what is a good conditioner for a horse's tail?

Question

I own a beautiful quater horse qelding and we show mainly hunterjumper. I've teried several products,but I would like to know what some other people,besides those at my show barn,use. Thanks.

Answer 1

I've found that it isn't so much about the conditioner you use, but the *way* you use it. After washing my horse's tail and rinsing it well, I lather on a very generous amount of conditioner. (Since a large bottle is only good for 5 treatments or so, I like to get the Family Size bottles from the dollar store... my horse can't tell the difference!) I work the conditioner in gently, avoiding bunching or balling up the tail which causes tangles and pulling hairs out. Then, my "secret" is to do a very lazy rinse job. I'll hold the hose against the base of the tail with the water on, work out the conditioner from the tailhead to the end of the tailbone, then leave it at that. The idea is to wash out most of the conditioner on the tailbone where it could irritate the skin (and make a too-slippery surface to attach your tailbag) but to leave a light coat of conditioner in the rest of the tail hairs. I rinse it well enough that you can't visually SEE the conditioner in the tail, but you can run your fingers through the wet tail and know that it's still mostly there. After letting the tail dry, combing it out gently, and braiding it snugly but not tight enough to break hairs, I tie my tailbag on.

Here is another "secret" of mine: I french-braid the hair on the tailbone and down to the end, then pull the tailbag up over about two thirds of the tailbone and tie it to the braided hair. I DON'T tie the tailbag around the tailbone itself, but through the pieces of hair that are french-braided on the tailbone. This way, there is no pressure or constriction on the tailbone which can cause a lot of nasty problems. You'll need a pretty long tailbag to do this, or you can fold up the end of the braid to shorten the overall length. The three-tube tailbags don't work with this method so you'll have to use a "regular" lycra, nylon, or cotton bag.

Try to leave the tail alone as much as possible, only taking the tail out to wash/condition (every two weeks or so) or for shows. The less you brush it and expose it to stalls/dirt/etc where it could get tangled and dirty, the better! Good luck and with some time you'll have a beautiful, long, thick tail!

Answer 2

I'll have to second (or third) the use of MTG. My Morgan gelding rubs his tail, and with this product, I noticed regrowth results within the week. I also use Show Sheen as a detangler/leave in conditioner - it helps take snarls and knots out of his tail, while also preventing future knots.

When bathing - I've found that using a really rich human conditioner (like Tresemme) on the tail keeps it healthy and prevents brittleness and breakage. This combined with MTG or Show Sheen makes for a beautiful, healthy tail.

Hopes this helps

Answer 3

Yes to the tail so long as it wont be in direct touch to the epidermis and a gigantic no for the mane. I was once encouraged an anti-frizz to hold my horses mane tame so I used it and he got here up in gigantic welts the following day, was once now not an attractive sight and I felt so unhealthy for the deficient factor. From then on I vowed to certainly not use human merchandise on my animals once more. The terrible factor approximately human merchandise is the element they use to bind the oil to water, it is tremendously unnatural. I'd suggest utilising virgin coconut oil for manes and tails or different varieties of cooking oils (no seed oil) as it is relatively nourishing and is not messy so long as it is implemented evenly. Stay transparent of youngster oil because it draws daylight which dries out the fur and motives white aspects to burn.

Answer 4

I use MTG (main and tail groom) It's not just a conditioner, it works on rubbed hair and tails, sore spots and ALL sorts of other stuff. My Arab rubbed his tail for 5 years, and nothing worked to get the hair to grow back, and i noticed a difference using this in one week. It will make you Quarter Horses tail longer and thicker as well. You can get it for about $15 at Fleet Farm

Answer 5

Have to go with what everyone else had recommended, Mane&Tail, does work wonders, even on human hair. Can also get it at some wal-marts in the pet section now. Have helped others at different shows, had one friend who liked to use bag balm (small greeen box, kinda like vaseline) for her one horse who had a chronically dry coat, and brittle hooves, worked great on him.

Answer 6

Cowboy Magic works really well. It protects the hair, leaving it silky and full. It's expensive, but you only use about a quarter size for a full tail so it will last a long time. It doesn't dehydrate the hair like showsheen or lazersheen do.

Answer 7

Main and tail is what I always used and to get there hair white if it has white hair. Use this shampoo called blue it's actually purple when you put in on but in work's so good I used it for all my shows. But main and tail is the best product on the line and you can use it in your own hair to is safe and makes your hair soft and strong.

Answer 8

I use Mane and Tail and then to protect it in the show ring from dust and tangles and even at home to keep tangles out- I use Show Sheen.

Answer 9

We've had great luck with Infusium23 it's cheap at Target. They have rinse and leave in conditioners

Answer 10

I use kirkland hawian ginger root conditioner you can leave it in or wash it out and it leaves a beautiful gloss and smells wonderful.