How to Neatly Trim Your Horse's Tail Safely

A horse’s tail is the pride and joy of many a horse owner, but requires careful maintenance. Overly long tails risk being stepped on by the horse or caught up in fences, jumps, or out on the trail. Learn how to trim a horse’s tail safely and neatly.

What Are the Parts of a Horse Tail?

A horse tail is made up of the last few vertebrae of the spine, the coccygeal vertebrae. Horses have between 15-21 of these little bones, and they can be felt at the center of the tail hair running from the tailhead to a little higher than the level of the stifle. The hair of the tail grows long from the skin lightly covering these bones. The muscles that control the tail are at the tailhead and are powerful and accurate. While the purpose of the tail is to swat away flies, horses also use their tails to communicate anxiety by rapidly swishing them back and forth.

Of course, it would be terrible for the horse to accidentally trim the "living" part of the tail that includes skin and bone, but it is rare for any horse person to want a tail that short. The exception is carriage or pulling horses, which sometimes have their tails kept short to not interfere with the carriage, sleigh, or cart. However, these horses can still have just their tail hairs trimmed without getting caught in the harness or carriage. 

How Long Should My Horse’s Tail Be?

The length of a tail depends on the purpose or discipline of the horse as well as how much care an owner can provide for a tail. For example, dressage horses usually have tails cut straight across at the level of the fetlock or even a bit higher. Arabians and Morgans in the show arena have long tails, often dragging on the ground. Hunters and Quarter horses in the show ring have tails that are cut in between the fetlock and ground, but volume in these is emphasized to the point where people will supplement