Beautiful thick manes and tails are a horse’s owner’s pride. But a tail is much more than a thing of beauty.
Debugging
Of course, your horse uses its tail to whisk away flies and other biting insects. This is important because while most bugs are just annoying, some are dangerous, so nature provides the horse with some defenses, such as a mane to flip against its neck, skin that can twitch when it's touched lightly, and a tail to swish back and forth. It’s not unusual to see two or more horses standing head to tail so that both head and hind quarters are benefiting from the tail swishing.
Balance
While it’s handy to whisk away flies, the tail, as an extension of the spine, plays a role in a horse’s balance. Some horses swish or wring their tails to help keep their balance when being ridden. A jumper’s tail will flag and twist as they come out of jumps. Changes in direction may cause a horse to rebalance itself with the help of its tail. Watching your horse, and learning its own unique body language will help you learn what tail movement can be attributed to balance, and what is being expressed in mood and attitude.
Mood
Does your horse swish its tail angrily when you ask it to do something it would rather not? Or, when it’s feeling energetic, does it flag its tail high as it gallops around? A horse’s tail can tell us something about how it is feeling. A mare in heat may hold its tail up. Swishing can indicate irritation. A clamped tail may mean the horse is nervous or scared. A relaxed side to side swish means the horse is comfortable while it is being ridden. This is the gentle swish you most often see in dressage horses. If your horse is wringing its tail, it may be very agitated and this will look different than the tail rolls a horse does when it is relaxed in its work.
Health
You can’t determine if your horse is sick from only looking at its tail. Nor is testing hair samples from the tail terribly useful, unless you were wanted to get a look at your horse’s overall health in the past. A very long tail hair can take five or six years to grow to full length at a rate of about two centimeters per month, and anything that could be tested in a hair sample may not be very useful in the present. Also, the rate of growth will be determined by the season, the horse’s health, genetics and how the tail is cared for.
How a horse uses its tail can tell us something about any lameness and overall body stiffness it might have. A horse that holds its tail to one side may have developed a hind leg lameness, or tense muscles in its hindquarters, especially if the horse didn’t carry its tail crooked before. This can be caused by an injury, poor saddle fit leading to back pain, muscle imbalances or even a neurological problem. It may take the help of a veterinarian, saddle fitter, riding coach, chiropractor or other professional to discover the root of the problem.
A completely limp tail can be a sign of a spinal injury or neurological problem. Horses can ‘break’ or dislocate their tails, although this is rare. And sadly, a horse with a limp tail may have had nerve blocking agents injected to prevent it from swishing its tail while being ridden. Or, the tendons may be cut so the horse can’t move it. This is illegal but it has been done to show horses who are expected to appear docile and obedient.
Another reason a horse’s tail may be limp is infection with botulism. Or, A very stiff tail or one held stiffly to one side may be an indication of gut pain. If hair starts falling out, it’s an indication that there is a serious nutritional deficiency.
RSS Break Even and RSS Identity Thief are both top ranked horses belonging to the same stables. RavenSide Stud TBS was established in 2017 and is ranked at 113 with 49,459,023 PB in earnings. Currently, there are three stallions s ...
During a peaceful protest that turned ugly in London, UK a police horse bolted after being pelted with debris by violent demonstrators. Flares, bottles and sticks flew as the crowd was pushed back by mounted police officers. One o ...
You might remember a story from early last winter about twenty horses in Eastern Kentucky that were shot and killed. The few survivors were taken to Kentucky Humane Society’s Willow Hope Farm to regain their health and eventually ...
Beach-goers to the Outer Banks are being asked to stay clear of the wild horses that live there after a photo of a woman appearing to pat a wild horse has surfaced. This is not an isolated incident as tourists visit the well known ...
Some horses eat anything and will eat everything from anchovies to zucchini. And some are extremely picky and act like you’ve poisoned them if you put anything but hay and grain in front of their noses. Have you ever tried a taste ...
Jim Gaffigan pokes fun at the Triple Crown, from the costumes and pageantry, to owners, jockeys and trainers. He then takes a humorous trek through the horse world, exploring horse breeds, horse people, horseshoes, riding and the ...
We are halfway through 2020 and so far it’s been quite a year. IRL, there has been a lot going on. But on Ponybox, records continue to be broken and new horses are vying for the top rank and highest jumps. Horses tend to go throug ...
Covid-19 is taking its toll on so many businesses and individuals. One rescue stable in British Columbia, Canada, fears that they are running out of time to save 30 horses and ponies, many of which could be sent to slaughter. The ...
By 
