Rubbing the horse tail, specifically its dock, is a very common condition of horses. There can be many reasons for this behavior and you should check every possibility before attempting to regenerate a damaged tail.
We should carefully inspect the rubbed area, checking if there is a thick layer of dirt, wounds, redness, blemishes, bite marks, small plant thorns, whether the skin is peeling, whether there is no seborrhea. To be sure that tail rubbing is not caused by any serious illness, it is best to consult your veterinarian right away.
If we have already ruled out serious medical conditions, we can proceed to action.
1. First, we need to get rid of the layer of dirt that has accumulated during the horse’s stay in the paddock and in the stall. It is very important to clean all the dock! Also the inside (from the anus). PURE SHOWER SHAMPOO FOR HORSES will work best here. It gently and effectively cleanses the skin, soothes any micro-injuries, as well as itching.
The skin of the dock should be washed very thoroughly, over its entire surface. We recommend scrubbing lightly with fingertips or a sponge to get rid of dead, exfoliated skin. This action can always be repeated.
After bathing the tail, leave it to dry, or speed up the process by using a towel. Horsehair dries quite quickly.
2. The place with worn hair should be moisturized using the SKIN COMFORT BALM SERUM D-Panthenol, alatnoin and natural plant extracts contained in the serum act as a soothing and moisturizing dressing on dry skin. They will also soothe any irritation and protect the skin against infections.
In this case, the serum should be applied to clean and dry skin, applying in the right amount (so as to cover the entire problem area).
Washing and greasing the dock should be repeated until the symptoms subside. If the tail has no traces of everyday dirt and does not require a bath, only the serum can be used.
3. For the duration of the treatment, you can lightly braid the tail, hiding the worn place, or put on a special tail protector. It is good to locate the place in the box / paddock where the horse most often wipes and secure it so that it does not hurt itself. It also happens that horses staying most of the day in the herd bite their tails because of provocations and fun.
4. To complete the treatment, you will need a conditioner that will improve the vitality of the hair and, thanks to the richness of ingredients, will accelerate its growth. The two-phase SHINING GLOSS VITAL conditioner is the answer to these needs. The conditioner composed on the basis of herbal extracts will effectively improve the condition of bristles damaged by rubbing.
The most common reasons why horses rub their tails:
- a large layer of dust and dirt between the hair, as well as remnants of feces from the side of the anus
- severely dry skin
- dundruff
- behavioral behavior of horses (play or nar)
- too much protein in the horse’s daily menu
- skin allegry
- the presence of external/internal parasites
- insekts’ bites
- mechanical injuries
- inflammation caused by bacterial or viral infection, scabies, mycosis
Remember that you should never neglect the problem of rubbing of the mane and tail because in addition to the deterioration of our horse’s appearance, it may also be related with the horse’s health problems.
