There are many good reasons to braid your horse’s tail, from preparing for a show to protecting it from damage. The type of braid you will use will depend on your goals. For example, when showing in some English disciplines such as hunter/jumper or breed show hunter classes, you will need to do a French braid along the tail bone while leaving the bottom full and loose.
Since it takes over a year for each broken tail hair to regain its original length, braiding for protection is a great idea, particularly during the summer when the horse is swishing at flies. It is also good to protect light-colored tails from staining, and in brushy areas where the tail is likely to get caught in bushes and weeds. This is also the simplest style of braiding.
To do this, you will need a tail bag, which can be purchased commercially or made from an old sock, a string of baling twine, and a safe area to wash and braid the tail. By following these easy steps, you will have a nicely braided tail:
1. Thoroughly wash your horse’s tail using your favorite shampoo and conditioner. Rinse-out conditioners are better than leave-in ones for this.
2. Starting an inch or so below the tail bone, divide the hair into three sections. Run the baling twine evenly through the left and right sections.
3. Braid the hair down to the bottom, and use the baling twine to tie the ends.
4. Coil the braid into the tail bag or sock. If you are using a sock, use the baling twine to tie hair to the sock. If you are using a tail bag, follow the instructions the manufacturer provides.
There you go! This type of braid should be removed and redone approximately once a week.