Hello, I'm Rebecca Hardman and I wanted to write a guide specifically about growing and maintaining your horse's tail.  I own a 6 year old Palomino Quarter Horse.  So this guide is geared toward the quarter horse breed and their shows.  This is alot of work, so if you aren't planning on showing your horse, then don't worry about it.  But if you are, and you don't want to pay hundreds of dollars for a tail extension, read on!   Last year my daughter decided to experiment on my Palomino gelding's tail.  She butchered it at the bottom and I had to cut off enough to where it fell just below his back hocks (knee level).  Now a year later, it is glorious, full and touching the ground.  Everyone is asking me how I got it to grow out so fast and so full.   Here's your secret to doing the same.

• Cardinal Rule #1:  NEVER EVER brush or comb your horses tail out as part of "daily grooming".  That's what you should do if you are a trail rider or riding for a hobby.  If you want that show tail, you must always follow this cardinal rule.  The only time you can brush it out is on showday.
• Rule #2:  ALWAYS keep your horse's tail braided and bagged.  This protects the tail from getting snagged when they are out in the pasture, and also helps keep the tail cleaner and less tangled.  When you braid the tail, loosely grab it below the tail dock.  Do not start the braid until you are several inches below the dock.  You do NOT want your horse feeling pinched or otherwise uncomfortable with it or he will try to rub.  And this can break the hairs at the top and make the tail look frizzy.
• Things to buy: Mane-n-Tail conditioner, a bottle of Showsheen spray (or similar spray detangler), and a small bottle of the heavy Showsheen detangler (there is a Cowboy Magic brand that is very similar).  This is a thick liquid that really takes out tangles.  You'll need some small rubber bands.  Finally buy or make some tail bags.  (I bought a lot of 20 of them for a great price right here on ebay!)

If you are trying this for the first time, before washing the tail, pick out any burs, sticks, sawdust, etc, by hand.  Then  go ahead and wash your horse's tail, using a good gentle shampoo.  Rinse for several minutes to make sure you are getting it all out, especially the dock area.  Then put lots of Mane-n-Tail conditioner on, working it through all the hairs top to bottom.   You should start to feel the tangles softly coming out.  If you need to, rinse and put it on again.   Make sure all the conditioner is rinsed out, as with the shampoo.  Now gently push the water out.  You may ring the tail below the dock in circles to help get the water out.  Then gently squeeze with a towel.  Now the tail should be damp.  Get out the thick Showsheen detangler.  Put a very liberal amount in your hand, and start working it through the tail.  You will NOT rinse this out, but you will leave it in.  The tail should now start feeling much softer and almost all detangled.  You should be able to run your fingers through the tail.  If not, keep working in that detangler.  Now you are ready to braid and bag the tail.

As I mentioned above, start the braid below the dock area, and do NOT braid it tightly!  Do a nice loose braid.  Also, braid DOWNWARD.  Do not hold the braid up when you are doing it, because when finished and you drop it, it could pinch your horse and be uncomfortable for him!  Braid all the way down to the end, then use a small rubber band to wrap it tightly.  Now slip the braid into the tail bag.  There are 2 or 4 strips of fabric at the top of the tail bag.  Use these to slip through part of the braid, just below where you started that braid, or where it seems most natural to hang.  You don't want it to be too short or too long, so he can swish it around.  After slipping the fabric strips through a couple of the braids, bring them together and tie in a knot.  You will have to tie it very tightly or it will probably come off in the pasture and you will lose it. 

Now that you have the process down, you will have to keep it maintained.  At least every few days (I usually do it every other day), you must take the tail bag out, unbraid the tail and let it fall down a bit and rest.  This will help keep the hairs from breaking.  You want the hairs to all be the same length, from top to bottom, and when a hair splits off, that hurts the look of it.  So what I do is take it out, let if fall naturally, and do my ride.  Now that Vista's tail is touching the ground, I do a very loose braid so it won't drag the ground. Then before putting him back up I redo the whole process of re-braiding and bagging his tail.  NOTE:  you don't have to wash the tail every time.  If it is protected it will keep pretty clean.  You can spray on some of the spray showsheen to help further detangle the tail when you are taking it out of the braid or trying to re-braid.  This is the light solution that works well if the tail is fairly clean already.

Few more tips:  Sometimes I use Shapley's MTG to massage into the tail dock and leave it in until I wash the next time.  This is known to stimulate hair growth.  Vista likes having his tail dock rubbed too since he can't get to it himself :-)!  I also give two supplements to Vista which affect the tail growth.  One is a coat & hoof supplement like Biozin or Shoer's Friend, and the other is an Omega 3 fatty acid wafer supplement which helps his coat, skin, mane & tail.   I use Majesty's Omega wafers and I really believe this has made a big difference, plus he thinks they are delicious treats!  (Majesty's is sold right here on ebay)

If you follow this guideline religiously, you will see your horse's tail grow amazingly fast and full, feeling soft and shiny.  I hope this guide has been helpful to you!  Thanks for visiting me.