Do you pull your horses tail?

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Liloandstitch

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I have never pulled any of mine but I know people who do and many people out competing seem to have them pulled. Is there a reason or is it preference? I only showjump at the moment but looking to do some wh and eventing does it make a difference if it is/ isn't pulled? Thanks :)
 
I use a tail rake on my girl. Not for the complete pulled look but to take the 2/3 inches from each side to neaten it up.
She did have a nice full tail, but her lovely field neighbour chewed the side of it and this was the only way to cure the awful bog brush mess that was left.
 
Liloandstitch said:
I have never pulled any of mine but I know people who do and many people out competing seem to have them pulled. Is there a reason or is it preference? I only showjump at the moment but looking to do some wh and eventing does it make a difference if it is/ isn't pulled? Thanks :)
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Never and will not as I hate pulled tails and don't like pulled manes either
 
I use a tail rake - tbh I never really mastered the art of actual tail pulling, and much prefer solo combing manes and tail raking tails rather than yanking hair

My youngster looks like she has a pulled tail, but she's actually just very neatly rubbed it out lol. My older mare has had a "pulled effect" tail for 10 years + and I think it will stay that way until we stop competing. I do just prefer the look of a tidied tail!
 
Under-the-radar said:
I use a tail rake - tbh I never really mastered the art of actual tail pulling, and much prefer solo combing manes and tail raking tails rather than yanking hair

My youngster looks like she has a pulled tail, but she's actually just very neatly rubbed it out lol. My older mare has had a "pulled effect" tail for 10 years + and I think it will stay that way until we stop competing. I do just prefer the look of a tidied tail!
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^^^This. I wouldn't want my hair pulled out at the roots for the sake of vanity; I know people who pull their horses tails until they bleed which I think is pretty horrible. Mine looks lovely with a pair of scissors, a trimmer and a rake, and his mane is solo-combed.
 
Pull manes but never tails, thick full tails look so much nicer! although I wish my horse's tail was thinner, (thick cob tail) . Still would never pull it.
 
Yes I do. I like them to look smart and a bushy tail spoils it when they are plaited up. 2 are pulled and the other we plait as he is not the easiest.
 
Erm some of us do get our hair pulled out for the sake of vanity... My eyebrows for instance. But that's a different story,

I don't pull and actually don't have the stomach for it - it makes me feel a bit ill! I'll find other ways to neaten hair if necessary that doesn't involve actually pulling any hair out!
 
I pull manes but use a rake on tails as neither of mine need a really neat tail

I do think that a really well pulled tail looks nice and is a vanishing 'art' (rightly or wrongly!)
 
A really well pulled & banged tail is an art form, it really presents a horse well. Alas I neither have the skill, or if I'm honest the desire to rip the hair out. I make do with a mixture of rake, stripping comb and clippers to give a reasonable replication but not the real deal!!

No tail plait is going near one of mine, lol!
 
I always plaited for years, a perfect, long tail plait is all the rage in eventing over here! Alas, I'm doing dressage these days, and a plaited tail would have me shunned from the warm up :p My little warmblood has a very nice tail, but himself, is a little on the less mature side. He's a fine horse and doesn't have huge quarters. I think the 'pulled' look has given my more definition to his quarters, and makes them look stronger. I use a stripping comb, no way he would tolerate having his hair yanked out! I think it looks nice, but it does depend on the horse!
 
I trim/ rake my mare's tail - it looks pulled. I personally prefer pulled manes & tails on most breeds, which is why I do it, plus, to me, it looks smarter. :) Unless on a native or field-kept horse, I really don't like full tails.
 
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I pull my horses tail, I think it looks really smart and when a tail is banged as well it can really improve the appearance of a horse. You should always dampen the top of tail and put a tail bandage on after pulling for a while to help set the shape though :)
All horses I've had had no issues with me pulling their tails! I was taught the correct (traditional) way of pulling though by experienced horsemen so don't know if that is a factor. If pulling a horses tail for first time (or it's really full!) I would use a rake to start though.

