Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 July 1895 — A Horse’s Tail. [ARTICLE]

A Horse’s Tail.

In well-formed horses the tail should be strong at the root, rising high from the croup, the direction of which it follows. When this is horizontal the tail is gracefully carried, especially when the horse is moving. With powerful, good-shaped horses it Is often carried upward, or even curved over the back, especially when the horse is lively. The health and strength of the animal are, according to popular notions, indicated by the resistance the tall offers to manual Interference and by tlid way in which it is carried. To some extent also it affords an indication of the horse’s disposition. A fidgety horse usually has the tall, like the ears, always in motion; when about to kick, the tail Is drawn downward between the legs; when the animal Is fatigued or exhausted then it is drooping and frequently tremulous; and with some horses, when galloping,, it is swung about In a circular manner or lashed from side to side. There can scarcely be any doubt also that, like the tail of birds, It assists to the horse’s movements, as when the animal is galloping in a small circle, or rapidly turning round a corner, it Is curved to the iuner side. With well-bred horses the hair of the tail Is comparatively fine and straight, and often grows to su<sh a length that it reaches the ground; coarse-bred horses may also have the hair long, but then It is usually very thick and strong, and more or less frizzly, though soft curly hair may occasionally be noticed in the tall of thoroughbred horses. In some horses there Is a tendency to shedding of the tall hair (this, like that of the mane, tall, forelock, fetlock, and some other parts, is permanent, and not shed at certain seasons, as in other regions of the body); the horse Is then said to be “rat-tailed,” and there Is a popular saying to tbe effect that such a horse Is never a bad one. In other Instances the tall hair falls off except at the end of the dock, where It forms a tuft, and the horse js then “cow-tailed” or “niuletalled.”— I ’J’he Nineteenth Century.