Shaving tails...

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show.pony

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Hi all, am I right in thinking that once a tail has been shaved, it can no longer be pulled as the hairs are too strong and will cause the pony serious discomfort? I know shaved tails are a huge no-no in the show ring, but if a tail has been shaved before and can no longer be pulled, if done correctly, would a well shaved tail be acceptable? Thanks very much :)
 
If by shaved you mean clipped I personally think a tail clipped at the side looks nicer than a poorly pulled one and is certainly much easier (doing the whole tail is a no no for me as it looks like a bog brush) but done properly you shouldn't be able to tell the difference. The hair grows back no courser and shouldn't cause any more discomfort so you can pull a tail that has previously been clipped as long as its long enough, if you pull the tail it is likely to grow back courser. Some horses just hate having it done, i suppose its like plucking our eyebrows, not exactly pleasant!
 
Could you let it grow out a bit and then use a grooming rake?
I use a rake on my mares tail and people have said to me how nicely pulled it is, its so quick and easy too.
 
Hate clipped tails - and everyone in polo has them! All our ponies came to us with clipped tails - we grew them out and we plait most of them now but my gelding's tail gets pulled and it's made no difference having it clipped before ( and looks much nicer pulled than clipped IMO!)
 
In my opinion, tails that have been clipped or had those rake things dragged through them look DIRE.

Let it grow out, and pull it properly.
 
I'm probably over sensitive but tail/mane pulling has always seemed cruel to me. It must hurt quite a bit & it says a lot that some horses will put up with it. Saints.
 
Personally, I would get the snot kicked out of me if I pulled my lads tail. Thankfully I don't show him, and for dressage/sj/eventing nobody seems to be quite as fussy... so I use a thinning knife in summer, and clip it in winter. I don't clip all the way around, just the very bad of the sides, and then use the thinning knife on the from and sides to neaten up, so it doesn't look as bad as a fully clipped tail, but much easier and no fighting involved!!
 
If you go on YouTube Lynne Russell does a tail pulling tutorial, she uses a rake for one of them and the tail looks fine.
I think they look bad when people get carried away and then don't bandage to train it down.
 
I HATE shaved and pulled tails and can't understand why things like this have become desirable. Many of the international horses at the Olympics last year didn't have pulled tails and they looked fab. I will never forget seeing a horse with blood spots all over his dock area after having his tail pulled - terrible :(
 
I'd never clip a tail, I'd also never pull a tail either...there's a reason lots of horses don't like it, it hurts!
I don't pull manes either.

I'm pretty skilled with a £5 razor, hair trimmer thingy from Boots, even my instructor (an Olympic eventer) has commented on how neat my 'pulled' tail is :D
 
Yuk, a clipped tail is a huge no no!

Looks horrible and does nothing for the horse.

A properly pulled tail is meant to show off the hindquarters and Looks professional!
 
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