Tails

I didn't know where to put this thread, but anyway, I help out at a stable for a little bit of money (not much!) and they recently bought a new horse. Its a white Hanoverian around six years old and is a fairly good jumper, but for some reason he only has a little stump of a tail like its just growing back. Why to people cut back horses tails, because they are too long or hard to groom or something? Thanks in advance for the answers!

He probably got a knot in his tail and nobody was patient enough to untangle it, so they cut it.

There are a number of reasons and like sunny said its mostly like they had a tangle and just chopped it off because they didn't want to take time in getting it out.

The other reasons could be is if the horse is a mare and had a baby I know of a few people that cut their mare's tails off for birthing reasons.

If the horse is a cart horse sometimes they chop them off to avoid getting tangled in the cart and leathers.

The other reason could be a bit extreme but they could of cut the tail off and sold it. They are a lot of money and maybe they wanted to sacrifice for some money. (The horse could have been a victim of someone coming in the barn and chopping it off and stealing it.... but again a bit too extreme of a reason).

A pasture mate could have eaten it off, it happens

Oh the horse might have rubbed it off also.

these are great reasons. And if she was in with goats goats nibble off tails :P

I have another idea which I learnt in school actually - Apparently people cut horses tails off for the bows in violins which make the sound. I think it is pretty mean - Why should horses suffer? (I know that horses don't actually feel much tho, but still!) :(

I had a mini mare with a tail that drug the ground about a foot and a half, my pygmy goats decided it was a bag of twizzlers one night and devoured it. They left me peach fuzz on her tail bone, a year later it is almost on the ground again.

Sometimes, if a horse is being swam (in a pool), they cut the tails so that they don't get stuck in the drain.

The horse could just have a naturally skimpy tail, we've got a couple at my barn with very pathetic tails, and they were just born like that.