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Discussion on Tial manicure
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Member:
kitch
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 7, 2007 - 5:07 pm:
Soon I will be showing an Appaloosa Sport Horse in Dressage, I have not been showing in that discipline for a very long time now, we won’t mention just how much time though. I have been reading the Dressage Today magazine and have noticed that not all the horses have braided tails and in one article that Lisa Wilcox writes called “Clinic With Lisa”, she mentions about clipping the top of the tail. Does anyone know what the procedure is to clip the top of the tail?, I would like to clip my driving horse’s tail, I think it would look good. And why are some of the dressage horse tails not braided?, is it an upper level thing? dumb questions I know, but it has been a very long time.
Thanks,
Janine
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Member:
corinne
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 7, 2007 - 5:28 pm:
Janine, I don't know if I can be much help as I just started showing at recognized shows in September but when I inquired about tail braiding to the upper level dressage riders I was told it's just not done. They were not very clear so I am not sure if it's in the USEF or USDF rule books but it's just not done currently, who knows about the future as trends change. Also, Lisa Wilcox is all about traditional dressage appearance, neat attire and impeccable grooming. As for the tail she is referring to those strands up near the tail dock that have broken off and aren't as long as the others, those should be trimmed so that when the tail is held in proper carriage they don't look all unruly. The bottom of the tail should be banged or cut level but not too short. As for manes the judges also prefer manes to be braided. I have an arab so his mane is long so his is done in a french braid. All my friends horses have manes that are pulled so theirs are done in small knot braids that are sewn in place.
Good luck. You need to post on the 2007 Show Season post and tell us all about it!
Welcome back to showing!
Take care,
Corinne
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Member:
stevens
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 8, 2007 - 9:56 am:
Janine,
Corinne is correct in that the point is to have your horse look neat and tidy. I continue to hold out hope that the shorter tail hairs will grow out so don't clip them. You can smooth them down by wetting that area and applying a tail wrap that you take off before entering the show ring. Hair gel works well too and also for the frizzies or flyaway hair inbetween your mane braids. You need to make sure to wash it out thoroughly afterwards.
I attended the February dressage show at the LA Equestrian Center, didn't see a single horse with a braided tail, including those that all the "big names" were riding.
Have fun,
Chris
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Member:
paardex
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 8, 2007 - 10:20 am:
Janine In Europe the tails weren't braided anymore at first because some of the horses didn't flow their tails so freely[perhaps braided with a bit to much stress on the hairs] and after that it got 'modish' to clip the tails.
In the beginning people pulled the hairs at the top of the tails[like the mane] which really looked lovely if you did it well but as you can understand the horses weren't to pleased. The idea of a thin tailhead is to have the 'behind' look more muscled[just as a shorter tail will make a horse look bigger] Look out what you are doing once clipped it takes a long time for the tail to grow'normal' again.[happy to say showjumpers do not need to be braided or clipped as far as their tails are concerned]
A question if I may intrude on your discussion: Do you braid their heads too?
Jos
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New Member:
luckett
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 8, 2007 - 10:22 am:
Dressage horses do not have their tails braided because it is beleaved that this will cause the horse to carry its tail in a stiff manner. Dressage judges always look for a relaxed swinging tail as one sign of relaxtion durning a test. The tail is trimed along the sides of the dock to show off the large hindquaters an to present a tidy apperance. At first it is a little difficult to trim, but with a little practice it gets easy. Susan Harris has a very good description of How To in her book Groming To Win.
Mary Luckett
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Member:
kitch
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 8, 2007 - 1:49 pm:
Thanks everybody, you have answered my questions. I hated braiding the tail, I will leave my horses tail natural except for the clipping of the top hairs whenever I get to the showing stage with her. I am going to the city this weekend and will be purchasing Susan Harris’ book “Grooming to Win”, thanks for the tip Mary, it sounds like it is full of great information. With a driving horse you do not braid or do anything like that with the manes and tails of horses, even in dressage, I always bang my mare’s tail however but I will be trimming the top, I think it looks so neat. Thanks again everybody and have a great show season, I am glad the transposed letters in Tail didn’t confuse you.
Janine
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Member:
imogen
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 8, 2007 - 3:13 pm:
I know we're always behind the times here in Ireland but it's considered a bit lazy not to plait the tail here.
Nothing to do with "holds the tail stiffly" unless you plaited it much too tight. Just to do with people not having time to do proper turnout, in my clearly minority opinion.
Anyway, when you do a crap test you can always say to yourself, yes but my tail plait was marvellous!
Imogen
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Member:
teddyj1
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 8, 2007 - 6:00 pm:
Hi Janine, Mary and Jos are absolutely correct !
Grooming to Win will give you a better idea of how to do it correctly, perhaps you have a trainer or friend that can guide you the first time through. Going too deeply into the sides of the head of the tail can completely spoil the effect, and getting a nice level "bang" on the ends can be tricky the first time through, you also want to gage how high your horse naturally carries his tail as to allow for "lift", to avoid making the tail too short like a show jumper.(no offense)
JOS- I own a Holsteiner as well- " L -line" Love affair<Larno<Landgraf damn- Lanner x LePanto/Rubenstein
"Holsteiners are Winners" AHHA
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Member:
stevens
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 8, 2007 - 6:02 pm:
Imogen,
I had someone once tell me that the worse thing you could hear from a judge was "your horse has a beautiful tail". She was convinced it meant they couldn't think of anything else nice to say!! 
Chris
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New Member:
luckett
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 8, 2007 - 6:22 pm:
Chris,
You are absolutly right. A good dressage judge always wants to be incouraging but some times WHAT A BEAUTIFUL TAIL is the only thing they can come up with. At least they want the rider to not give up.
Mary Luckett
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Member:
teddyj1
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Posted on Friday, Mar 9, 2007 - 10:05 am:
One other thought, If you've been noticing in the past couple of years, a lot of even the Grand prix riders are allowing the tails to be completely natural- think Dutch rider Edward Gal, and his stallion Geldnet Lingh for a good example. Horses with beautiful tails and well developed muscle may not need the "manicuring".
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Member:
imogen
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Posted on Friday, Mar 9, 2007 - 4:17 pm:
I'm sorry I know I'm old fashioned but tail plaits are beautiful and on most horses with good conformation they do improve the way you assess the hind quarters. Unlike pulled tails which generally are done on horses with inadequate conformation or horrible coat condition/tails.
This applies whether or not you happen do be having an "at least my tail plait was good" day, which happens to us all, let's face it, no matter what the judge says.
I do agree with comment above about people not taking note of their horse's normal tail carriage and therefore cutting the tail too short as well.
Best wishes
Imogen
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Member:
stevens
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Posted on Friday, Mar 9, 2007 - 8:12 pm:
Hey Imogen,
You're classic, not old fashioned!! You should see the people stare when I pull out the chalk to whiten my boy's socks. The bottom line is that I like the way it looks!
Best regards,
Chris
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