Feathers question

[3kidsandahorse]

My horse is not follicularly challenged. She has a long thick tail and a long thick mane.

http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeq512f/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/belleellie.jpg.w300h196.jpg


This pic was taken 2 years ago.

But over 1 year since I bought her, her feathers still look like a hedgehog. They are about 4 inches long all over her tailbone. I don't think she rubs her tail, and she hasn't been in a set since October. I add MTG occasionally, but she is convinced that I'm doing her dreadful harm and reacts accordingly. :blink:

Is it possible that her feathers just don't grow or is something else up?

[Wind_Chill]

feathers are usually shorter- but not 4 inches long. what you are describing is the 'tail set look' imo. ive had good success with leaving the set off all winter and rubbing MTG on daily, as well as conditioning it...

[3kidsandahorse]

Jenny, what it looks like is a dog's head when you rub its fur . Or a kid's hair when they take off a shirt. I don't know if she had it always or if it's just now. We have had the set off all winter. I'll start using MTG more often now that it's summer. I tried the oil/listerine mixture earlier in the year and she hated that too.

Or maybe it migrated to her mane. Her mane splits into two parts, it's so thick!

[wstrngrl]

Just a work of caution: some horses have a bad reaction to MTG. Sam lost all the hair on his shoulders and hindend where the stuff touched, and his mane developed an almost blister like oozing nasty sore where I applied it.

I recommend washing the base of the tail really good, get in there and scrub hard; raise really, really well. Apply a good salon quality conditioner, rub it in good; let it sit for ATLEAST 5 minutes; the longer the better. Then rinse it out really, really well. Towel dry the hair a bit, then let the base of the tail air dry.

After the tail it dry, pick it out, and put it up (if you do). Then DO NOT brush it out with any kind of comb or regular hair brush); only occasionally with a soft (body) brush, or maybe a wet hard brush. Brush the wet hard brush up against the hair growth, to get the water to the skin; then brush back down.

[3kidsandahorse]

Amanda, her tail looks normal. No oozing, no rubbing, just shorter hairs. I never brush it. I hate to pick it out (slightly under 2 hours to wash/pick :blink: ). Does the wet brushing help hair growth? I understand about the conditioner, and her tail being black is very coarse. So maybe the hairs are breaking slowly and I'm just not noticing?

To be honest, I paid little/no attention to it over the winter once she made known her displeasure of having it covered in anything. :glare: It was only when I put her set on that I went :001_huh:

[wstrngrl]

It is possible that she's rubbing it, even if you never see her do it :p

The wet brush helps keep the base of the tail and the hair moist. Moist hair is less prone to breakage; and a moist tail bone is a better "growing environment".

Since her hair seems to be so dry and brittle, you may want to get some leave in conditioner, maybe something like this:
http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?PGGUID=30e07200-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5

or
http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?PGGUID=30e07d91-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5

Brush (with a body brush, not a hair brush) the tail hair up, spray the conditioner in, and brush back down; and/or rub in by hand.

And use it instead of MTG (just because Sam had a relatively severe reaction, doesn't mean she couldn't be having a milder one ;) )

Also make sure her blankets/sheets aren't too big and hang over the tail (and if there are tail flaps get rid of them!). Last year we had a sheet on Sam (who, if you can't tell, doesn't grow hair real well LOL) that was a bit too big, and where it hung over his tail, it rubbed a line of hair off; after we had FINALLY gotten his feathers to GROW!! :taz: (no great miracle cure there, turned him out 24/7 for a year; when we brought him back his, whala, thick tail.... after a year, between the sheet rubbing, the MTG, and him rubbing; the tail feathers are gone a again :glare: But, TG, they're just short, not 'hedgehoged')

[3kidsandahorse]

No problems with fungus in the summer on a moist conditioned tail? You are in the same climate "soup" that we are, more or less. That's why the oil/listerine spray I used--conditions and kills fungus! OR at least that's what I believed as a kid.

[SmartAlex]

The look that you described does sound rubbed, and her reaction to putting stuff on sounds like evidence she is rubbing too. If she is rubbing, there are tiny abrasions to the skin which not only harbor bacteria, but sting like heck when you apply MTG or listerine.

A wet stiff brush is the minimal care for any tail to stimulate growth. Listerine is the best, and while it stings at first, after a week of killing the bacteria, it will stop itching, (and consequently no rubbing) the skin will heal and it won't sting anymore.

