My babies have no tails left!!!!!

[Karin - NaKar Miniatures]

I went out to feed this morning and all the the babies have had their tails shortened! Most of their tails are up to their hocks. One poor little colt's tail is only as long as his tailbone! I've been sick the last 3-4 days and we have been getting lots of rain and it is very sloppy. I would run out to feed and rush back to the house and never even noticed their tails until this morning. Obviously, it must not be just one culprit. What would make them eat each others tails like that? They look so pitiful with almost no tails left!

Edited to add photos.

 

[MiLo Minis]

A nutritional deficiency. I would get them a mineral supplement and start feeding it free choice.

 

[Charlotte]

Boredom. Not enough going on to keep the little minds occupied so they make their own fun

:

Not saying it couldn't be feed related, but I've seen this happen many times with youngsters on a very good diet...

We just had a show candidate come in with a tail 'almost' to the hock! He'll probably have a bit of a short tail all show season. Don't think I'll have to be shortening his for the shows!

Charlotte

 

[CyndiD]

You don`t have any goats around do you???

Thats what happened to my weanling`s tails and manes before..

:

 

[Karin - NaKar Miniatures]

I feed my babies Purina Strategy(approx 1 lb/horse) and they get free choice top quality alicia hay. So I wouldn't think it would be a nutritional deficiency. No goats around here. I guess it could be boredom. With all the rain we have had the past couple of days they have been confined to their dry lot. Most of the time they have had to stay inside because it was raining really hard. I was just very surprised that all their tails got that way so quickly! I have never seen anything like this before. Usually, it is only one or two horses - not all of them! Gosh, I hope they don't get hairballs and end up getting colicy!

 

[justagirl]

UUGGHH ...that's awful.

Question .... are all their tails chewed off, or is there one that still has his/hers ??

Reason I ask is, I once boarded a horse for a friend and the stinking thing practically chewed the barn down and the tails off my full sized horses. Turned out that this was the reason the original owner sold my friend the horse. Seems that it was just a "bad habit" . There was not ever a nutritional deficiency, this was simply a habit....he would even chew wood with a cribbing collar on . That horse HAD to go !!

So maybe if the culprit is known, he or she couldbe separated from the group.

Just a thought, and good luck.

 

[kaykay]

black did it for a bit to a mare he was in love with lol. thank goodness it stopped. when we got patches she had no tail. she was pastured with big horses and one chewed it off. get some shapelys mtg and put it on and they will grow out much quicker. I do worry though about colic for the horse doing the chewing. My guess is they are bored being on the drylot and made their own game

 

[tagalong]

There was not ever a nutritional deficancy, this was simply a habit....he would even chew wood with a cribbing collar on .

Well - the cribbing collar would not stop him from being a beaver... it would just prevent him from cribbing - planting his teeth in something and sucking in great lungfuls of air. So yes - I can see a determined chewer doing that!

As you said - it just develops into a habit...

:

 

[Reble]

They look so neatly done :aktion033: Do you have a helper when you where sick and thought they might help by trimming up the tails

:

My new horse the lady thought she needed to trim her tail looks alot like that.....

 

[Cathy_H]

We sold a family three mini's. They had goats that chewed the tails off on two of them. After we convinced them it was the goats - too late. The gelding had picked up the habit & still chewed the tails on the other two. They are stalled more there also so I think boredom has a lot to do with it.

 

[SHANA]

Hi,

I have a arabian mare who just this winter chewed the other arabians tail off

: . Had my vet out, as this mare in 8, had her since she was born and never did it before. Vet checked her, blood, everything, found nothing wrong with her. He says she is bored as I moved and she no longer has a 20 acre pasture to run in, now she is down to a little over a acre. The other arabian is fine but she is used to small pastures and only 30 minute turnout a day. She thought she was in heaven when she got to stay out 24/7. Once we get enough money for more fence and winter is over we will make her pasture to about 5 acres. Hopefully this will stop her from being bored.

: If not then I will ship her back to my grandmothers every winter so she can have her 20 acre pasture.

 

[Marty]

You sure no one stopped by and did this for a very cruel joke?

Karen, dip their tails in some warm water and conditioner and brush them out real well.

Then start spraying them with full strength Listerene.

Feed them a teeny amount of Biotin. Grow hoof = Grow hair

 

[Lauralee]

I just had this happen to two of mine. Fortunately we were able to identify the beavers of the bunch and separate the offenders.

Not much you can do but let it grow with time.

 

[Lori]

At petstores you can get some stuff called bitter apple (I think that's the right name) it is to apply to make them stop nursing, chewing, ect. They don't like the taste. My 6month old mini colt just chewed/pulled the tail off my arab mare. It is above her hocks now, it almost touched the ground 2 weeks ago. She was in heat and standing with her rear to his side of the fence for several days, and he just tugged and pulled on her tail and had a good old time, unfortunetly, I didn't catch on until the damage was done and finially caught him in the act. Good Luck. Lori

 

[Karin - NaKar Miniatures]

From the sound of the other posts, I guess my tail chewing problem was probably caused by the boredom of not being able to get out and play with the couple of days of rain we had. I did check to see if there was anyone that didn't have their tail chewed on, but they were all chewed up to some degree. I guess they all got together, like a bunch of 3 yr old kids, and decided to give each other a tail cropping! LOL I may go ahead and try what Marty and Lori suggested to ward off any further tail cropping.

I have been thinking of trimming the other horses tails so that they aren't dragging in the mud. Maybe I should put the babies in with them and they'll do the job for me. LOL :lol:

 

[Tony]

I had about six of our weanlings come up with "bob-tails" this week, too! Trying to determine the culprit, but need to put them out in the pasture, I guess, to stop it.

 

[wwminis]

[SIZE=12pt]We had a guard mini donkey that chewed all the tails and manes off all our mares in 2 days!

: They were the sorriest looking bunch of horses for almost a year! When I caught him, he had a mouth full of white tail hair!

Needless to say, the donkey was put in his own lot! :bgrin [/SIZE]

Bill