We all want our horses mane and tail to be thick, shiny and luscious. If you’re struggling to find ways to grow your horses mane or tail read on!
While some breeds like the Baroque style of horse is blessed with super thick, flowing hair, other breeds aren’t quite so lucky.
We’ve experienced first hand the damage horses can do to themselves when conditions like Queensland Itch go untreated. From toilet brush looking tails and rubbed out manes, its not a pretty sight and the horse is miserable. Bravo came to us with a toilet brush tail, half a mane as well as bald patches over his top line from being attacked by insects without any protection.
The first line of defense in protecting the mane and tail if your horse suffers from allergies to insects, is fine skinned or sensitive; is to rug them when the insects are most active at dawn and dusk. The easiest way to manage this is to put a rug on with their evening hard feed and take it off in the morning with their brekkie.
Unfortunately if the hair follicle has died, it will be unable to grow back hair as in the case of some severe scarring or rubbing. This was the case with half of Bravo’s mane, however his tail and fur did grow back as the hair follicles were still intact. There is hope even if the hair is fine or fragile that the hair can grow back with proper care!
The best tips to help weak, brittle or thin hair grow:
- Use only natural products
Picking the right product is vital to ensure the hair and skin doesn’t dry out, or contain any chemical irritants found in many horse shampoos. Dry itchy skin keeps the horse in a vicious cycle of itchiness and rubbing to relieve the itch. Shampoos with dyes, synthetic chemicals or fragrances, sulphates or parabens are likely to cause drying, irritation, coat fading and even hair loss.
- Mane and tail conditioning
After shampooing your horse’s mane and tail we suggest following with a natural conditioner if your shampoo does not contain conditioners as well. Like our hair, dry unconditioned hair is likely to become brittle and break. Look for conditioners that contain ingredients like Argan oil, Macadamia or Jojoba oil to deeply moisturize and nourish manes and tails naturally.
- Good nutrition
A healthy diet is fundamental to promoting hair growth in horses. You can help your horse grow a shinier, healthier coat by ensuring they receive a balanced diet complete with essential nutrients.
- Regular grooming routine
Staying on top of your horses mane and tail grooming ensures they don’t end up with large knots or matting and get too long. Tails especially that are left too long have a tendency to not only get dirtier quicker, the ends become brittle and uneven resulting in damage further up the hair. If the hair does have some knots or tangles, brushing the hair after spraying with a natural detangler spray and working in small sections from the bottom up using a specially designed Mane and Tail brush with dual bristles will minimize hair breakage and damage when brushing out knots.
- Use a tail bag
When used correctly a tail bag can provide great protection to the tail by protecting it from the elements so that the hair doesn’t become dry, tangled or sun damaged. Use a tail bag that is breathable and can safely and easily detach if it gets caught on anything while the horse is turned out.
- Appropriate rugging
Whilst rugs are great for protecting sensitive skinned horses from insects and the elements, using thick rugs, heavy rugs or rugs that create too much warmth on the neck and mane can damage the hair follicles over time, cause friction or result in an overheated horse. We suggest using rugs with a silky neck liner, are lightweight and breathe and can be washed regularly. Another option is to rug the horses body only. We like to use polar fleece neck rugs in winter with a body rug as needed in bad weather. In the summer months we use a lightweight breathable silky neck rug together with a lightweight cotton body rug to provide protection from insects on our sensitive horses. We avoid heavy synthetic rugs as the horse cannot regulate its temperature and risks becoming hot, overheated and sweating.
- Time is your friend!
It takes time to grow a healthy thicker mane and tail. With consistent care while avoiding harsh grooming shampoos, conditioners and the wrong grooming brushes and tools your efforts will pay off.
Even if your horse’s mane and tail is naturally thick, using these 7 tips will help you avoid damage and the resultant thinning or patches of missing hair.
The Wash & Groom Essentials Kit contains a 5 piece grooming set with a mane and tail brush specifically designed to condition, smooth and detangle fine or thick hair.