Caring For Your Horses Tail

Today, we enjoy horses for recreation, pleasure, work and sport. This beautiful animal needs our help to care for their health, hooves, beautiful and glowing coats, mane and tail.

Have you ever worked hard to get the tangles out of your horse’s tail? Remember to always use your fingers and proper horse brushes and tools. Using a human brush only breaks the hair and makes it fall out quicker than it can grow.

Horse Tail Care Tips

• Brushing your horse’s daily will loosen and remove dirt and dander. Brushing the dock and upper part of the tail can stimulate growth because it increases blood flow.


• Washing your horse’s tail can be done fairly easy with a bucket of water and a small amount of shampoo specifically developed for horses. Place your horse’s tail in the sudsy water in the bucket and wash thoroughly then rinse.


• Paying close attention to your horse’s tail can help you keep your horse healthier. If your horse is rubbing its tail, investigate to see if there’s a reason. A parasite will cause your horse to itch and rub so be certain your horse is scheduled for regular dewormings. Sometimes a horse can have a skin reaction to an insect bite and need a treatment. Using insect repellants will keep your horse safer and more comfortable. Horses will also rub their tail if there is discomfort around the anus and sheath areas. If you discover your horse has a medical issue, contact your veterinarian right away to take care of the problem promptly to keep your horse feeling great.


• Always remember to stand beside your horse when caring for his/her tail. Standing behind is never recommended even with the best and most well behaved horses.

There’s no magic solution to improve your horse’s tail if there’s a medical condition or nutritional deficit. Your horse’s diet needs to have the proper balance of protein, amino acids and vitamins.

A healthy, well groomed and cared for horse tail will be full, tangle free and flowing. It will be easier to prepare for show in whichever style you prefer. If your horse could talk, it would thank you for caring about its health and helping it maintain a healthy tail.

A great source for Horse information and care is the Australian Stock Horse Association.