Sooo…Tail shot #1. We’ve cut a little over a foot off from the bottom of her tail, to allow air in to her fetlocks as we are taking care of scratches and any other issues. Also to clean up the ends of her tail. Sorcha got a tail and leg wash today…That’s her stall in the background there with the Scottish Flag. …:-D Oh and it’s shedding time, so that bit on the ground that looks like a litter of kittens is a ‘quick’ brushing…lol
Tail shot #2. Close up of the thickness of her tail…it’s wide, it’s unbelievable and almost looks like two tails put together for a second there! This IS NOT fluffed up, in fact at this point, I’ve put some Equus Survivor in there to tame it down and make it nice and silky, as well as easier to comb through. (for …her mane, I start at the bottom tips and slowly comb through till its smooth before moving upward so as to not pull out hairs and use a healthy quarter sized palm rub of Survivor in each section before combing — rub, leave it sit for a minute or two then begin combing). Sorcha’s feathering is reflective of the exact same abundance…but you’ll see in the next shot, we have her shaved up for treatment, then I’ll move onward in story telling…lol For her tail, I still put Survivor in, but I only work from bottom up if there are bird’s nest knots in it out of necessity. Otherwise, I can comb through and pull out hairs b/c it’s so darn thick.
Tail shot from the inside — Preggers Belly and look ma! No Hair! LOL. All kidding aside, we just shaved her up yet again b/c the hair is growing back faster than we can get rid of it while treating the ‘itchies’. With the overabundance of hair, we’ve been dealing with most likely some mites that’s she’s had off and o…n, but could never really get down to brass tacks b/c I was so hesitant to shave off her feather (the whole taboo thing and all). But w/off and on, come and go…and then the secondary issue of moist, hot heated summers complicating things with sores and fungal scratches…I did not want poor Sorcha stomping all the time around her baby. Soooooo off came all the feather (it can’t kill the feather gene guys! lol, in fact…it’s seeming to grow in much much thicker <whatoh shaggy!>). And furthermore sooooo — this is what a Gypsy Cob looks like hairless! lol We are so used to the hourglass shape the leg makes from the thigh down to the bell bottom trouser hooves, that she totally looks like a giant turkey leg from the Ren Faire here…not to mention that protruding baby bell poking out at the camera there…I keep rubbing it the pregger belly of the Sorcha Buddha asking for a silver dapple Simon filly please please please.… lol
Tail shot #3…so back to the tail dilleo…after much combing and smoothing…I’ve added some Sulfur-8 Medicated Anti-Dandruff Conditioner spray to and around her dock. Read more info here,http://www.americarx.com/Products/9450.html, but essentially: ‘Dandruff Treatment for Braids. prevents dry itching scalp. Great fo…r: Locks, Twists and Extensions. Use Sulfar8 for softer more comfortable braids. Beautiful braids without the itch. Regular use keeps your braids shiny and natural looking. Controls scalp itching and flaking due to dandruff.’ I have some powder the scalp conditioner of this stuff as well…I’ve used the MTG — among other things — but I like this stuff better in Sorcha’s case so far. I’ve then braided her tail in individual pieces — starting the braid about 4–6 inches OFF the dock, looser at the start of the braid, then as soon as I’m clear of her dock by about 4–6 inches of braid, then I really tighten up the braid for the rest of the way. I use thicked round band cheap human ouchless hair bands. The braids are about 2 inches thick and there are 8 of them today as her hair was much softer due to washing it earlier today. I leave anywhere from 6–8 inches of hair after banding it, just depends on the section and how strong the ends are there or when/where the braid thins out.
Tail shot #4, the final…And this is the final wrapping. I’ve taken the braids, bunched them together and began wrapping at the top. As I got halfway down the wrap, I folded the braids from below, up in half but only so the very wispy tip ends were just at the top of where I started the wrap (so that the tips upon w…inding back up will not be sticking out to catch any horse droppings in the ends). So at the halfway point, I’ve folded…then continued down wrapping around it as a whole. At the bottom, when I reached the last bit of ‘bulb’ to wrap, I go around the circumfrence once, then under across the bottom at an angle, then around, then under across the bottom at a different angle and repeat until I’ve covered the bottom of the bended ‘bulb’ securely. I then just continue back upward until I’m back at the same top where I started, tuck, tie it off and tuck/twist the wrapping in itself again. I did go up much higher the first time I did this, thinking to protect higher up…but that didn’t stay well and ended up looking like this anyhow — which stayed nicely for quite some time. When I took her tail down, it was amazing the difference. I could actually swear it was un-yellowing itself lol. But there was no birds nest bits to pick, poke and dig at and the hair remained healthy and silky. Sorcha really has a hard time pickup up this heavy tail and I think has given up on it anyhow. I could cut it higher — and I’ve seen it done, but the base of her tail is so wide it’s like a super afro in it’s width, she’d probably still catch a lot of dropping on it anyhow…so would defeat the purpose either way. Truth told, I think she can lift this much easier like this and in unwrapping the last wrap-up, there was barely any dropping residue ANYWHERE on her tail. I have a friend that does this without braiding and I tried that, but in Sorcha’s case the braids work much much better. Oh — that’s Phil, my farrier in the background. 
Tags: Feather Maintenance, Gypsy Cob, Gypsy Confromation, Gypsy Feather, Gypsy Grooming, Gypsy Horse, Gypsy Maintenance, Gypsy Tinker, Gypsy Vanner, Mane & Tail Grooming