hair growth

Ok I know this has been asked a thousand times before but I can't remember the answer and im too lazy too look through old posts to find it :)

My question is about concoctions for stimulating hair growth. Possums hair is quite short at the top of her tail which makes it very hard to braid neatly at the top. I can't get that wonderful MTG stuff everyone talks about as it isnt available in australia plus I prefer to use the natural home made stuff if I can.

So what goop do I mix up to help her hair grow? :)

I use the regular horse products so I won't be of any help in that way. MTG really works miracles and would still say for you to give it a try. Try eBay for it. THey will have it there. I'm a regular ebay-er and order stuff from Aussie all the time. Things that are not sold here and I still spend less than if I order the closest thing here.

www.ebay.com ;)

Personally, I think it comes down to genetics. I've tried all sorts of products when I would show.

You can put whatever you want on there, topical solutions DON'T make the hair/hooves grow any faster. It can improve the condtion of the hair shaft, sort of protect it from breakage and make it seem like it's growing because it's not snapped off, but, we are talking about dead cells. The real factors are gentics and nutrition.

If it's greasy enough, it will weight it down to make it appear longer, but you are wanting the top of the tail to grow, and it just won't happen. If she's rubbing her hiney on something to break off the hairs, investigate and eliminate the cause. Otherwise, I think you just have to live with it.

And I've tried MTG. It's an okay product that has its uses, but it stinks all the time and I've not seen the "miracle growth" that it boasts.

I think you're just as well off, if it's easier, to use human conditioner, and keep her washed and clean.

I have a recipe!

Get a spray bottle and mix up the following in equal parts:
Apple Cider Vinegar
Blue Listerine
Water

Then add like, I don't know, a nice long squirt of baby oil. Shake it all up. I never measured how much baby oil, I just guessed. It should smell sorta funky and be blue. :) It works though, believe it or not.

i may have this wrong but are you implying that im trying to mask a problem that makes her scratch or that I don't keep her clean?? Far from it. The tail is short from when I got her. She had been neglected and had itch. That's why her tail is short. It has grown back now a good 2" but its juts not braiding in neat.

Abby - that's the kind of thing im talking about :) im not the worlds biggest fan of using chemical things when I know there are more natural things that stimulate growth etc. even if its only because its protecting the hair so it can grow without breaking its still achieving the desired outcome

Baby oil will help with that if she's been rubbing. Solomon used to rub from having dry skin, baby oil prevents the hair from being broken. I put baby oil on it, but you can really only do that in the winter. During the summer their hair will probably be burned.

Nope, not implying anything about your quality of care, just covering all the bases for why hair is short or not seeming to grow, but even with people that take immaculate care of their horses, they can get worms, dry skin or even lice (just much less likely and not going to get out of hand) so just to be thorough, I mentioned it.

^^^ fair enough ;)

Do they have VO5 there Jazzy? I read a post about using the VO5 hot oil treatment on the tail. I think its mainly keeping the shaft conditioned enough so it wont break off. Like human hair that is dry, it breaks. I bought some stuff called herbal oil that is sold in the African American hair product section at the store. It seems to be working well. I think any hair oil product would work.
I had to laugh at barefoothooves comment about keeping the area clean. Barefoot, I've been chatting with Jazzy for a long time and know she is fanatical about keeping her animals clean. She probably even gives her fish a bath

[quote] She probably even gives her fish a bath