Arab clipping mystery solved! Not good news

[toffeesmarty]

I think I've found out the answer to the mystery of why some of the Arabs in the stud close to my yard have no tail at the last few inches of their docks. I was talking it over with a friend today and she said she'd heard that it was due to bandaging. Apparently they decided to protect the tails and try to stop the hair breaking as Arabs tails are very fine. They used three part plaited types bandages and plaited them into the last part of the tail (at the base of the dock). Because they then didn't remove the bandages for over a week the lack of circulation effectively killed off the bottom part, the tail dropped out and still hasn't grown back.

So please......don't bandage too tight and if you need to, always take them off or change them at regular intervals.

 

[ajn1610]

Whoops! That was stupid.

 

[PapaFrita]

At a STUD they didn't know NOT to leave a bandage on for that long??? :shocked;

 

[BankEndRescue]

that's ridiculous.....any BHS stage 1 pupil knows not to leave a tail bandage on for any length of time

 

[kerilli]

i hope they have the intelligence to buy false tails and plait/sew them in carefully, so at least the poor things have fly swats for the summer... but i doubt it.
cretins. poor horses.

 

[Dressagebabe]

Does your friend that you were discussing this with actually work at the stud or was she just surmising? The Arab stud I worked at all be it quite some time ago used to 'bank off' the mares tails to prevent the foals from getting eye injuries through the summer. As the Arabs are generally very short coupled they would flick their tails to remove the flies whilst the foals were suckling which sometimes would give off quite painful eye injuries so they used to do this to prevent it happening.

 

[toffeesmarty]

Interesting point, but no she doesn't work there and it was the stud owner who told her what they'd done. None of the horses have foals at foot and are all fully grown. Thankfully there is enough tail left for them to flick flies and they don't seem to be doing it this summer.

 

[merlinsquest]

Are they the sort of tail bandage thingies that snuggy hoods make????

I thought they looked useful but was too worried to use one

 

[toffeesmarty]

I don't know who makes them. They are the sort that when they are done they look like a long plait. This is why I don't think it could be done to prevent tail in the eyes in above thread - as the bandage is the same length as a normal tail. Also the dock looked clipped.
No I'm sure its happend cos the banaging was too tight. I checked tonight and none of them have bandages on anymore, so perhaps they've learned the lesson. We have to hope so.