Tail touch-up
After pulling a tail, especially with horses who tend to get sore, Jess gets some warm water and Hibiscrub and gives the tail a gentle wash to smooth it before putting a tail bandage on.
Length-wise, Jess cuts a tail four fingers below the chestnut and likes them ‘dead straight’.
“To get a really straight edge, I use clippers,” says Jess. “I hold the hair in a bunch in one hand and then zip the edge with the clippers for a dead straight edge.”
When it comes to everyday tidying up, Jess sprays the tails with a mane and tail spray and then runs her fingers through to remove any big tangles and loose shavings.
“Brushing them with a hairbrush or comb too much means they end up becoming thin and fine eventually, as brushes can pull all the hair out when you are brushing them every day,” she explains.
“I also like to keep them in tail bandages for a few hours when the horses are in during the day to help keep their hair lying flat and smooth.”
To keep tails clean before shows, Jess washes them and then loosely plaits the bottom of the tail.
“For white tails, I use purple shampoo, which is great for brightening dirty yellow tails,” she says. “When they are travelling I loosely plait the bottom of the tail and bandage them. I do the tail bandage as low as it will go for travelling so it’s covered.
“If they are grey or have white tails,
I put a tail guard with a bag on which is really handy for keeping them clean. I use a hairbrush to brush through their hair thoroughly on show days.”