RicelandMeadows

April 30, 2025

This young lady had a very long and unkept tail. It was matted with manure and mud. It was so bad, I didn’t even try to get my thinning comb through it. Just like a snowball, bits of manure and mud grab on to each other and begin to build a “clump” or a whole lot of “clumps”.

I sprayed those clumps with WD-40. I was quite liberal with it. I let the WD-40 soak for about 30 minutes. Then we went to the wash rack. I used “Dawn” dishwashing soap on her body and worked my way back to her tail. I lathered her nasty, WD-40 soaked tail. I massaged it a while, but almost immediately the quagmire began to dissolve. Those ugly clumps disappeared as soon as the soapy water made contact with the presoaked hair!

After her bath, I started working on her tail with my thinning comb. In no time at all, her tail was thinned and shaped. I like them at the length of their hocks. They have plenty of tail to fight the flies, yet it stays up out of the mud and snow. Most draft breeds tail’s are “bobbed” but I want mine to have their tails. The Suffolk horse breed standard expects the tails to be left, bone intact, as God made them. I agree with this.

I am not the only one who likes the red hair! I find the hair in nests all over the farm. My favorite to find is when the very fine hair is woven into an oriel or humming bird nest. It is like a reward for my efforts.

Our newly trimmed “Maggee” on the left with her friend “Joy” on the right. Magee just turned three and Joy is now two. They are my next trainees. They have both had many hours of hands on ground training but now the harness and hitching work begins.

The work here can finally begin. The spring rains are starting to wane and the soil is drying up. We have two very pregnant mares waiting to deliver. The dry ground and growing green grass is a welcomed sight. Songbirds are hatching all around the farm. Spring has sprung as they say and lots of hair has been made into homes.