Super cob with paralysed tail - Any tips ?

[SDMabel]

My wonderful 14.2hh heavy traditional cob came supplied with a paralysed tail... we didn't have her vetted and she was minimally handled turned out in a large herd so didn't notice at the time. Thankfully it doesn't really affect her , apart from over summer where I have to be really careful. She cant protect herself from flies so spends summer fully fly sheeted up (one with belly panels ) and her tail is washed twice daily , mainly due to when she poos it gets all clogged up in the tail and the first year I owned her led to flystrike .

Doesn't cause any ridden issues and she's been a fantastic soul to back and get going with her ridden career. She was purchased mainly to show but as it turns out can leap like a stag and has an incredibly brave head so we tend to do a bit of everything now, hunter trials, bloodhounding etc. My issue is getting her clean... I cannot use a tail bag as the wee just runs down and into the bag creating a great big swinging ball of wee . Placed higher up and it would be on her dock so a big no-no. Ive clipped the underside of her tail out to make it less dense without being obvious which certainly helps things, and try to keep it baby oiled - again weather permitting don't want to burn her.

I don't suppose anyone has experienced this or has any magical cleaning solutions ?

We use purple shampoo, fabric stain remover (below dock), fairy liquid (blue) and a lot of scrubbing but it rarely makes much of a difference, its urine stains in a white tail which are so hard to shift ! On showing days we do use sheep white marker spray to cover up the worst but it makes the tail incredibly tacky to the touch.

It's a good job she's so wonderful really as I said i would never own a mare with a white tail..... never mind a paralysed one !!

 

[ycbm]

Can you work out a way to attach a fairly loose waterproof tail cover to the rug, so that it's too high for the wee to go down inside it?
.

 

[Highmileagecob]

If she genuinely cannot lift or move the tail at all, that would suggest a fracture somewhere just above where the tail joins the spine. Any shampoo will do for basic cleaning and hygiene. For whitening, try biological soap powder and soak the tail hair once the worst of the muck has been removed. Rinse well. She looks a sweetheart.

 

[SDMabel]

Can you work out a way to attach a fairly loose waterproof tail cover to the rug, so that it's too high for the wee to go down inside it?
.

I hadn't thought of that.. tried the tail bag then dismissed this method ! Ill have a look this eve, im quite handy on a sewing machine so it might be doable .

 

[SDMabel]

If she genuinely cannot lift or move the tail at all, that would suggest a fracture somewhere just above where the tail joins the spine. Any shampoo will do for basic cleaning and hygiene. For whitening, try biological soap powder and soak the tail hair once the worst of the muck has been removed. Rinse well. She looks a sweetheart.

Yes shes got no sensation at all, you can lift her tail right up almost over her back and she doesn't resist at all. No carriage when excited prancing about in the field and no carriage either when ridden.

Thank you will try the pro-longed soaking method.


She is a fantastic little creature

 

[Widgeon]

Oh bless her....she is lovely! Could you plait it? Or is that a stupidly simplistic solution? One of the girls on our yard does that for her cob, just plaits it into a long single plait with a lose tie so it would come out if caught. It needs re-doing every day but does seem to keep it nice and clean

 

[Gloi]

If you weren't showing I think I'd be tempted to clip it like a Clydesdale.

 

[SEL]

I know a mare who has hers amputated after an accident where it became paralyzed (accident). So no dirty tail issues but she doesn't show.

I use pig oil on the underside of my pony who has loose dropping and a thick tail. Helps to stop the poo sticking.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I would be tempted to cut it short or just keep it plaited all the time.

 

[Goldenstar]

Have you tried tomato sauce wash the worst off then apply the TS a leave twenty minutes wash out .

 

[Quigleyandme]

Nothing to add. Just wanted to say she’s lovely.

 

[angel7]

Agree with gloi, I'd clip the bottom half of the dock to the skin and leave some length at the top so it looks ok without the mess and weight.

 

[HorseMaid]

Oh bless her, she's lovely. The only thing I can think of is the tail bag attached to a rug, really high up - you could sew a webbing loop on the rump bit of the rug and attach with a velcro strap? Although I'd also worry about the underside of her tail getting rubbed by anything there for any length of time, but I think doable with some thought and ingenuity. I can't imagine how much of a faff this has been for you!

 

[Mudfukkle]

Your mare is beautiful.
Regarding the tail bag, that you said gets full of wee, could you not open it at the bottom so that the wee drains out? That way the bag should still keep her clean without collecting the wee.

 

[Horseysheepy]

No help from me, but she's absolutely lovely and I'm not normally a cob person!!

 

[emilylou]

I'd be worried about rubs with something attached to her rug, and seen some nasty accidents when plaiting a tail and turning out, tails caught in fencing etc. You may be okay with something attached to the rug that has genuine silk against the skin as that wont cause rubs but I'd be cautious about anything plastic.
Sounds like you are doing a really good job, I doubt a bit of urine staining on the underside of a tail is affecting your marks too greatly with an otherwise lovely horse.
You could try dying it with white hair dye the evening before the show, but that would require a very good horse and precision on your part. Then plait and position out of the way, but maybe that's unrealistic

 

[SDMabel]

Thanks everyone , her tail is clipped from the underside of the dock so it looks like a full tail but without the weight. I wouldn't feel happy plaiting and turning out should she get it caught on anything she wouldn't notice and could imagine it will cause more damage than good.

Thanks for the lovely comments she's one of a kind ! White hair dye might be one to try ! It's the ends so no where near her dock and thankfully she stands like a rock to have anything done.

She moves beautifully and is marked like a map , I wouldn't like to think a slightly orange tail would loose us too many marks

 

[Highmileagecob]

You could put a polo pony plait in the tail, being sure to tie only the hair below the bone. My cob lives like this all winter, as he is addicted to his daily roll, whatever the weather! The tail flap on his rug covers most of the tail, but at 28 yo he tends to stay away from areas where he could get caught up.

 

[Goldenstar]

A horse can deglove it’s tail if a plaited tail gets caught on something .