Neatly Trim Your Horse's Tail
Banging a tail means to cut it off blunt at the bottom. Traditionally horses tails were banged to avoid them becoming soiled and straggly at the bottom. Not all horses should have their tails banged. Arabians and Welsh ponies and cobs should have manes and tails left natural. If you are showing in breed shows check to see what the requirements are.
If you are headed for the jumper or hunter ring or ride western tails are not generally banged. Horses ridden dressage will often have their tails banged. Again check the grooming requirements of your sport before proceeding. Also if your horses tail is on the short side banging it may only make it look shorter.
Banging a tail is not just a matter of chopping it off at the bottom. Before you begin pay attention to how high your horse carries its tail while it is trotting.
Some horses carry their tails quite high while others keep their tails flatter. You want the cut to be parallel to the ground while the horse is moving. If you just chop it off while the horse is standing when the horse is moving the tail will look uneven. The banged tail should end about 410 cm to 512cm below the hocks. Any shorter may detract from the look of the tail. If your horse has a short or skimpy tail you might want to skip banging it altogether. To get the right length you can mark the desired cutting line with a little piece of masking tape or a chalk mark before you cut. Better to leave the tail too long than cut it off too short.
The Banging Process
To bang your horses tail
