Coping with a cob tail

You've inspired me to get in top of the tail when I get home. I've only once managed to brush it all the way through and it took 3 days. It's so heavy! I tried washing it this summer and only managed to get a third of the way through before I have up partly because I felt bad there was no way it was going to dry any time soon and it just got heavier and heavier, I put part of it over my shoulder and it weighed a tonne, took hours to get the suds out. I'm going to invest in cowboy magic I think. At the moment I brush the underside as it gets filthy when she's in season, apply shires no rinse shampoo and then pig oil. She lives out unrugged so she needs it relatively natural. Plus I think if I plaited it it would be a lethal weapon. Like those dinosaurs with the boney tails (?ankylosaur?).
 
Native pony owner here with a big tail!

I'm a recent convert to EqWax mane and tail wax. It's natural & non silicone based so find it stops breakage.

I just wash it every now and then, cut it straight (I go shorter in the winter) and detangle and use the mane wax every week or so.
 
Cloball said:
You've inspired me to get in top of the tail when I get home. I've only once managed to brush it all the way through and it took 3 days. It's so heavy! I tried washing it this summer and only managed to get a third of the way through before I have up partly because I felt bad there was no way it was going to dry any time soon and it just got heavier and heavier, I put part of it over my shoulder and it weighed a tonne, took hours to get the suds out. I'm going to invest in cowboy magic I think. At the moment I brush the underside as it gets filthy when she's in season, apply shires no rinse shampoo and then pig oil. She lives out unrugged so she needs it relatively natural. Plus I think if I plaited it it would be a lethal weapon. Like those dinosaurs with the boney tails (?ankylosaur?).
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Given the amount of mud in my field we will not be entering any more in-hand shows until next summer so I will chop away the underside of the tail and bring it up a few inches. If you use cowboy magic on the underside it really does help to stop poo etc sticking.

And I share your pain on washing them! We have really low water pressure so it literally takes forever.
 
Wig's tails is pretty thick. I cut it to about 4" below his hocks about twice a year - and never when we have a proper public outing coming up as it looks awful for the first week or two, I've no idea why but it just doesn't sit right until it's had a good soaking by the rain a few times. I have to cut it like a hairdresser cuts hair, one layer at a time and using my fingers as a guide to make sure the layers match up. I brush it out with loads of mane and tail conditioner - take a chunk, spray it, brush it through put it in a hair bobble to keep it away from the rest of the tail, then brush it through all in one once I've got all the tangles out - about once a month and in between I just give it a flick with a dandy brush to remove dust and debris.

He's got a shavings top layer to his bed at the moment and they're a pain in the backside. Soaked wood pellets are so much easier to remove so think about the bedding you're using too.

The grey boys had tail bags which were brilliant at keeping them clean but I'm not convinced they kept them tangle free, when I undid the plait there would still be some bits tangled together somehow.

Luckily, his mane is nowhere near as thick and much more manageable.
 
I've been using a tail bag(s) over winter, and I recently discovered that Bitebacks Sweet Relief Midge Barrier Spray is the most effective tail detangler I've ever had. A friend put me onto it, and I was sceptical, but I've tried cowboy magic, muck off, etc., and this biteback product is the best.
 
planete said:
I thinned my little cob's mane and tail regularly when I first got him then decided it was too much faff. I now use loads of Cowboy Magic once a week and comb it through. The rest of the time a quick brush with a natural bristle dandy brush keeps him presentable. Every Autumn I shorten his tail to just below the hocks and it grows back over Winter ready for the flies. About once a year I shorten his mane to stop it from going below his elbow, using a sharp blade to thin and shorten the ends. He will get rugged with a lightweight rug with a neck cover to stop his mane becoming a muddy tangled mess in a few weeks.
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I could have written most of this. I buy the Cowboy Magic serum in the largest bottle. Costs about £80, but it lasts me over a year using it weekly. I haven't thinned his mane and tail this year, but I do shorten the tail as above. I've just been away for a week and despite no brushing at all and stormy weather it took me 10 minutes to do both this morning.
 
I use pig oil, in a spray. Much cheaper and better than detangling spray and also helps to repel a bit of mud. It was actually a tip in H&H that a friend spotted. I use the Lincoln one, but I think Gold Label does it too.
 
I bought cowboy magic after it was raved about on here a year or two ago and was unimpressed. I dug it out after reading this at the weekend and used huge amounts, like a palm full for the forelock. Seems really good! Detangled but not greasy or flat. I'll see how long the effects last for.
 
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