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The tack room

Discuss horse riding and ownership on our Horse forum.

Original poster

This isn't how you clip a tail, is it?

24 replies

WeirdlyKind · 30/01/2022 16:34

Pic was shared on Facebook by a pro groom. I've been out of the horse world for a while but it's absolutely terribly done, isn't it? The dock is absolutely bald!

OP posts:
lastqueenofscotland · 30/01/2022 17:09

You don’t clip you pull for a start!!!

Original poster
WeirdlyKind · 30/01/2022 17:12

Well, yes and no. I never pulled tails but had a horse that was both very sensitive and had a massive tail. Pulling was torture for both of us!

You can clip and shape a tail nicely but not by shaving it bald. 😭

OP posts:
Aphrodite31 · 30/01/2022 17:14

Omg that's horrific 🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈😥

No, that's not how my Manual of Horsemanship taught me to do it!

Pull it. I know on reflection it must hurt a bit, but clipping will produce a toothbrush forever ....

Aphrodite31 · 30/01/2022 17:14

Pro groom?

Original poster
WeirdlyKind · 30/01/2022 17:17

Not my horse or handiwork! I just can't get over how terrible it is!

OP posts:
toppkatz · 30/01/2022 17:18

Dear me, that's bad. What about the other end, have they shaved off all its whiskers as well?

Original poster
WeirdlyKind · 30/01/2022 17:21

Hard to tell because the pic is quite dark, but yup, looks like it.

OP posts:
LBOCS2 · 30/01/2022 17:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LBOCS2 · 30/01/2022 17:44

Sorry - wrong thread!

DobbyTheHouseElk · 30/01/2022 17:46

@LBOCS2

There's a world between 'past their best' and 'inedible'. I'm sure it'll be fine :)
um..are you on the right thread?
Cakeismyhero · 30/01/2022 18:10

That's going to look.like a toilet brush as it grows out!! Horrendous, I would be fuming if someone did that to my horse!

liveforsummer · 30/01/2022 18:18

Certainly never seen it but a lot has changed in the horse world since I had them. In my day it was a crime to take a pair of scissors to a mane, these days it's the trend. Maybe this is the new in thing

Original poster
WeirdlyKind · 30/01/2022 20:05

Not a fan of cut manes, but there's way to do it with scissors where it looks much more natural!

This is how I used to do it www.google.com/amp/s/practicalhorsemanmag.com/.amp/health-archive/clip-your-eventers-tail

OP posts:
liveforsummer · 30/01/2022 20:33

[quote WeirdlyKind]Not a fan of cut manes, but there's way to do it with scissors where it looks much more natural!

This is how I used to do it www.google.com/amp/s/practicalhorsemanmag.com/.amp/health-archive/clip-your-eventers-tail[/quote]
All the ones I see look exactly I expect a cut mane to look. Like the horsey equivalent of a bowl cut 😆

Original poster
WeirdlyKind · 30/01/2022 20:35

It happens all too often!

OP posts:
Biddie191 · 31/01/2022 12:04

I have seen them done like that before, but think they look awful, don't give any protection, and will look terrible when they grow out. You can do a pretty decent job on a thick tail with a solo-comb, gives a pulled look without pulling. The trick is to not try to do too much at a time.
Fortunately we don't show, so ours all have full tails, and just get plaited on the rare occasion they need to be a bit neater (so for dressage, pony club tests etc). My daughter's mare has quite a thick tail, but it still looks nice plaited.

SilkLabrador · 31/01/2022 12:06

I let a groom pull my horses tail once... she pulled not only the sides but the middle, it looked so bad and grew out like a big brush 🥲

RatherBeRiding · 01/02/2022 12:48

Unfortunately I've seen a few like that and they look awful. I hate the look of a shaved dock so back in the day I used to plait for showing/dressage/hunting as i found it a hell of a lot easier!

toppkatz · 01/02/2022 14:40

Makes me glad I worked with palominos, as they are always shown with a full unplaited, unpulled mane & tail. The only thing we did was to pull out the odd chestnut hair.

Didn't half take some washing come showtime though!

Original poster
WeirdlyKind · 01/02/2022 14:58

@toppkatz

Makes me glad I worked with palominos, as they are always shown with a full unplaited, unpulled mane & tail. The only thing we did was to pull out the odd chestnut hair.

Didn't half take some washing come showtime though!

Oh tell me about it! I had a very light grey and a bay with four stockings, a belly splash and a massive blaze. Both of them enjoyed mud baths! 🙈🤣
OP posts:
VeganVampire · 01/02/2022 18:07

Horse came with a tail clipped down the edges to tidy, and I've just carried on doing it as it bushes out too much before it gets to a length that can be neat. Just the longest bits down the edges, and the lower bits grew 'downwards' enough to grow out into the rest of his tail. It hasn't occurred to me to try the solo comb instead. The tail in the picture isn't pretty - do you think something happened and it all needed to come off to start again?

Oogabooga123 · 03/02/2022 20:05

We hog dpony so clip the sides of the dock, last lady that came to clip shaved the entire dock and it looked awful, glad it’s rug season so was always covered until it grew out

Honeyroar · 03/02/2022 22:29

A lot of people that clip professionally do dreadful tails like that. People say how lovely they are! It baffles me. I think it’s hideous.

I’m very much trained in the old school - everything pulled properly, however I’ve concluded it is pretty cruel, and nowadays I can do a pretty comparable job with a solo comb and rake.

MrsWinters · 06/02/2022 12:18

Some of the polo grooms I worked with previously would clip like that as it looks ok when plaited up. But looks a bit stupid to me

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