How to Wrap a Horse Tail for Maximum Length

In the show ring there is a saying "All things being equal, the horse with the longest tail wins". Here is how to get the maximum length on a horse's tail - you know the ones that drag the ground by a foot or more.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cowboy Magic, Canter, Show sheen or your favorite hair moisturizer - something silicon based is best or baby oil if you are absolutely in a pinch
• A clean comb or brush - preferably one that is designed with smooth bristles to not break the hairs
• Guartex, vetwrap, or some other brand of wrapping material that sticks to itself but NOT the hair
• Fringed polo wrap, cotton rope, twine or some other "string" like material that can be attached to the end for fly swatting

1. Start with a DRY tail. Never wrap a wet tail as it will retain the moisture in the wrap and could "rot" or mildew - causing breakage.

2. Preferably use your fingers to seperate the hairs - or use a comb or brush starting at the bottom of the tail and working upward until all hairs are seperated - be sure that the base of the tail is free of any snarls, knots or "fused" hairs. This is where the Cowboy Magic detangle and shine or other silicon product will really come in handy.

3. Get ready to braid the hairs by grouping the long tail hairs into three bunches - leave out any new growth at the top of the tail or shorter hairs near the end of the tail bone.

4. Starting about 2 inches below the end of the tailbone, braid the long hairs of the tail.

5. Using your Guartex, wrap the length of the braid from the bottom to the top using a spiral motion until the whole tail looks like a mummy. Secure at the top by pushing the end of the Guartex through one of the "holes" at the top of the braid - near the end of the tail bone where you started the braid.

6. When you have finished braiding the entire length of the tail, feed the end of the braid through the same hole at the top of the braid - i.e. where you started the braid. Keep feeding the tail through this hole until you have rolled the whole braid into about a 4-6 inch bunch.

7. If you have no bugs, skip steps 8 and 9.

8. If you horse will be bothered by flies and other insects, make a swatter out of a long (24 inches) piece of Polo wrap that has been cut into fringe longwise (leave a couple of inches in the center to keep the fringe together) - or use twine or something else that can simulate the horse's tail for bug swatting.

9. Feed that through the loop you have created by rolling the tail such that you have an even amount of swatting material on each side.

10. The final step is to wrap the entire bunch of tail around the outside of the original "mummy" wrap, be sure to concentrate on the top of the bunch where the tail end was fed through the top of the braid and also the bottom of the bunch as these are the most like to wear and come apart.

Tips & Warnings

• Check or rebraid about every two weeks especially when in areas or seasons with a lot of bug activity
• NEVER braid or wrap a wet tail
• Do not use too much silicon or baby oil - it will have the same effect as wrapping a wet tail and these tend to get too slippery causing the whole wrap to slip out.
• Be extremely cautious when working behind the horse - this is the horse's blind spot and a easy way to get kicked.

Resources

• Great Lakes Tack carries supplies and more
• InGait carries supplies