Tail Growth | Tips & Tricks

Want to grow and maintain your horse's tail? Here are some great tips and tricks we've found to promote growth, maintain fullness, and add shine!

SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER
Washing your horse's tail is one of the best ways to promote growth. Keeping the skin on the tailbone clean and moisturized can allow for healthy hair growth, starting at the hair follicle.
- Once you have gotten the tail wet, start at the top with a high-quality shampoo and work the soap deep into the tail down to the skin. After completely covering the entire area in shampoo, work the soap down towards the end of the tail. Use caution to not rip through the hair strands as you work your way down! After shampooing the entire tail, we like to let the shampoo sit for a minute or so to help break down any dirt and products left in the tail. Start again at the top and thoroughly rinse out all of the shampoo. Rinse for longer than you think you need to, any shampoo left in the tail can dry the skin out and make it itch.
- Grab your conditioner and use a generous amount over the entire tail. Carefully work the conditioner through the strands to the ends, and let the conditioner sit for a few minutes. Rinse the conditioner thoroughly!
- Take a clean towel and pat the tail from top to bottom to absorb the majority of the remaining water.
- Grab your spray de-tangler of choice and thoroughly coat the hair. Let the tail AIR DRY, or use a human blow dryer to get the remaining water out of the tail.
- Never brush the tail while it's wet! Always wait until the tail is completely dry before brushing, wet hair is weaker and more likely to break!

BRAIDING & BAGGING

Braiding the tail is a great way to keep the hair safe and can help prevent daily breakage. We start our braids at the bottom of the tailbone and braid down to the end of the tail. We find it best to keep the braid pulled firm but not too tight to help reduce friction while the tail is in the braid. We also prefer using electric tape to secure the braid versus rubber bands. Any type of electric tape works!

Tail Bags work great to keep the tail clean and safe between washes. In the summertime, during the fly season, it's important to re-braid and re-bag the tail every few days. Constant tail flipping from swatting at flies can cause it to knot right above where the tail bag ties. In the winter, we typically can leave tail bags on for a week or so before having to re-braid. Use your best judgment on the length of time you leave your tail bag on! Keep in mind that tail bags do not cause the hair to grow but instead help to protect the hair that's already there!

BRUSHING & MAINTENANCE

Always brush the hair when it is clean and dry.
Start at the bottom and work your way to the top, using caution not to rip through knots or tangles.
Use your fingers to detangle severe knots slowly.

Cut your horse's tail only after brushing. We prefer to cut the tail even with the pasterns straight across with sharp scissors. Keeping the tail cut at this length can help prevent your horse from stepping on it while backing up in the show pen!

TAIL KNOTS

We always tie tail knots while practicing at home or warming up at shows. This keeps the entire tail high enough that the horse will not step on it.

HOW TO TIE

Grab the entire tail right below the tailbone.
Flip the bottom of the tail upwards creating a loop in the tail.
Pull the lower part of the tail through your loop halfway, similar to a "safety knot".
Gently tug on the loop to tighten the knot.
Take a rubber band and loop it over the TOP of the knot.
Twist the rubber band halfway to create an "X".
Loop the bottom of the rubber band that's below the X around the underneath of your tail knot.
Loop the rubber band around the bottom again to secure it.
The rubber band should be tight around the tail knot!

Be sure to untie your tail knot after your ride to prevent tail breakage.

Click HERE for a good video tutorial!

ALWAYS undo your tail knot before walking into the show pen! A tied-up tail is a disqualification at many shows!

ADDING SHINE

After doing all of the work at home to help your horse's tail grow, it's time to add some shine while at the show! Aerosol spray products work best and typically give us the best results!

Some aerosol oils can leave a heavier residue on the tail; be sure to wash all products out after the show or event to prevent buildup on the tail skin and hair.