Dangers of tail bandages

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hairymolly

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I know the title is a bit dramatic, but so was what happened to my mare last winter. I used to always bandage her tail when travelling to and from shows, thought I was doing her a favour! Went to dressage year past in december and bandaged tail as usual, used a standard shop bought tail bandage and I did noy put it on tight. She had it on for about 4 hours at the most. the next few days after the show she was a bit funny about her back end put it down to the handsome gelding that she fell in love with at the show bringing her into season, she is always a bit funny about bum when in season. Few days later noticed a few tiny wee scabs at the top her her tail, checked it the next day when she came in from the field and the smell from her dock just about knocked me out. Got emergency vet out. Turns out the tail bandage had cut the circulation off and the flesh on her dock had rotted from the inside out!!!! Then spent the next hour watching the vet cut away at her tail with a surgical blade. Was actually physically sick. Nearly lost her from the infection and she was lucky to keep her tail. Felt awful after all I had put the bandage on. None of my horsey friends had ever heard of this but according to the vet its not that uncommon and she said tail bandages shoud carry a warning. Se spent two weeks at vets, had to wear a tail dressing for the best part of three months and the vet bill came to just short of £3000. Please be very carefulif using a tail bandage, and dont leave them on for any longer than necessary and not overnight or on a wet tail. Personally I will never own one again and now use a tail guard with no elastic in the straps that ties to rug to stop it slipping.
 
OMG
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- I shall now invest in a tail guard for journeys longer than 2 hours - how come they never tell you this at PC loads of people were bandaging their horses tail 24 / 7 other than when being ridden at camp last year
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i heard of a similar story but it wasn't the girls fault it was a transporters fault. The horse lost its tail completely, i now only bandage very lightly to hold a plait in place and use tail bags/guards when travelling instead which are velcro rather than elastic.
 
i know its possible to cut circulation in the tail, but didn't know that it could rott from inside out?!?! im not keen on bandages and most of the time just use a guard- ive also used a small tube-a-grip (you know the kind of bandages we use)
but if im not traveling that far-most of the time i wouldn't worry bout using one- i know alot of people would disagree with that.
your poor pony, must of been horrid for everyone. x
 
I remember being at a show and there was a horse in the stable lines that looked like it was really battling to breath. It was lying down and looked distressed. We got hold of the owner over the PA and the vet was called immediately. Worked out it was the tail bandage was on too tight. Amazingly, soon after the bandage was removed, the horse got up and started munching his hay like there was nothing wrong.
Also heard that plaiting horse tails too tightly is not very good either, horses cant bend through their spine properly and its bad for them. The tail is part of the spine, and I reckon you shouldnt mess with the spine at any cost!
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horses cant bend through their spine properly and its bad for them. The tail is part of the spine, and I reckon you shouldnt mess with the spine at any cost!
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very very true- i 100% agree with you,
there is plenty guards around which offer as much protection, if not more than a bandages. and tbh its much easier to put guard on than bandage! xx
 
QR

Flip! I have never heard that before
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Thanks for sharing your story. Too tight tail guards will have the same effect too won't they? What one do people recommend?

I normally use a tail bag instead of a tail bandage (it attaches to the hair not the dock.) for the bottom half of Tara's tail. That's just coincidence though but will certaily carry on with it now.
 
I've heard of that happening here
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It drives me to distraction that the grooms come back from a show and just chuck horses in stables, fully bandaged up, including tails. Sometimes they stay like that for a couple of days. I always check my own horses out and insist bandages are removed and I always get accused of scaremongering
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Helloooo
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Glad you posted this - i absolutely could not beleive it when you told me and i know how guilty you felt about it even though it was ABSOLUTELY not your fault. I had never heard of anything like this and when i was younger it was 'normal' to wash ponies tail the night before a show and leave a tail bandage on!!
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I for one will never use a tail bandage again and i will use gamgee or similar under tail guard for travelling!
 
The annoying thing is that I went to tack shop to buy guard but girl in shop told me they were rubbish and always slipped, so would be better with bandage. Having never heard of this I believed her. The vet did a fab job and believe it was her handy work with the blade that saved her tail. Mare is such a tough cookie and was so good about it and still lets me groom/wash tail. Think many people frequently bandage tails overnight, a few of my friends said they used to do it. I will be happy if one persons learns from my mistake meaning that they and their horse wont have to go through this.
 
The same thing happened to my boy. Not as bad though! I'd left the bandage on overnight
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before a show and he'd rubbed it somehow so that it was quite tight half way down. Kept clamping his tail anytime I went near it. He ended up with a massive black bruise on the inderside of it. I had to cut the hair away from it, wash it and put cream on it everyday. I enjoyed pulling the scab off it in the end much to his disgust
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Nearly a year on, he has a good few inch of hair growing from it, so no long-term damage! I always use tail guards now when travelling. I don't care if his tail's not neat the morning before a show, I'd rather he had his tail than none at all! There's always extra hold gel too
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Edited: to ask OP if her avator picture was taken at Ingliston?
 
