Cutting off tails!!!!!!

My young mare fidget has a pathetic tail and I want my girls to take her out....but I'm too stingy to buy a false tail! They retail at around $180 New Zealand dollars and sometimes you have to dye anyway to get a good colour match....I have another mare that doesn't go out anymore and she has a beautiful tail and they match...both chestnuts...................wait for it.......hee!hee! Am I a bad mummy if I cut Sweetie's tail for a falsey for fidget?????

Come on be honest... Tell me what you think!!!

lol tumai. Sounds like a good idea to me.

But does Sweetie have a thick and long enough tail for you make into a falsey though? Will you regret having a horse that had such a beautiful tail, to have no tail, and have to wait for it to grow back?

Hi Tumai. :)

Do you mean you would leave the other chestnut without anything below her dock?
It sounds a good idea in theory, but the only thing that would concern me, is horses rely on their tails to swoosh/flick flies away etc
Could you not just pinch a portion of it, just to bulk fidgets up a bit, so it doesn't look quite so bad? Then that way your other horse would still have her tail to do the neccessary.

Well....... what I do with my horse is (this is only temporary) wash it!, and plait it real tight, put a bandage tightly round it too, leave it for several days and then remove it ( bearing in mind that s it's only thick for a few hours) but it does work for shows! I do it all the time! And because it's washed it's lovely and it shimmers in the sun!! Good luck!!

Robyn-Niagara...can you tell me more??? Where do you start your plait from and do you wrap the dock as well or is it just below end of dock?

my girls are disgusted that I would even conteplate cutting sweeties tail right off!! They have advised me to take some from sweetie and some from peaches who is also chestnut... ...I have been told off!

I agree with the plaiting of the tail to make it more thicker, basically I would just wash his or her tail, then plait it tightly as high up as you can get it, then wrap it up tightly but not to tight and leave 4 a fw days or just even overnight then in the morning or after the few days take it out of the bandage and the plait and brush it through, all this does is makes it frizzy and makes it look much more thicker. It works brilliantly for me. Good luck with whatever idea you choose.
Anneka
Xx

Perhaps trying Shapley's M-T-G and bagging Fidget tail will help. It keeps the tail from breaking off and being damaged further. The M-T-G cause a growth spurt - I have heard of tail growth as quick as an inch in two weeks. It works very well.
Like Meggymoo said, I'd worry about Sweetie being able to fend off the flies.
As far as bagging - it can be done numerous ways, but I always suggest braiding or bagging below the tail bone to ensure no circulation is lost in the tail.

HI,

If you are showing then you have a prob, if not then it is just a cosmetic issue, it does not change you being able to ride the horse.
As for cutting the other horses tail, I would advise against it, a horses tail is a natural fly and bug remover/defence.

You could also try "peanut oil" on your horses tail, it stimulates growth. (its an old remedy, and takes time to work) it is also cheap to buy.

Hey Kristy, what is Shapley's M-T-G? Can you tell me more..is it a feed? Yea I,m not to keen braiding and bandaging the dock more than overnight even...can cause lots of pain!! Not so good for Fidget. The problem is not so much the fullness of the tail but the length!! Not a good look at shows with a sawn off tail. She's only new to us and previous owners had her with calves who made short work of her tail...I know it will grow back, but I need her out and about especially since I would like to put her on the market in the spring. We are in Autumn here.

M-T-G is a topical solution that you massage into the roots on the tail. I think you do it once a week although I'm not sure - but it tells on the bottle.
I've never had a problem with a tail sock. It's easy, quick and isn't as difficult as plaiting. I do a single braid down my horse's tail, slip the sock over and tie the sock at the top of the braid. The horse can still swat insects, the bag is very light weight and the braid will stay for a week or so.

M-T-G: