Tangle Wrangle!

The horse I am adopting on Thursday has a HORRIBLY knotted mane and tail. What should I do to get the knots out? I know to comb it but combing doesn't help! Any tips?
Thanks!

Get it good and wet, put in a LOT of conditioner, and then comb it VERY carefully - with a good wide-tooth comb, NOT with a brush. Start combing at the ends of the hairs (pick up the tail, and start combing, say, the last inch of the tail). Be gentle and use a LOT of patience. When you get the last inch combed out, then start combing a half-inch above that, and so on. Work your way up the tail that way. It won't do any good to start above a knot and try to comb down - that just makes the knot get even bigger and tighter.

With the mane, you might want to consider just roaching it - manes are shorter, so they grow out a lot faster than a tail does...also, they're not as critical to the horse's insect control as the tail is.

That is to say, the mane hair doesn't grow faster, it just takes less time for it to grow out to length because it's naturally shorter...

...and don't forget to thoroughly rinse out any shampoo and conditioner. It might take you a few sessions to get the knots out, just keep being patient and take it slow...

I use eqyss survivor detangler and they work second charm. Use that once a week and then use their avocado spray to fill in the other days and you will see a noticeable difference in hair length, strength and shine and they both detangle really well.

Mineral oil. Soak the knots thoroughly, and let the oil soak in for at least an hour.

Once you have all the knots untangled, you can shampoo out any residual oil.

You don't need all the expensive detanglers.

But what if my expensive detanglers make my horse smell like a flower pot?
And I never heard of the thing that you talked about I am going to try that. Thank you for the idea.

You've never heard of mineral oil? It's cheap, and you can find it at any department, big box, or grocery store.

I really don't like my horses smelling flowery, anyway. Attracts bees!

You could try one of these bad boys!

I think theyre really good. Soak the tail in mineral oil or conditioner or whatever product you decide to go for, and use this to tease out the tangles

(You could try a human hair brush if you don't want to spend $$ they're not expensive, but whats the point in buying summet you already have haha)

Baby oil works wonders

ANY kind of oil--I use corn oil from Aldi bc it's cheap. In this weather you'll want to bathe afterwards.
You'all forgot to mention--FINGER COMB the first time. It is the kindest way to start working out tangles. I think we had a thread that recommended using "Pink" to get out burrs. The tangles from burrs is just as horrible as your description!