Re: RC: Crooked Tails

[DESERTRYDR1@aol.com]

I see horses with a tail carried crooked quite often.  In Arabians it can be 
hereditary (so I've heard) or can be the result of crookedness in the horse's 
spine.  I had a mare who looked symmetrical from the ground and from the 
saddle, but I was having saddle fit problems.  She developed a big shoulder 
on one side, and was also slightly more clubfooted on the side opposite the 
big shoulder.  She also tended to carry her tail slightly offset.  Since then 
I have taken her out of the western saddle, rode her bareback for about a 
year then found an english dressage saddle that seemed to fit much better. 
She no longer has the big shoulder, her feet grow pretty evenly, and her tail 
is straight.  My friend rides crooked, and her horse carries her tail off to 
one side.  The horse was barely green broke, then not rode for a couple years 
before my friend got her.  She didn't c arry her tail crooked when my friend 
first started riding her.  She appears to be moving straight, but when I 
watch my friend ride, she is a little off center.  To me, the most 
interesting thing about my horse when she was crooked was that I measured her 
for a blanket, she measured 70" on one side and 74" on the other from center 
of chest to tail!  It's possible for a horse to be crooked without looking 
like it, and it's possible to ride crooked without realizing it.  jeri