horse is retired from competition. Sometimes the process is sped up by the controversial practice of nicking or cutting the check ligament that normally pulls the tail downward. This practice is generally only used for a few breeds, such as the American Saddlebred.