Short tails

Q: Is there anything I can feed or give to my horse to help his tail grow long and thick? It’s very short. Or is this just a waiting game?

Answered by Lieke Kerkers, HAVENS specialist and ESI expert

There are ways of helping your horse’s tail to grow long and thick. Nutrition in general can contribute to the growth of the tail. In addition to unlimited roughage in the diet, it is very important to ensure your horse is getting enough minerals and vitamins in his diet. This may, however, not be necessary if you are giving a complete feed so it is worth checking with an equine nutritionist or your vet, to get their advice. You need to be careful just adding vitamins and minerals to the diet as in high levels these substances can be toxic to the horse. However, mineral and vitamin deficiencies will stunt the growth of the tail and the hooves, so you do need to look into this.

In terms of supplements that are less likely to be found, even in a balanced concentrate feed, biotin and sulphur-containing amino acids can positively affect the growth of the tail. Again, it is worth discussing this with an expert in equine nutrition to get their opinion on the balance of your horse’s diet, and which additives may or may not be of assistance.