bracing a tail

[dalzmom]

Does anyone know of a site where we could find pics of someone bracing a tail? My daughter is doing a demonstration for the local 4H group and I can't seem to find any. It would be easier than trying to explain. Any ideas?

[attafox]

Sorry, only one thread allowed. This was the first, so it gets to stay.

FYI, I *really* would think twice about doing that in front of a 4-H group. What is the breed make-up of the group? Unless they are mostly ASBs, Morgans, and TWH, you may end up with a very hostile audience who won't listen very well ...

[roadpony]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but if your daughter is not experienced in bracing tails, why would she want to demonstrate it? If she has other choices, I would respectfully suggest that she pick a task that she is already comfortable and famiiar with.

[Horsecrazy2]

May I suggest showing the 4-H group how to add a fake tail or switch? Many other breeds use them. Not quite as sensitive a topic.

[dalzmom]

Firtst of all, my daughter is 20 and has been working with horses for over half her life. She can brace a horse as well as most here, the 4h group is an older group, (there is only one under 10 and she never shows for meetings), and they all own horses. 2 saddlebreds, one ntl show horse, and 3 walking horses. They had a field trip to one of our local shows, and inquired about the bracing. The leader of the group (whom my daughter assists) asked that she give a demonstration so they would not be mislead into thinking that done (correctly and humanely) that it was not a punishment. I thought they would have a better understanding if they could see photos, apparently I was wrong. Thank you for your comments, and help, but I believe that I will just have them take another field trip to our barn and watch it done.

[SmartAlex]

This is the only one I can think of:

http://www.saddlebredshowcase.com/mmaot08/day2/m020/index.html

[D_BaldStockings]

If you are presenting this information to people who are skeptical, you might want to emphasize that a horse can naturally raise it's tail this high and show pictures of horses with their tails high in a natural setting to go with your demo.

Also, be sure you are using a very happy, easygoing horse who has absolutely no objection to the brace.

You also might want to have some hands-on for the onlookers so they know how flexible and loose the tail is, and that the horse feels no discomfort.

I would definitely ask for feedback from the onlookers to see how the demo is being received; it may come back to bite you.

[dalzmom]

Thanks alot for the link! We have several horses who don't need braces (ours is one of them, his tail comes almost straight out of his back and is VERY easy to raise). I feel it is better to show someone who may be curious, and has a LITTLE understanding, how things work rather than to ignore their questions. I guess it kind of falls back to the stories of when our kids were little and they came home from school wanting to know what that *#*#*#* word meant, and I know my ex mother-in-law, instead of explaining that it was a bad word and it would be better not said, just smackedmy ex's mouth and told him to never say it again, and the next day, he got sent home for putting in a little song! So, these kids have experience with horses, and some with the aids we use, so I would rather educate than ignore. Thanks again