How To Properly Brush Your Horse’s Tail

How To Properly Brush Your Horse’s Tail

(Video can be found at bottom) At BioMane Products, we are passionate about equine mane and tail growth. We consider ourselves experts in equine hair care, and our BioMane Equine Pellets are specifically formulated to help your horse’s mane and tail support growth, optimize hair health, and bring a renewed sense of equine worth.

 There are many reasons a horse may struggle with his or her mane and tail growth. For some horses, it’s a matter of genetics. For others, maybe a tail snagged in the fence, or a mane was rubbed out reaching through a panel for the “greener grass.” Maybe a neighboring horse decided your horse’s mane or tail was a tasty chew toy. However, what many horse owners don’t understand is that a very common cause of damaged manes and tails is improper brushing. Many horses have lost a beautiful mane or tail simply because their owners are not properly brushing them. 

Also, many owners don’t see the results that BioMane Equine Pellets deliver because they are literally brushing the new growth and thickness right out of their horse's mane and tail. Many horse owners believe that, when it comes to brushing manes and tails, you ought to just leave them alone. You may have heard that more brushing leads to more damage. This isn't entirely true. As experts in mane and tail growth, we believe that the proper care for a horse’s tail starts with proper nutrition and ends with proper brushing. With some simple changes to your technique, you can help your horse’s mane and tail grow by keeping it untangled, full, and beautiful. This article was written to help you do just that.

1. Select the Right Brush for Your Horse’s Tail

Proper brushing of the mane and tail begins with using the proper brush. We prefer to use a brush that has fairly stiff bristles made of nylon or boar hair. In a later tutorial to be released soon, we will discuss why we prefer this brush. Further, BioMane now offers our own amazing Mane & Tail Brush. Check it out!  

2. Remove Your BioMane Tailbag

We recommend only leaving the BioMane Tailbag on for 7 to 10 days before removing it and re-brushing and caring for your horse’s tail. Simply undo the double velcro strap and slide the bag off of the horse’s tail. (Click here to shop BioMane Tailbags)  

3. Unbraid Your Horse’s Tail

If your horse’s tail is braided, start by removing the elastic or tape from the bottom of tail. Unravel the braids and separate the pieces. Please note: there may be knots and tangles throughout the tail, especially the section where the BioMane Tailbag was attached. Do NOT brush through these. We are about to discuss how to properly handle these without breakage, damage, or thinning the hair.

4. Spray Detangler on Your Horse’s Tail

We strongly recommend spraying your horse’s tail with a detangler. Use a fine mist and coat the entire tail. Please note: do NOT saturate the tail with detangler; the wetter the tail, the harder it will be for your brush to glide through. 

5. Start at the bottom and work your way up

It’s worth noting once again that many snarls and knots can occur, especially in the upper part of the tail where your horse’s tail was not braided. If you began brushing at the top of the tail, you would drag your brush through all of those knots, pulling those knots through and damaging the entire length of the tail. When you encounter knots, put the brush down and work out these knots with your hands. With your brush, start at the bottom and brush the ends of the hair. After your brush can smoothly glide through the very ends of the tail, start working your way up in 6-8 inch increments. Brush in a downward motion towards the end of the tail. It may be helpful to lay the hair against your leg while brushing. 

If your horse’s tail was previously braided, it may tend to stick together in the sections of the braid. We find it helpful to separate these sections and brush them individually.  Continue brushing in 6-8 inch increments slowly working your way up the length of the tail. Be sure that you are brushing in a downward motion towards the end of the tail. Remember, if you encounter knots or tangles, put the brush down and use your hands. While this takes a little extra time, it goes a long way in saving you from damaging the tail.   

6. Wash, Braid, Condition, and Bag

After you have sufficiently brushed your horse’s tail, take some pictures, and post them on your social media account tagging @BioManeProducts. We recommend washing, braiding, conditioning, and then placing your horse’s tail in a BioMane Tailbag to help protect it. Stay tuned for our next articles that will discuss our preferred techniques to accomplish these tasks. Remember, proper equine hair care may start with nutrition, but it definitely includes a little brushing and a lot of love. Watch the full video below:
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