Tidy Up Your Horse's Tail Top

Trim your horse’s tail top without clippers!

Tidying the tail top is an excellent way of grooming for those horse owners who want a tidy picture from behind, but without using clippers or a tail-pulling technique to get there. Using clippers to trim the top of a tail can go sideways fast, but it will eventually grow back in. It’s easier to use scissors to tidy things up.

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It’s easy to tidy up your horse’s tail with scissors

The left side is wild, the right side is trimmed up a bit. This horse’s big butt would look silly with a closely pulled or clipped tail top.

A word about why you might want to do this.

For horses that show, a well-manicured tail helps your horse’s butt cheeks look more muscular. This, of course, depends on how big your horse’s butt cheeks are to start with.

For leaner horses, a close clip or pulling makes this happen. The excessively trimmed tail top is often seen on event horses.

Some disciplines, like the hunters, want a full and lush tail at the bottom and braids at the top. Too much grooming at the top can interfere with the braids.

For more on tail pulling, you can read this tail article. And yes, your horse will feel it, so I don’t love this method.

This horse is on his way to a tidier tail. A few more passes with the scissors should get him there.

How to tidy your horse’s tail with scissors:

Start with a clean tail that has been detangled. Let it sort of hang out naturally so you can see how the hairs fall to the sides of the tailbone. Your horse’s tail should be dry.

If you keep your scissors parallel to the tailbone, your tail will be excellent when you are done.

Start trimming the sides of your horse’s tail from the outside in. It helps to point your scissors down on the first few passes. Graze along the hairs poking out. Going for the big chunks will likely end in disaster.

Starting with the scissors down may help you shave off a little bit at a time instead of accidentally cutting a chunk out of the hair.

Alternate sides that you are working on. You may go back and forth, left to right, a dozen times.

You will reach a point where you can start to hold your scissors up to get the tiny strays that poke out to the sides.

When you like the general shape, you can point your scissors up to get the remaining strays.

You may need to work on this over a few days to see how you like it. You may also decide that your horse’s tail is so thick that going shorter on the hairs closer to the underside of his tail will create a nicer picture. It’s up to you how much to take off!

To prep the tail for a clinic or a show, you may want to smooth the tailbone hairs down with a braiding product or use a tail wrap while you are getting him groomed and ready to show. For more on tail wraps, read this article!

Easy, right?

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These bandage scissors are great for first aid kits and mane and tail trimming, there are no sharp points.