Some horses have beautiful long tails naturally. Others need some help. And no, I’m not talking about tail extensions.

Taking proper care of your horse’s tail can make a big difference.

Instructions:

• Make sure your horse’s nutritional needs are covered. Feeding a complete feed, or adding a multivitamin, can help ensure that your horse has the nutrients he or she needs. Feeding flax seed, or a flax-based supplement, often helps make a horse’s mane, tail and coat shinier because they add Omega 3 fatty acids to their diet.
• Touch the tail as little as possible. Daily brushing is the last thing you should do.
• In fact, put away your combs and brushes! The best way to detangle your horse’s tail is by hand, otherwise you risk breaking the fragile hairs. This is especially true when the tail is dry.
• Use a conditioner or detangler to help get knots out. You can leave it in the tail for added conditioning. Lots of people swear by Shapleys MTG, others like regular conditions or Meka Tek Cell Rebuilder, I’ve even read about some off the wall home treatments such as bacon grease! If you’re looking for something from your medicine cabinet, baby oil isn’t a bad choice. You can use it in the winter to keep the hair from drying out.
• Keep your horse’s dock, sheath or teats clean. If these areas are dirty, they can be itchy. You don’t want your horse to rub its tail.
• Protect your horse’s tail (and the rest of his coat) from the sun by using textaline fly sheets. They cover the top of the dock.
• When you ship your horse, put a tail wrap on. Even horses that don’t normally rub their tails will sometimes do this when trailered, maybe because they end up leaning on the butt bar. A neopene tail wrap can really save his tail from damage.
• Some people braid the tail or put it up with strips of cloth or in a tail bag. I wouldn’t recommend that you try this in the summer, when your horse needs its tail, but lots of people put up their horse’s tails all winter.

A baroque horse with Running braid.

Spanish, or running, braids are used on horse breeds where the manes are left long. This includes Baroque horses like Andalusians and Fresians, and breeds such as Arabians and Morgans who need to keep their manes long for breed shows but might also compete in hunters or dressage.

Whatever the reason, it is a lovely technique for keeping those flowing manes under control!

Instructions:

• Start with a clean mane that has been combed until it’s knot free.
• Dampen the mane to help with the braiding. Sometimes it’s helpful to use a spray on solution such as QuicBraid to help the braids hold better.
• Begin your braid at the top of the horse’s mane near the poll or right behind the bridlepath.
• Take three pieces of mane about 1/2″ wide. The first two passes are like a normal braid.
• When you start to braid in the third strand, add more hair (another 1/2″) to the existing strand and braid it in.
• Continue to add mane ONLY to the left hand strand and you will start to see the braid emerge at the bottom of the mane.
• When you get to the end of your horse’s neck, continue braiding the mane into a “pigtail.”
• Add some yarn into the braid and continue until the hair is too think to hold a secure braid.
• Tie off braid and then fold the braided pigtail under the braid.
• Tie off the braid by bringing one part of the string up through the braid and making a square knot with the bottom string.

Tips

• If you braid too tightly, the braid will stretch when your horse lowers his head. Make the braid a bit loose but still secure.
• Keep your hands close to the horse’s crest and directly below the part of the mane from which you are taking hair. This keeps the braid from stretching out.
• If your horse has a really thick mane you can braid it down both sides.

Video Demonstration

Carrot stretches are an easy and fun way to stretch your horse.

Stretches help keep your horse supple, can prevent injuries and improve performance. “Carrot stretches” are an excellent way to encourage your horse to stretch. After all, most horses can be bribed by food!

Carrot Stretches are easy ways to stretch your horse’s neck and top line. They are something that you can incorporate into your grooming routine because they take just a few minutes.

• Start by asking your horse to stretch sideways by holding the carrot to each side either along his barrel or back toward his hip. To achieve the stretch it’s important that your horse keeps his feet still and doesn’t move his body to get the carrot. He may not be able to reach all that way to his hip at first, so it’s okay if you work up to it. You can subtly adjust this stretch by having your horse reach toward his stifle or elbow as well as his hip. This movement stretches your horse’s neck and shoulder.
• Next ask your horse to bring his head down toward his chest by holding a piece of carrot there. This movement stretches your horse’s poll, crest and neck muscles, and opens the space between the base of the skull and the first vertebra (atlas).
• Finally hold the carrot between your horse’s forelegs near the girth area. This helps stretch his topline, crest and withers.

Tips & Warnings

• It’s better to stretch after your horse is warmed up. It’s not a good idea to stretch cold, tight muscles.
• The best time to stretch is after you’ve warmed down.
• When you start a stretch, first ask your horse for only a part stretch. If he does okay with it then you can extend it.
• Start with easy stretches, then work up to harder ones.
• As your horse gets more flexible, increase the length of the stretches so that they hold the position for 30 seconds.
• Don’t forget to stretch both sides of the horse.

Video Demonstration

There's no guarantee that your bracelet will turn out as nicely as this one from www.highhopesdesigns.com, but it can be a inspiration.

Horse hair jewelry is a great gift for equestrians and a fun way to honor your horse.

Bracelets and necklaces are not easy to make but with some practice you can make gifts for your friends and yourself.

So, how do you start?

Instructions:

• Collect tail hair from the horse(s) you want to use. If you have horses with different colored tails you can braid them into a pattern!
• Take the hair from the bottom of the tail bone. You need to take long ones. You’ll need about an inch in diameter. Put a rubber band on them (a braiding band works well).
• Next, wash the hair with shampoo. It’s really important that the hair be very clean; you may need to wash it more than once. Don’t use conditioner on it!
• Get supplies at a craft store such as Michael’s, AC Moore, or JoAnn’s Fabrics. They sell jewelry findings that you can use to attach the ends.
• When the hair is dry, take carpet thread that matches the color and wrap it tightly. Then use E-600 glue around the thread to help it hold.
• Decide what kind of braid you would like to try. Round braids work well. If you’ve ever braided a lanyard, you will find the same techniques work. Here’s a site with instructions.
• Attach the finding to the end of the bound hair. Put some glue in the finding, insert the hair and then squeeze it shut with small pliers. You should put a cloth around the finding before you close it to prevent the pliers from scratching the metal.
• Tie the end to something sturdy so you can pull on the strands while you braid and help keep the braid tight.
• When you reach the end, wrap it with thread, seal it with glue and add the second finding.

Tips

• Make sure to keep the braid snug but not too tight as it will kink.
• Trim any hairs that stick out of the braid with scissors.
• You can spray the braid with hair spray to make it stick together better and make it shiny.