I don't like full tails (fine on a native but not on a hunter/sports horse etc.) and don't like plaited tails either :)
 
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ihatework said:
A really well pulled & banged tail is an art form, it really presents a horse well. Alas I neither have the skill, or if I'm honest the desire to rip the hair out. I make do with a mixture of rake, stripping comb and clippers to give a reasonable replication but not the real deal!!

No tail plait is going near one of mine, lol!
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I use a rake and pull a bit to get the look I want, I used to pull everything but now use the rake to get started, I agree with not plaiting, no horse goes anywhere with a plaited tail, even the pt2pt horse had his pulled and won best turned out so it must have pleased the judge!!
 
Aesthetically I prefer full manes and tails. I don't even cut a bridlepath in the mane.

ETA - tails only get trimmed lengthwise if they start to stand on it if they step backwards.
 
My horses live out 24/7 in the summer, 12-14 hours in the winter, on the edge of the moors. A nice thick tail is very useful when backing in to horizontal rain, so I never pull or trim the top of their tails. Even the TB's grow huge thick tails at the top. I just plait if I need to smarten them up.
 
Mine are au natural, I did "pull" my boy's tail for showing last year but used a rake, comb and scissors. I dont know how to pull properly so didn't want to hurt him. My method worked really well but he's back now to full on bush mode :)
 
We are showing people so pulled tails are a must - plaited is never correct in showing. Bull nose pliers are a neccessity if you want to have skin left on your fingers. For those horses who object we start with the rake and finsih off with pulling. You would be surprised how many horses are fine with tail pulling. We have one WHP (now retired and left unpulled) who couldn't tolerate mane pulling but would stand happily pulling at his haynet while we pulled his (very thick) tail.
 
Depends on the type of horse. I would never pull my cob x's tail as I think it would look stupid on her and her bum is big enough as it is! She events and I just plait her tail which I think looks very smart. However, I do love the look of 'pulled' tails on finer horses. My older TB always had a pulled tail and my TB youngster will have his done when he starts going to parties.
I do them using a rake and a set of clippers. I think they always look neat and I get compliments on them.
The one thing I will NEVER do is trim off their whiskers. I hate seeing horses without them and I don't see the point as I never notice them anyway. If they have a random long one then I may trim it back to the same length as the others but never completely off.
 
only_me said:
I pull my horses tail, I think it looks really smart and when a tail is banged as well it can really improve the appearance of a horse. You should always dampen the top of tail and put a tail bandage on after pulling for a while to help set the shape though :)
All horses I've had had no issues with me pulling their tails! I was taught the correct (traditional) way of pulling though by experienced horsemen so don't know if that is a factor. If pulling a horses tail for first time (or it's really full!) I would use a rake to start though.

I don't like full tails (fine on a native but not on a hunter/sports horse etc.) and don't like plaited tails either :)
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Same. I have never been a fan of full tails, they remind me of upside down Christmas trees.
 
I don't pull tails, I don't like the look of it. I used to know someone who pulled it so short it would bleed and then shaved it. Why she didn't just shave it in the first place I don't know but it looked so painful and the result was awful.

I have a native X so he has a full tail which I have plaited on occasion but tend to just keep it tidy. His mane is incredibly thick so I do have to pull it as nothing else thins it properly. If I'm competing a lot I'll leave it a bit longer and thin it as it's easier to plait then. If I pull it too short it sticks up. I do also cut it (sort of feather it, like hairdressers do) if I want it shorter. He isn't keen on pulling so I only do it when he's been worked hard and is warm, and only a bit at a time.
 
I have one of my horses tails pulled, he came to me like that and I couldn't be doing with the growing out phase and he events so I like it to look short and smart. I don't pull it myself I pay someone to do it and they do it very well and very quickly, the horse doesn't look like he is in pain and I think if you keep on top of it there is no reason to be pulling clumps out at a time, its one or two hairs. If he started squirming about or physically showed any signs of pain we would stop, but he doesn't so for now we'll keep it how it is.
 
I gouty boy with a pulled tail so I have continued tidying it with a tail rake. I would love to grow it all out but can't stand that christmas tree phase. I expect it would take a couple of years to grow out properly
 
I really like the pulled tails look, but I am not very good at it. I use a combination of solo comb, solo rake and clippers to give it a pulled look without giving me sore fingers, or my horses a sore tail!
 
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