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Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Teach Me Tuesday: Products for Perfect Tails

Full disclosure: my shampoo at home cost $4/bottle and I don't use conditioner. And I think my hair care routine is excessive. 

BUT. I am a big proponent of perfect tails, especially since I have a horse with kick ass tail genetics. I mean, let's be real, that's 90% of the tail battle anyways. 
#hairgoals #lifegoals #tarraisbadass

I've been picking Tarra's brain about hair products lately because let's face it: she deals with more hair than possibly anyone else in the blogosphere. I never thought this would happen, but she's actually changed me from my all-vetrolin all the time stance. Now I religiously follow her recommendations--wash tail, use Equifuse CitraCreme deep conditioner, let sit, rinse out, then finish with Equifuse Gleam. THEN put a squeeze of each into a spray bottle, mix with water, and use it as a daily conditioner for tails. 

You guys. 

This is magic. Courage's tail has never felt so amazing. I washed it ONE TIME in March and it's still just perfect. 

So tell me. What are your hair care secrets? 

23 comments:

  1. I just hopped on the Equifuse wagon, my sample packs arrived in the mail last week! Can't wait to try them out.

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  2. Daily conditioner/detangler and gentle brushing. I want to get on the equifuse train too!

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  3. Man, I really want to try Equifuse -- everyone raves about their products!

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  4. I'm such a slacker with my horse's tail but I've gotten better with it. He has sweet itch so half of it is always weird looking and sometimes he rubs hair out. :P I put cowboy magic conditioner in it every other day and brush it out, then braid it. And wrap it, because pony likes to rub.

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  5. Oh man that EquiFuse regime sounds awesome! I am just so loathe to spend money on it LOL. I spray with Cowboy Magic or Vetrolin Shine a few times a week and brush out, and in the summer when he's getting baths frequently, I shampoo with Mane & Tail, rinse, Condition heavily with Mane & Tail, let sit, rinse, then use either Vetrolin or CM gel detangler followed by CM spray. Let dry. Brush. MAGIC TAIL.

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  6. I give baths with heavily-diluted apple cider vinegar on the daily, dunking the tail in the bucket at the end , swishing it around (removes sweat buildup from swishing across a sweaty body), then rinsing. For shows or more involved baths, I wash with conditioner only (Uh. Suave?). I usually will deep condition (leaving the conditioner on while I bathe the rest of the horse), and then spray down with cowboy magic or some other sort of silicone product to keep the hair slippery ... reducing chances of it getting caught and breaking. I never brush it. I comb through it before shows and clinics ONLY (and even then, only sometimes).

    Pig has very little tail, and I like to preserve it by doing very little to it. :)

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  7. I've never used that brand before! I mainly use a mixture of dried mud and manure lately. Ha! Pasture horses are hard to keep clean tails with... But I did just get in Some grooming products fromThe Herbal Horse and I can't wait to try them!

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  8. I am intrigued! Courage's tail looks incredible. I am very hands off with Boca's tail. I don't touch it unless it is fully washed and conditioned, then I comb it out carefully. We don't have heated water at the barn, so his tail doesn't get washed from Oct - May. I just hand pick out debris and pray for spring.

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  9. Skye runs around in the mud every day so I don't touch it unless I have thoroughly shampooed and conditioned it first. Ripping a brush through muddy hair is a recipe for disaster.

    Don got daily gentle combing of his tail and cowboy magic leave in conditioner. It looked nice but the process was mainly because I found combing it soothing.

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  10. the tail gets washed somewhat regularly with shampoo, then the occasional slathering of cowboy magic detangler. i don't do as much with the mane during summer months bc i like it to get a little tacky and grippy so my running braids hold up better.

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  11. Tucker is follicly challenged and has kind of a pathetic tail, which was NBD in the hunters when he wore his fake for shows, but now in dressage land I would love for his natural look to be better. My routine has always been to spray with show sheen a few times a week, pick out shavings/twigs/snarls with fingers, brush carefully every once in a while. I think my method could use some advancement!

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  12. I used to be firmly in the do as little as possible camp, but lately I've been using my Herbal Horse healthy hair. I just rub some on my hands and smooth it over his tail. Sometimes I also comb it through, but lots of times I just let it soak in.

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  13. I need to add to my EquiFuse collection. I couldn't believe the magic it worked on Bacon's disgusting dirty tail.

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  14. For people that say it too cold to wash or its so gross, etc. just rinse the tail off with water and soak it in the gleam and conditioner mix for 10 minutes or so. It will undo all the knots and tangles for you! It is super easy! Glad you hopped on the EquiFuse train. It really is magical :)

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    Replies
    1. That moment the blog you've been following for /years/ mentions your friend from the barn...

      Daaaaamn the horse community is small!

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  15. I don't do a whole lot. I use whatever shampoo/conditioner I have on hand at bath time, and use spray on conditioner (affectionately called "the pink stuff" because it doesn't have a brand name) at least once a week and a gentle comb through every week. In the winter it stays wrapped almost the entire time because my fingers are cold enough as it is without exposure to moisture, but every time the wrap needs to be redone it gets more spray in conditioner and a gentle comb through.

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  16. I'm pretty in love with my Lucky Braids but I think I'd like to try this in combo with the shampoo... might be extremely VAVOOM!

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  17. Genetics and feeding Platinum Performance. Lucy has an amazing, fantastic tail though so I guess we just got lucky. I do swear by PP though!

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  18. I follow the pink products method! Wash tail with blue shampoo, condition with whatever cheap crap I got at Jewel, massage in pink lotion http://www.walmart.com/ip/46120376?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=197&adid=22222222227033588683&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=81877947609&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=138872289849&veh=sem, spray with Health Hair Care, braid. Pearl's tail is luscious right now. I should probably use a tail bag if I want my horse's tail to look less yellow but...meh.

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  19. Daily - touch up with a stiff brush and hand pick as needed. On Sundays, Cowboy Magic detangler and carefully brush the whole thing out. It's a process with all of the drafty tail. When the weather is warm enough, I give it a scrub with QuickBlack once or twice a month and condition it with Eqyss conditioner. Darkens up his tail and it feels like silk afterward.

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  20. I have a sort of similar program, but I use Ecolicious products instead of Equifuse. They weork really reall to make the tail (and the rest of the horse) really soft and shiny, and they have a leave in conditioning treatment that works great as well. Plus all their stuff smells great, so my horse usually smels like Oranges and coconut. I recently grabbed their detangler too, and was happy to find that while it makes his tail easy to brush and shiny, it's not slippery like Cowboy Magic or Showsheen. I accidentally sprayed it all over his neck and shoulder yesterday so I guess that will be the real test! Lol.

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