# Horses' tails stolen!



## SilverDollar (Apr 4, 2009)

My sister in Michigan emailed me a link to a story about a big horse and a mini whose tails were cut off and stolen in the middle of the night. How terrible!! Thankfully they knew enough to cut below the tail bone. I saw some special order, custom tail extensions at our local English saddlery and they _started _at $300!






Horses tails stolen in MI

It's really awful what some people will do.



Thank God the horses weren't harmed in any other way.


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## Minimor (Apr 4, 2009)

We had two big horses lose their tails one night--it was just weird. They were in a corral behind the barn--well away from the back road; anyone coming in from the road would have a good hike across the pasture--neighbor's back yard on one side of the corral, all our corrals/pastures on the other 3 sides...and this one morning the 2 tails were just gone. They weren't cut off straight across, it was done sort of natural looking.

We looked all over the corral to see if they'd pulled the hair out on the fence or by one horse stepping on the tail of the other horse when he was laying down, but there was no tail hair anywhere in that corral. I know they didn't chew each others tails off--that just wasn't the sort of thing either of them ever did before or since--and there was no one in the adjoining pasture or corral. We figured someone must have cut their tails off to get horse hair for craft projects, but we were just amazed that anyone would bother.


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## Filipowicz Farm (Apr 4, 2009)

We saw that on the News last night, terrible


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## Mercysmom (Apr 4, 2009)

That is awful!

I hope they catch the person responsible!

Denise


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## Sunny (Apr 4, 2009)

I heard about that, too. It's just horrible! And isn't it ironic that they use real horse tails to make fake tails for show horses?!



Why can't they just show them with their God-given, well cared for, properly groomed tails and then all horses would have one? Stuff like this just makes me nuts!


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## hobbyhorse23 (Apr 4, 2009)

Uhhhhm, okay.



Weird, certainly. Disconcerting and frightening for the owners, definitely! But "terrible?" Come on people, this isn't exactly mutilation! I thought you meant someone had cut off their actual TAILS, like the bone and such. THAT would have been horrible!



This was just idiotic and short-sighted and a major inconvenience to both the horses and their owners. Whoever did it should be shot alright, but mostly for being stupid and taking something that wasn't theirs.

The mini at least should have regrown a couple more inches by the time the flies get bad and they can braid some bailing twine whisks into it to help keep the bugs off.

Leia


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## twister (Apr 4, 2009)

hmmm I had a guy ask me if I wanted to sell my horses tail so he could make flies for fishing. Apparently horse hair makes the best "flies". Maybe some fisherman stole the horses tails?

Yvonne


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## Chaos Ranch (Apr 4, 2009)

Boy I hope nothing like that happens to my horses. I love their long tails. My 3 Peruvian Pasos have tails that touch the ground.. even the 2 year old!



I hope they find a way to help the horses with the flies and such this spring/summer.


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## TripleDstables (Apr 4, 2009)

I'm always scared someone is going to do this. I take such good care of all of my horses' manes and tails... If someone took them, I wouldn't know what to do. People just need to work with what their horses naturally have...


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## maplegum (Apr 5, 2009)

I would be devastated if someone cut off Bailey or Willow's tail. I love lots-a-hair and take such good care of them.

What low lifes some people are.


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## Sonya (Apr 5, 2009)

> Apparently horse hair makes the best "flies". Maybe some fisherman stole the horses tails?


Being an avid fly fisherman and fly tier, I have never heard of horse hair being used for flies, not to say that it hasn't been used before, but most flies that call for a course hair, call for elk mane....they also use cow tails and deer tails, but that is much softer. Never heard of using horse mane/tail for a fly. I doubt it was a fly fisherman, especially the way they were cut...looks like someone knew what they were doing.

This happened to a friend of mine years ago, she had a housing plan near her and someone (they figured kids) hacked the tails off of all 5 of her horses.

Major inconvience as someone else mentioned but at least they didn't hurt the horses.


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## MinisOutWest (Apr 5, 2009)

been happening here in Colorado for a while now, mostly from the draft horses cause they are taller and have more tail to cut. too bad.

