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.
Fox Tail Forge n Farriery has been a Ponybox stable since October of 2018 and sits within the top 100 stable rankings at number 72 as of this writing. This stable is owned by a player who has actually been playing since about 2007 ...
Frigid winter weather has wreaked havoc on the southern States and has left many without electricity, water and transportation leaving animals and humans in peril. Four horses had to be rescued when an arena collapsed under the we ...
In a move that many hope will help prevent accidental horse deaths on the racetracks of America, The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act was signed into law in late December 2020. The law aims to standardize drug testing, enforce ...
Two breeds are currently holding the highest jump records on PonyBox. The Thoroughbred and Canadian Warmblood's are taking the top spots with vengeance and appear unstoppable. ...
Oliver normally enjoys being groomed by his young owner, but when she noticed Oliver getting restless she wondered at his was unusual behavior. It wasn’t until that she noticed some neighbor kids playing on a frozen pond that she ...
It’s no surprise that the top-winning mare and stallion are also Ponybox’s highest earners. Or, that the highest-winning stable also produces many of the most successful jumpers. Here is a look at the outstanding earners on Ponybo ...
Lots of sports fans pay top dollar to buy seats that put them almost in the middle of the action. But this race fan took getting into the action a little too seriously. It was a lot of risk for an experience that lasted a moment. ...
Take a quick armchair trip to see pastoral landscapes, otter crossings and adorable, furry Shetland ponies! This travel video highlights some of the sights on the archipelago that makes up the Shetland Islands. This is the native ...
By 
