Tail Wars

We all love a little tail- HORSE tail that is!

A flowing and beautiful tail is important, no matter what breed we ride or what color we choose. Maybe it all stems from the Anna Sewell classic  BLACK BEAUTY, when Little Joe says that he spends hours on Beauty's tail so it is as fine as ladies hair. ( Or maybe that was Hoss?)

Anyway...

For show horses it is all about the tail.  So much so, that you can purchase fake tails to enhance your horses glory. Around the horse show ring ( at least in my neck o' the woods) you'll hear,  " Oh, it's almost time for my class. I have to go put in my tail and then get dressed." 

 
Bar Hoppin has a long and lush tail- naturally. NO enhancements needed. Just a lot of hard work, shampoo and elbow grease. But it is totally worth it! Just look at it!
 
I've even heard people in the stands comment on how beautiful it is.
 
But some of us have to work even harder to make a beautiful tail for our horses. Desi and I are in that group. Or at least I am, Desi could care less~ in fact he is on a one horse mission to destroy his tail in any way he can.  GRRRrrr! This is what he has done to his tail in the last month! And it is better than it was!
 

It is all my fault of course. I french braided his tail from the top, and then didn't put a blanket over him. ( It was pretty warm and I didn't want to give him heat stroke! HA! Next time- he suffers!)

 

So today I decided to get with the program- The Tail Program that is. I've declared War! Tail Wars!

 

Before the advent of mass produced tail growing formulas I used to have a whole formula of my own for growing long and lush tails. It involved baby oil, Sea Breeze and Mane and Tail. Some times Bactine was added instead of Sea Breeze-but the point is, I thought it worked. I haven't used that formula for a long time, but as I was working on Desi's tail I began wondering if maybe I didn't want to revisit that formula. Maybe it would work!  

 

What do I have to lose? His tail is already a raggedy mess! It can only get better ( or fall completly out!)

 So over the next few weeks I am going to work on Desi's tail, using that old formula and maybe some of the new ones. There are a few brands I am particulary fond of, as you know.

I've taken these before pictures, and I will continue taking photos to compare the results.

 

The program so far~

The tail was washed at the beginning of last week with Cowboy Magic Shampoo. The it was air dried and brushed out carefully, to get all of the dead and broken hair out of the tail. Then it was loosely braided so it wouldn't pull and bagged with my favorite type of tail bag.

 

My favorite bags are made by Tish Harris of Elegant Show Styles. They are fantastic for a bunch of reasons.

They are made of soft and strong fabrics. They have long ties so I can thread them through his tail and knot them securly. They never pull tight and you can always get the knot out when you want to! And she makes them in lots of colors and lengths.Plus they are only about $6 per bag ( they make great stocking stuffers!) BTW- she is a really nice woman that makes fantastic show clothes and NO she didn't pay me for this unsolicited review!

 
Today ~
I unbagged the tail, brushed it out and discovered that Desi had dandruff at the base of his tail bone. That means it is too dry, so I saturated his tail with Marigold Hydrating spray from EQyss. Brushed all of the dandruff from the tail, picking it out with my very cold fingers when needed ( it only reach 50 degrees today!) and then re braided and re bagged his tail. Of course I put a blanket on him, one with a tail flap which will keep the tail from fraying when he rubs against the corner of his barn ( which I know he will do, the brat!)
 
I have MTG that I can use if I need to, but because it is so greasy and stinks I am going to wait and see if the Marigold spray works before using it.
 

Do any of you have any secret formula's you'd like to share with Desi and me?