Tail swishing

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m1stify

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Interested to know what tail swishing means to you and what you think/in your experience could be behind it.

Young horse still green in flatwork
Not really travelling forwards especially in trot
Could it be the rider?
This is pretty much hypothetical btw not my horse rather one I’ve been shown that is for sale
 
Just in terms of what it would mean to me, I think its difficult to say without seeing the whole picture.

Some horses may swish their tails through enjoyment and excitement.

If the tail swish was part of an overall uncomfortable looking horse then is it something the rider is doing (e.g is there a swish everytime spurs are used), does it remain the same with other riders?

I'd want to feel along the back with my hands and look for a tail swish in relation to pressure.

It could be anything or nothing and its probably worth sharing with someone you trust, like an instructor, for an opinion. I get the impression you have a gut feeling its a 'not quite right' swish or you wouldn't be asking.
 
could be the rider blocking, holding on to its mouth sending mixed signals, equally could be pain.

I wouldn't be interested, obviously pain is a deal breaker, but a badly ridden young horse can just cause so many issued to unravel it would totally put me off
 
Could be lots of things but in my experience it is often that the rider is giving mixed messages like trying to force the horse into a shape kicking on with a tight contact. Whatever it is, it is a sign of stress.
 
It could be many many things .
In a horse for sale if I could not reduce the swish during the part of the trial where I thinking about how easy the horse will be to train / suit me I would probably move on .
 
My previous horse swished his tail- with the 5* eventer who I bought him from, with me (an amateur eventer), with the pro I sent him to on sales livery, and with his new owner- another amateur. So all very different riding styles and ability levels.

Nothing physically wrong with him- he was extensively vetted and x-rayed as he was sold to the US.

Just how he is and didn’t/doesn’t affect his performance.
 
My experience of tail swishers has not been good but I do think that you have to consider the whole picture that the horse is giving you- ie look for other signs if you suspect discomfort. As others have said, it can mean other things m, but it’s always a bit of a red flag for me now.
 
m1stify said:
Would anyone look at a video?
Click to expand...


Happy to.

I'm prejudiced against tail swishers, I think there's something wrong with most of them even if it's just a poor temperament.

I had one once, he did it all the time even when being led. I never managed to find anything wrong with him but after I sold him I got a call from his new owners saying they couldn't get a tune out of him riding and had gifted him to a groom who was the only one who could.

I'm still pretty sure he had something wrong somewhere, when I look back. It was before the days of xrays for kissing spines, so it could have been that, but his father was also renowned for throwing tricky stock.
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