Holding tail to one side after pulling

[EarlGrey]

I recently got my horses tail pulled by a professional ( as I didn't trust myself with it for the first time) and ever since he has been holding his tail to one side whenever he moves. It was quite sore after it was done but didn't bleed. The tail bandage that was put on after was very tight and a week and a half later the ridges are only just starting to come out of his dock.
I don't think it is his back as he is not sore to palpitations/pressure and doesn't flinch when ridden. He only started to hold it to one side the next morning after having his tail done and he wasn't ridden in the mean time.
Has anyone had anything similar happen?

 

[blackcob]

Did he go from having a full tail to well pulled all in one session? That must be very sore for him and a tight bandage wouldn't have helped. I was always taught just to pluck out a few hairs at a time every day when grooming the tail and only after exercise when the skin is warm and loose. Is it sore to the touch? I'd apply a nice soothing cream and give it time to heal.

 

[EarlGrey]

It doesn't appear to be sore to the touch now. We have been putting cream on it and tried not to irritate it by brushing the tail. I suppose if it was very sore, a week and a half isn't much time for it to heal.
It did have quite a lot done in one go as he is a cob with a thick tail, the person who did it said it would need another go before it's right but i'm definitely not in any hurry to do it any time soon. I'm really worried they pulled on a nerve or something.

 

[OrangeEmpire]

I'd probably assume the overly tight bandage is more likely to have done the damage than the tail pulling. He may have had restricted blood supply to his dock which will take some time to heal.

 

[Shilasdair]

Can your cob move his tail normally? Does he appear to have feeling in it?
Putting on a tail bandage so tight is dangerous for him - there should NEVER be ridges in the dock afterwards. I don't mean to worry you, but it is possible that the tight bandage has cut off the circulation to part of his tail, and that the nerves/muscles that control his tail are damaged as a result.
If I were you, I'd perhaps clip up the sides of the tail, rather than 'pulling' it all in one go again - and certainly avoid your 'professional' at all costs.
Hope your cob gets better soon.
S

 

[EarlGrey]

Thankfully he can move and swish his tail normally and there seems to be an equal amount of warmth all over his dock. When we first took the bandage off and found out how tight it was, my mum massaged his dock for about 20mins (much to his disgrace)!!! He doesn't seem bothered by it, it just goes over to one side a bit when he moves. I hope it is nothing permanent for his sake! Poor boy! Wonky tail and all, he still managed to qualify for the Royal London Show this weekend gone!

 

[LauraBR]

I would also be much more concerned about the bandage than the actual pulling of the tail. The hair follicles sit so close to the surface of the skin that you would not be able to cause any nerve damage or anything like that simply pulling the hair out- unless you were yanking the tail itself hard enough to hurt the horse?

How long was this tight bandage on for?

Bandaging a tail too tightly for any period of time can cause serious problems; I sadly know a pony whose whole tail had to be amputated having been bandaged too tightly overnight

I agree with Shilasdair and would certainly not be getting this person back for a second bash!

 

[jumpthemoon]

If it was me I think I'd want the vet to have a look. Do you have any jabs due soon or is anyone on the yard due to have the vet out? It might be worth getting him/her to have a quick look to make sure no major damage has been done. Agree with Shilasdair - there should certainly never ever be ridges in the tail from a bandage

Poor boy - I hope his tail recovers

For future reference, you can get thinning rakes that are very good for achieving a pulled tail look, and they are much easier to use!

 

[EarlGrey]

The bandage was on for about 2 hours. Thankfully we didn't leave it over night. We don't tend to use tail bandages anyway as my mum hates them for this reason (if people put them on too tight or too loose, it can cause problems).
My mum has spoken to the vet who thinks it could be an abscess working it's way out as he has seen that happen lots of times before, he thinks the amount of time the bandage was left on, is unlikely to have caused any real damage. If it is not better by the weekend, I will get him to come out and have a look.
I think thinning the tail is the way forward rather than pulling, and I will do it myself as I think I am the only one I can trust with my boy after this! I thought I was being kinder by getting someone else to do it

 

[jumpthemoon]

Aww bless him

At least the bandage wasn't on for too long. The vet doesn't sound as if he is overly worried so hopefully his tail will be fine in a week or so.

With the tail rakes, you just scrape them down the sides of the tail and hey presto, one pulled tail! Can use it to thin the top/front down as well, but don't go OTT with that or it will look like you've massacred it

Def do it yourself in future - it's not difficult and with a bit of practise you'll have it looking lovely. Take a pic of a lovely pulled tail from a magazine so you can see what it should look like when you've finished

 

[Shilasdair]

[ QUOTE ]
The bandage was on for about 2 hours. Thankfully we didn't leave it over night. We don't tend to use tail bandages anyway as my mum hates them for this reason (if people put them on too tight or too loose, it can cause problems).
My mum has spoken to the vet who thinks it could be an abscess working it's way out as he has seen that happen lots of times before, he thinks the amount of time the bandage was left on, is unlikely to have caused any real damage. If it is not better by the weekend, I will get him to come out and have a look.
I think thinning the tail is the way forward rather than pulling, and I will do it myself as I think I am the only one I can trust with my boy after this! I thought I was being kinder by getting someone else to do it

[/ QUOTE ]

That all sounds like an excellent plan - hope he recovers from his wonky tail (does he go round in circles now

?)
S

 

[merlinsquest]

Could it be that if he is cobby and has a thick tail.... you are only just noticing that this is how he holds it naturally (not correct I know).

Because the thick tail has been reduced, any deviation in carriage would be exagerated????