Horsing around and sewing

 As the seasons change, so do the fields and foliage where my horses graze and spend their days.  Fall means the great big, sharp and pinch-y burrs appear.  When I returned from my trip last month my horse's tail was covered and wound and bound with burrs from the tip of her long and flowing tail right up to her rump.  Gypsy has an extremely thick tail and trying to remove all of the burrs took hours.  The next day when she went out to the field she came back in once again covered in burrs.

Below is what these nasty burrs can do.  Once a few stick into the hair more and more will attach to the other burrs and end up weaving what once was a beautiful horse tail into a matted mess.

 

About all I knew to do was to grab a bottle of Cowboy Magic and pull out the burrs one by one...   That is until I heard about tail bags.  They are simple enough to make can be made out of a variety of materials.  I know many people use tube socks and even panty hose.  But I wanted mine to be lightweight AND to resist attracting burrs.  I chose a very lightweight but sturdy nylon fabric.

 

I bought a meter of nylon fabric which was far more than I needed for one tail bag.  It came in handy though and I was able to make extra bags for other boarders at the barn.

 

Each bag is about 26 inches long and 5 inches wide.  I rounded the bottom so there would not be any pointed corners banging into my horse's hocks.  At the top of the simple bag I sewed two straps:  one down the center of the front of the bag and placed the male side of hook and loop tape (the sharper pointed side of the tape).  The hook and loop tape is about 6 inches long and using two strips it is 2 inches wide.

 

The tab on the back of the bag is about 9 inches long with 6 inches of the female side (the soft side) of the hook and loop tape. 

 

Once the bag was complete it was time to prepare my horse.

With the braid secured I folded the end of the braided tail about 6 or 8 inches up and slid her tail into the bag.  I slide the tab on the back side of the bag through the center of the top braid and attached it to the hook and loop tape on the center front tab.

 

Voila!  The bag is securely in place and no ties or clips were needed.  The photo above is my mare after wearing the bag for two straight days.  The burrs won't cling to the nylon bag.  Her tail stays clean!  A simple sewing project that will save my horse's tail, keep it clean and eliminate the prickling and sticking of the sharp burrs into my hands when I groom her.  Win! - Win!

 

Until next time,

Cheers!

 

 

 

 

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