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...... the grooms come back from a show and just chuck horses in stables, fully bandaged up, including tails. Sometimes they stay like that for a couple of days.

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A COUPLE OF DAYS!???
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my friend left a tail bandage on her horse for a day for some stupid reason the poor horse got gangreen in its dock lucky the vet saved the dock put he lost all his hair for months!
 
Oh my God - I usually use a bandage and a tail guard, Dibbs has cut his dock before from rubbing it so much, thought I was doing him a favour!!

Will bin the tail bandage now, thanks for sharing.
 
Yup, we had a horse on my yard who lost his tail completely to an infection caused by a tail bandage
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. Poor boy. Transporters taking horses long distances don't use them at all, and the tail guards that attach to a rug or surcingle are probably better than elasticated ones.
 
Thank you OP for posting this!

I was taught only to put tail bandages on to keep a tail flat after washing, but it had to be put on loosely as it would tighten as it dried; we also bandaged tails for travelling. When I worked on an equestiran centre (had the showjumpers yard), only a couple of us, who could demonstrate that we knew the risks and could bandage in the correct way and with the right amount of tension were allowed to use them. Never, ever, ever left them on overnight! Never left them on for more than an hour (unless travelling, in which case they were the first things that came off when we arrived at the show ground). Thinking about it, that at was the case with all horses that I worked with when I was younger.

I don't use them now. I'd much rather get to the yard a bit earlier and rewash a tail before a show (Little Cob always makes a mess, I think he does it on purpose lol). I would use a tail guard in the lorry though, but like the ones that somehow hook onto the rug rather than relying on the tightness round the dock.
 
I never use one on my boy. I did once and he rubbed out a large area of his tail and got very distressed. I have used one once since when I pulled his tail so I could see how it would sit flat, and thankfully as he has so much hair you cant do it tight at all.

I am amused at how tight some bandages I have seen - I am not a weak person but I have had to give some a hefty tug to remove them - that's not right.
 
Oh god never knew that.
I am so glad I dont bother to use a tail bandage. I always use a tail guard, and will definitley be carrying on doing that.
 
Your poor mare, I know when I was doing my exams we were told that a tail bandage should never be left on for more than 30 minutes and never bandage over the bandage and never ever ever bandage a wet tail (our we would be shot!)...which a lot of people do after bathing to lay the tail.

I think this is really good post because at least if some of the younger members on here will learn from this.
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i have a lot of very old cotton exercise and tail bandages that have no stretch left (literally none) and i will use those on tails for a few hours. i have put them on in the evening (on grey mare's tail, in desperate attempt to keep poo off it) and they'd always fallen off by the next morning, they were that loose. i won't use a stretchy bandage EVER on a tail though, i've heard this kind of story before - including that of a mare who was unloaded after a long journey and her whole tail fell off with the bandage.
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We have a pony with no tail on the yard ..
Bearing in mind it happened two years ago there has barely been any growth

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Sorry for the bad photo but you can see his stump
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Yep. We compete Sat or Sun and owners don't come to ride after a show until Tuesday PM...
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Sometimes I just whip the bandages off myself. Especially tail bandages.

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.....And the owners don't complain LOUDLY at their horses being left bandaged up to the eyeballs like that????
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Thank goodness you can see the error in their ways and help get them off when you can. Really surprised no one moans though. Even if they aren't worried about gangrenous tails - I'd hate to think of any of my horses being left bandaged for days on end, without anyone checking and re-applying them daily.
 
Can I just add that a 'so lose it comes undone' bandage carries equal risks, I have untangled a horse that arrived at a show with it wrapped around its legs because it wasn't properly secured - luckily it was a calm sort and let us get on with it - I can only imagine what would have happened if a) we didn't notice it before unloading or b) the horse paniced.

I personally have never had any issues from overtight bandages, but then I would never use them overnight etc. My understanding is that the problem isn't from the general bandage tightness, but from wrinkles that cause pressure points, or where you knot it - it is these smaller areas of concentrated pressure that cuase damage, even pressure over a large area carries less risks (provided of course you don't over bandage, it should come off easily with a firm tug).
 
2 of ours have badly damaged tails from previous journeys. They have a whole ring of clear scar tissue around the dock, and only now, 2 years later is the hair coming back normally (But white, obvioulsy). I saw a tail come off with the bandage, and I havn't bandaged since. A tail gaurd or padding on the box is so much safer (Tail protection is legally required for travelling horses now, I think... WATO?)
 
They don't complain because a) they're totally clueless about horse care (I can only think of one fellow livery who knows how to tack up... and even so he's a bit unsure) and b) they don't turn up until Tuesday anyway, so don't find out....
If I'm unable to get to yard after a show I ask VERY insistently that bandages are removed, and so far they have been (I go as soon as possible to check!)
 
Thanks to all who replied, I really appreciate the good response. And to answer chubbles question: yes picture was taken at ingliston.
 
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