[3kidsandahorse]

Color me confused. Water and listerine? Oil and listerine? Spray in conditioner? Pink? All of the above, just to keep her tail moisturized?

I associate tail rubbing with 1 spot of no hair/sores, and the rest ok. Her entire tail dock is short hairs, and the walls are pretty plain in her stall except for posts. Could she rub just slightly, enough to break the hairs but not leave a "rubbed" place? Her blanket doesn't go all the way over the tail, although it probably touches the base.

[Ride2Live]

My mare is challenged in the tail department all together. A prior owner of hers allowed it to ROT off. While it now reaches the ground, it's not very thick because she just isn't blessed with thick hair. It's thin, brittle and prone to breakage (and had taken on the hedgehog appearance you've described from time to time).

Last summer I began applying hot oil treatments to her tail and it worked wonders! Because it kept the hair nice and soft it stopped breaking and I noticed a pretty dramatic difference after a few weeks. You may want to try it. I get Pink Hot Oil Treatment at CVS for around $3.

[SmartAlex]

Color me confused. Water and listerine? Oil and listerine? Spray in conditioner? Pink? All of the above, just to keep her tail moisturized?

I used to use just cold water and a brush. Then I got tail rubbers, so I switched to Listerine and I haven't had any problems since.

I've used MTG, but I hate the smell, and the Listerine gives me the results I want.

This thread just proves there is more than one way to get from point A to point B.

[wstrngrl]

Color me confused. Water and listerine? Oil and listerine? Spray in conditioner? Pink? All of the above, just to keep her tail moisturized?

I associate tail rubbing with 1 spot of no hair/sores, and the rest ok. Her entire tail dock is short hairs, and the walls are pretty plain in her stall except for posts. Could she rub just slightly, enough to break the hairs but not leave a "rubbed" place? Her blanket doesn't go all the way over the tail, although it probably touches the base.

Fungus? I've never heard of conditioning a tail causing fungus problems :blink:

The idea is to keep the tail moist, not saturated ;)

I've actually NEVER had a tail rubber with a single bare SPOT. Which may be because SPOTs are caused by a horse rubbing on something with an edge (like the edge of a tail board or feeder); but if they're rubbing it on a wall it rubs the entire tail; and causes the 'hedgehog' look.

We actually use to mix up a formula of water, conditioner (regular), and Listerine.

And don't forget about under the tail. Make sure the underside of the tail isn't all dried out either, and keep the area around the anus clean and 'flake free' too.

[3kidsandahorse]

The idea is to keep the tail moist, not saturated ;)

I've actually NEVER had a tail rubber with a single bare SPOT. Which may be because SPOTs are caused by a horse rubbing on something with an edge (like the edge of a tail board or feeder); but if they're rubbing it on a wall it rubs the entire tail; and causes the 'hedgehog' look.

W actually use to mix up a formula of water, conditioner (regular), and Listerine.

And don't forget about under the tail. Make sure the underside of the tail isn't all dried out either, and keep the area around the anus clean and 'flake free' too.

So you don't keep the water on the tail at all times--just occasionally?

Rubbing her tail on the wall sounds more like what she's doing. The barn I grew up in many moons ago had tailboards, and that's where I learned about tail rubbing and sores. That was back when we KEPT horses in sets 24/7/365. I remember the undersides of their tails cracking and peeling. :pinch: Many moons ago, as I said. We weren't as enlightened.

[wstrngrl]

Only do the water thing when you groom. You can do it everyday. But the point is NOT to SOAK the tail; only to moisten :)

What I do is: dip the hard brush into a bucket of water, maybe about 1/2" up the bristles (not the entire brush) shake once; brush tail hairs up (the full area of the 'shortness'), brush tail hairs down. done.

[luvasbs]

we used to use VO5 in a tube.....we'd put it on the "part" of their tail and massage it in....only 2 or 3 times a week, but I think more than anything the massaging to encourage blood flow around their feathers did the trick....the conditioning of the hair helped, too I'm sure.....good luck

[Mare-Girl]

I have recently discovered good results for Selenium Sulfate. That is the ingredient in Selsun Blue Shampoo. It works wonders, doesn't sting, rinses beautifully and then I use a human hair conditioner on the tail. I don't apply anything else, horse wears a set, and feathers reach to the points of his hip bones. Good luck.