[GiddyUpScoot]

no offense or anything guys but i started braiding my horses tail and it started breaking off from the top in huge hunks when i would take it out he lost about half his tail. I think that it is just so dry in the summer that it is better to leave it down cuss eventually u have to take the braid out and its usually so dry and brittle that it breaks, but thats just my personal opinion.

The top hairs (a.k.a. the feathers) shouldn't be included in the braid at all., therefor they aren't as likely to break. When done properly, a tail that has been put up should only lose a few hairs (since a small amount of breakage is normal). I posed in "Pain In The Butt Tail!" too and outlined exactly how we do our tails here at the barn. We've only had success with the way that we put out horses tails up... I think that the shortest tail we have (excluding our boarders, who's horses tail's are not our responsibility) is my horses, and at that it drags 10-12" on the ground and has grown around 2' in a year. I will try to take pictures of his tail when put up some time, because it can get hard to explain it without a pic *lol*

[Codys Grand Cue]

If you shampoo and condition your horses tail and then braid starting below the tail bone, and put it into a tail bag, it will grow considerably. Thats what I use on all my horses, and they all have long, full tails. A lot of people brush their horses tails every day, which just breaks the hairs and makes it shorter. If its always braided, it cant get knotted or anything. You just have to change the braid every few days, or the hair will get ripped out where your tail bag is tied in.

[sunsetacres]

The other thing that no one seems to mention is that some horses are just predisposed to have long manes and tails. Just like people, horses have certian traits that they can get from mom and dad. If a horse is predisposed to have a lot of mane and tail, it is much easier to get them to grow, by taking better care of them. Some colors of hair are easier than others also. Palominos mane and tail are typically very soft and easy to break, where a chestnut or black horse's hair may be more difficult . Some horses also do not WANT long hair for whatever reason and thwart our every attempt to get it done!! hahahaha If you have a mane rubber, DO NOT braid it. They will end up rubbing an entire braid out instead of the few hairs. I have one mare that I do very little with her mane and tail (brush it occasionally) and comming out of winter I had to cut 6" off her tail so she did not trip on it or rip it off (that is 6" that was on the ground, it was still 2" on the ground after I cut it and is now 4" on the ground), she is black.
I have another that has a very fine mane and she just loves to rub it! I've tried everything and she just makes it worse, so I just leave it alone and take what I get. It is better when I just don't mess with it, she is chestnut sabino. I do like to put their tails in a tail bag in the winter, and I do find that it helps keep it from getting stuck in water , freezing, breaking off ect... keeps it cleaner and way less breakage, and I do end up with longer tails for my efforts. : )

[gummiponys]

Does anyone know a website, step by step for braiding the tail for the horse shows?