1. How to Add a False Tail to Your Horse

2. The first thing which is important when using false tails is to find the correct match for your horse. Champion Tails has produced a selector chart which is great. If the pony is only a small pony and has a great tail but it has a lot of colors in it, a false tail may be the answer.

3. When I select a tail, I hold the bottom of her tail out and go right to the center piece. Pull a chunk of center piece out and go back to your selector to find what matches. It may be a reasonable match but you could ask Champion Tails to incorporate a little bit more white in for your horse for example.

4. When you contact your local company, they will ask you what number it is and you can say, a little bit more white, a little bit more red. Thats how you use your selector. Always go to the centre of the tail. To put it in, comb your tail out thoroughly so there are no knots. Then you divide your

5. tail back again and go right at the center and collect a reasonable amount of hair, not a huge amount but enough hair that if she flicks her tail, shes not going to flick it out. You divide it into three and you plait it down. The plait must be tight. You cannot have a loose plait because if you have a

6. loose plait, your false tail will drop and you dont want that. Weve all seen those disasters in the arena: tails dropping out and stewards coming across, everyone seeing it on the ring and not owning the tail. It hasnt happened to me but I've seen it happen to plenty.

7. Once you've plaited your tail down about four inches, get two rubber bands and band that plait together, so you have a free-falling plait. Make sure your rubber bands are done on tight. Dont do two or three laps and think that is enough because the plaits can come undone. I always use two because I am a bit scared that it will come

8. undone. I always use two because I am a bit scared that it will come undone. You pick up your tail which has been colour-coordinated to match this ponys tail. It may be a tiny bit different to the selector, perhaps it has more gray in it. I have a latch hook that you can get from any hardware

9. store that I use. It has a latch hook at the end of it and a wooden handle. I have my things on strings because Im inclined to lose them. Even my combs have a hole bored in them so I dont lose them. You hang them around your neck. Your combs and scissors all go round your neck.

10. Then I hold up a loop of the tail up to get the correct length and you run it down. Then I push my latch hook under the bottom of the plait and come out through the top. I put the loop of the tail in it, drop the latch down and pull it back through. Then, the easy bit really is doing like a half hitch with her own tail through the loop. You

11. push it through and pull it up and pull it down tight and that's your tail in. To finish it off, you comb it out again. Check your length. Then Ill get a pair of scissors and cut it off squarely. Then when you finish the top of the tail, which you have already pulled and made nice and neat. When you

12. are pulling the tail, it makes a nice even line. Then you spray it with a bit of a hair spray. Rub it down with your hand and put a bandage. A tip to keep your tail bandage up, do it firm

13. at the bottom. So many people only do the bandage up at the top. Do it firmly at the bottom and go down first and you will find your tail bandage won't come off nearly as easily. We go down towards the end of the dock, and then we start coming up. Always use a cotton bandage, dont use a

14. nylon bandage because when it is a hot day, it pulls tight, a nylon pulls tight and your horse has a very, very sore tail. You will see so many horses swishing and jamming their tails because its hurting them. Always use a good quality cotton bandage.

15. For a small pony you're going to go around a few times. Then you go all the way down to the bottom. Always make sure your Velcro, which most bandages today have, is at the bottom, not up underneath them, rubbing them and hurting them. You must always think of your horses comfort. When you go to ride them, its very important that

16. they've been comfortable. You leave it until just before you go to class, brush the tail out and make sure its hanging straight. If theres a little bit of a wind, you have to take care. Hold your tail very straight and when you cut it off, make sure your hand is running down the outside

17. of the tail. When you cut it, you cut it on a slight angle to the bottom inside of the tail. Just cut it a little bit more inside and the edges because when a horses tail falls, the inside falls shorter than the outside, so you want inside just minimal. Make sure you cut off with a very good sharp pair of scissors. A little brush out and it is ready.

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