Tell Tails

Thick and lustrous, long and flowing, or fine and wispy and soft as silk, your horse’s tail is not just a spectacular fly swat, it’s also a means of communication and can signal your horse’s mood.

Tail structure

Like dog and cat tails, your horse’s dock – which is the bony part of the tail - is actually part of the spinal column. It contains vertebrae that become progressively smaller as they reach the tip. The number of vertebrae varies from horse to horse but on average there are around 18. Muscle fibres in and around the tail enable your horse to lift and move it from side to side.

Those beautiful strands of hair on your horse’s tail are simply an extra thick and much longer version of the hair on your horse’s body. They are formed from hardened protein with a protective outer coating called the cuticle. Most tails have straight hair but genetics may give some horses wavy tresses. In the extreme the Bashkir Curly horse, as its name suggests, is adorned with a full coat of curls.

Tail talk

A high, swishing, twitching or clamped horse’s tail indicates his emotional and physical state, giving him a means of communication with other horses and with humans.

A mare in season will lift her tail up and sideways, suggesting she is