Mane and tail help needed

[Hayburner]

My Andalusian mare has a very thick mane and a tail that is finally coming in fuller and thicker. Her mane is fairly easy to manage and can be quite soft the tail hair is different. It's course and has a wave in it, it gets terrible witches tangles in it. I detangle almost daily with my fingers and never brush or comb it. The tail hair feels dries than the mane I have tried I swear almost every product imaginable product to soften it and to keep it from getting these twists in it. Nothing seems to work, the next day it's tangled again.


Any suggestions to keep it from getting these twists and tangles? Suggestions for a product to soften it? I don't want to bag it as I'm afraid during nite turnout she would get it caught ona fence and rip the hairs all out.

I tried Healthy hair and it gets sticky, show sheen, cowboy magic detangler, ecolocious producfs, 5 star detangler, silk by Ecovet, and some others nothing is working

I'm at my wits end trying to find something that will work. I think since it has a wave that's what's causing the witches knots

[blob]

Wind knots are tricky and you might have to resort to braiding the tail to keep it free of them.

My horse's mane gets them, her tail doesn't. And actually the more conditioner and product I put in to prevent the wind knots, the more she gets. I would try shampooing with a good shampoo, no conditioner, and make sure you brush through after it's dry. When I lay off the product, her mane is usually fine

[Hayburner]

Thanks Blob! I'll give the no contioner suggestion a try and see if it helps.

Even on days with no wind it gets the witches knots. Tho, the way she races around, she's probably creating her own wind

[heddylamar]

Does she have tangles that are essentially dreads? Both of my mares get those.

Anzia's tail is a bit oilier, so I can brush hers out starting at the bottom using either a wet brush (they die after 2-3 uses) or a curry comb. Somehow, Maia manages to get her tail matted with poop and pee too, and she's not fond of me brushing her tail, so I just let it go until I next wash her.

When I wash either of them every few weeks, I scrub the tail first, thoroughly rinse, and apply conditioner. Then I scrub the rest of their bodies. After I'm done scrubbing, with the conditioner still in their tails, I comb the tails. That's all the chemical treatment they get until the next bath.

[blob]

Does she have tangles that are essentially dreads? Both of my mares get those.

that's what I've always called 'wind knots' whether the wind cause them or not!

[Kyra's Mom]

I would think that good conditioning is necessary and it may just need to be braided--if you can keep a braid in.

My mare (1/2 Andalusian) has a pretty wimpy mane but her tail is something else. Her tail hair is very coarse and even braiding is a challenge to keep in in the summer with all the fly swatting. She gets "cords" but they don't really twist up too bad and I can brush them out without too much trouble (and a lot of Survivor). A couple weeks ago, I tried braiding, adding a baling twine switch, doubling the braid on itself and wrapping in vet wrap. That only lasted well about 3 days and the vet wrap was sliding off. The coarseness of her hair makes it difficult to get anything to stay in or on.

I do braid and put a bag on for the winter and it stays quite well (no tail swishing or flies). During the summer, I haven't found any method that really works with the coarse hair. I just try to wash and condition it every 2-4 weeks and otherwise, just leave it alone (no brushing or picking). If it cords, it cords. Last month, I tackled it after not touching it for like 3 months due to my foot surgery. I swear, I used a 1/2 bottle of Survivor and most people would be apoplectic with the amount of hair I pulled out. Last week when I washed it, I whacked off about 3 inches. It grows like crazy so I don't worry about a little hair loss.

Susan

[Hayburner]

Yes, we can call them wind knots, dreads or cords

I never brush her tail, I only hand pick. I bit the bullet yesterday as it was super dry and bought the Glowing Results shampoo, conditioner and gleam.

I'll keep you posted on the results.

I swear I've tried just about everything on the market from horse, human and ethnic products and nothing is keeping the tangles, wind knots etc out. Yes, I've even tried coconut oil

[blob]

Yes, do keep us posted!

I've also done a whole range, including the coconut oil... But it seems the combination of sweat (it's humid down here!) And oil/strong conditioners actually made it far more tangled. The knots were easier to get out, but there were a lot more of them!

Brushing AFTER it's dried has also proven to be an important step.

I wish I could find a really good detangler other than cowboy magic--I'd use it in my hair too!

[Hayburner]

Update on Glowing Results: I only used the shampoo, conditioner and gleam on her tail since it's a big issue. I made sure I got out all the wind knots before I used it. I really liked how clean it got the tail and the conditioner helped soften her broom like strands. The Gleem degangler was also nice BUT. The next day her wind knots were back, they were definitely easier to get out, but it didn't stop them from forming.

I have to give up, I have to stop this OCD behavior with her tail. She's a dirty girl who loves to roll and even keeping her tail clean is a job, and I don't want to over wash it. our wash stall closes in Oct so I won't be able to wash it, all I can do is use warm wet towels to manage the crud.

I will continue to use the Glowing Results products because they did help a little.