Hi i recently saw a shetland which was no more than a yearling and she didn't want to be loaded one guy was holding her lead rope and there was her owner and a friend each on either side they both had a hold of her tail and were trying to literally drag and push her into the horsebox! i was not pleased as you can expect but i fortunatly had a horse treat in my jacket pocket so i went over and asked if the treat might help. the young filly smelt the treat and took a small step forward then walked up the ramp and into the trailer. but i went away wondering why were they trying to force her into the trailer by dragging her in by holding her tail? she was facing into the trailer but i dont know why they were trying to get her in by her tail...anyone got any ideas as to why they were doing this?
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What I say to my friends who don’t understand why I’m doing this
Loading...Why do they pull the tail?
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and also does it hurt the horse having its tail yanked on?
EquiAbi
Oh yes it hurts !!!!
The underside of a horses' tail is very sensitive that is why it is so important to use a proper grooming brush when you are brushing thier tail.
Ronda
Hi EquiAbi!
I do not know why they pulled on the horse's tail (maybe you can ask them?). But I can agree with Majestic. I can add that there is a part of the horses spine in the tail. What would you say if somebody was pulling on your hair and spine? I bet you would not like it!
Best wishes for a good start into a happy new year
Jasmin from Hamburg, Germany
Hi EquiAbi,
I'm afraid using a young horse's/foal's tail as a "convenient" handle when loading them is quite common practice. :(
For some reason, people seem to think that they can use it as a lever, or simply make the horse walk forward to get away from the pressure.
It's also a "good" way to risk damage to the tail. :(
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On a horse as small as a yearling Shetland, I really don't see why they had to pull at all. The smarter way (if you don't know anything about Monty's methods, that is!) would simply be for the two people at the back, to form a "bridge" with their arms and press from behind against the lower part of the thighs, and more or less lift the little one on. No tail pulling needed!
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I'm glad you were there with the treat and had the courage to help the poor baby! :)
Hi, Thanks for all your help.
It was very useful. This tail pulling thing has been troubling me for a while and i was wondering if it was humane like the twitch which is reffered to and 'humane' but is not:) now i finally have some answers! YAY! im so glad that the forum is here for any questions:)
EquiAbi
I am pleased you helped out EquiAbi. I agree with the others - pulling the tail would really hurt the poor little horse and could cause damage to both its tail and back. For some strange reason ignorant people who do not respect animals believe in twisting and pulling tails of calves and smaller horses. It hurts the animal so much that they usually get a response from doing it hence the persistence of this cruel method.
EquiAbi & MaggieF
I have seen people lift the tail of the hors to persuade it to move forward when it did not want to. I don't think to works too well for the horse, but it allows the people to concentrate on what their task is. Getting any horse big or small to do something that they don't want to do is really harmful to both hors and people. If the people are successful they will use force the next time as well. If the horse is successful in not doing what is expected, he will try to do the same the next time as well. It reminds my of the lessons on Why George Will Not Go Forward. It did not matte how much pressure Monty put on the horse it would not go into the arena. The horse was so programed not to enter the arena he could not hear what was being asked of him by Monty. With lots of patience and insight on what was going on with George Monty was able to get him in the arena willingly.
Horses move into pressure not away from it so the move you push the more they push back.
Cheers