Cat hair works best on tying flies, when our cats shed, the neighbors go wild collecting different colors. I have a himalayen siamese with the prettiest long, super soft hair. black cats, yellow cats, orange cats, grey persians, white cats, super dark brown siamese 'walrus', but they have not tried my minis hair when I clip them, maybe next year.


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## TripleDstables (Apr 5, 2009)

When I trim my horses manes and tails my step dad asks for the hair to tie flies.



It's cheaper than going to Cabelas and buying dyed deer/elk hair.


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## RockRiverTiff (Apr 5, 2009)

My farrier was just talking about how valuable the fake show tails are. My primary concern is that articles like this will just spread the idea to new boneheads.


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## Sonya (Apr 5, 2009)

My guess as well would be for someone to cut them off for tail extensions...I couldn't see a fisherman risking arrest for it when you can buy a bag of deer/calf tails (20-30 tails)for $9.99...already dyed...you would have to tie thousands of flies to use the bag up...elk is cheap as well. I would never even think to use horsehair for a fly (never seen a recipe that calls for it) and I have tied hundreds of types of flies...too course...although I have been known to scrape dead pheasants off the road for thier feathers...those are what is expensive. Unfortunately you are probably right...the coverage may entice other boneheads to try to do the same thing.


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## Krazee bout Kasspur (Apr 6, 2009)

Oh how absolutely creepy



.......Thank Heavens the horses weren't otherwise harmed. Does anyone recall the spotted saddlebred that some teenage girls set fire to it's tail a few years ago? I think it was Missouri. They sprayed hair spray to the tail to ignite it "just for grins". Poor horse had to have it's entire tailbone amputated OH! .


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## PaintedMeadows (Apr 6, 2009)

This happened to one of our minis here. He was a silver dapple with a silvery white very long tail and the cut it off right at the bone. Poor guy. He also had a very long mane down to his knees (36" tall) and they roached that. Not a peice of hair left anywhere on the ground. He was in the front paddock by the road so easy to see. And he was very friendly. He still hadn't grown back the full length when he passed away. I was :arg! and my daughter cried because he was her horse. Some people, I tell you. It was right before a big horse show here in Alberta.


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## Watcheye (Apr 6, 2009)

ick I live in MI. Good grief... I was looking in a catelogue at them and wow they sure are pricey! Its kind of unnerving to think of someone sneaking around your horses. Id be up in arms if someone tried to come around mine like that. As far as the girls setting fire to the tail of that poor horse...



stupid stupid girls! Im sick about that.


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## hobbyhorse23 (Apr 6, 2009)

Krazee bout Kasspur said:


> Oh how absolutely creepy
> 
> 
> 
> .......Thank Heavens the horses weren't otherwise harmed. Does anyone recall the spotted saddlebred that some teenage girls set fire to it's tail a few years ago? I think it was Missouri. They sprayed hair spray to the tail to ignite it "just for grins". Poor horse had to have it's entire tailbone amputated OH!


YES!! That's the kind of sick thing I was thinking of. That poor mare, I remember I felt ILL watching the video of her recovery. It made you want to cry and hurt someone at the same time.





Leia


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## funnybunny (Apr 6, 2009)

In December there was a case of a farm where all the white horse tails were cut in a pasture, but no other color was cut.

They found out later that a grandpa was hand carving rocking horses for some grandchildren. He asked a teenage grandson to help him find some horsehair for mane and tails on the rocking horses.

The teenager DID find the horsehair, and the grandpa was very embarrassed after he found out about where the beautiful white horsehair had come from....

But the rocking horses were very beautiful. OH!


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## ruffian (Apr 6, 2009)

Horse hair is used for human hair extensions, and it is HORRIBLY expensive! A trainee I had (been on the job 2 weeks) said she had an appointment and needed to leave at 2 one day. I figured it was a doctor, dentist, etc. Next day she comes in with 10" extensions all over her head. She told me that she had to buy the hair from the hair dresser, and it was like $600 for a bundle the size of a quarter, 12" long.

I'd bet this is where the hair went. Oh, by the way? She got fired for other reasons soon after, including using company conference room and petty funds to have a knock off purse party.


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