You can braid in a tail extension anywhere from the lower third of your horse’s tail bone down to the end of the tail bone. Where you position the tail extension on the tail bone depends on how long you want the extension to hang – braid the extension in lower on the bone for a longer tail, braid the extension in higher on the bone for a shorter tail. We suggest hanging the tail extension no lower than the point of the fetlock – any lower and you run the risk of your horse stepping on the tail extension.
The first time you use your tail extension, wash and dry it for maximum fullness. Your horse’s tail should also be clean and free of tangles. Reach deep into your horse’s tail hair in the area where you want to attach the tail extension, and braid a portion of your horse’s tail in a tight braid about the size of a pencil. Braid tightly, and braid in a downwards direction. Holding firmly onto the ends, use a banding rubber band in a coordinating color to tightly band off the end of the braid. Loop the braid through the loop attachment of the tail extension, running your loop so the tail of your braid lays to the front of the tail extension once you have made your loop. Work the tail extension loop up the braid until the loop is snug against the tail bone. Once the loop is tight against the tail bone, take a small portion of your horse’s tail hair from each side of the loop; you will incorporate this tail hair with the first braid you made – braiding them all together to make one braid laying towards the front of the tail extension. Again, braid tightly, and in a downward direction, and band off with a color coordinated banding rubber band.
Next, go to the left side of the tail extension, and separate a small section of tail hair from the tail extension. Take a small amount of tail hair from your horse’s tail next to where you took the tail extension hair, separate that tail hair into two sections, and braid those two sections together with the hair you took from the tail extension. Do the same type of braid on the right side of the tail extension. These “stabilizer braids” will offer extra stability, and keep the tail extension centered.
You now have three braids – one running down the front of your tail extension, originating from the loop, a braid on the left side of the tail extension, and another braid on the right side of the tail extension. Pull your front braid to the back side of the tail extension. Catch the left hand braid and the right hand braid together with the front braid (all braids are now on the back side of the tail extension), and rubber band the three braids together. This hides all your braid work between the tail extension and your horse’s tail hair, creating a smooth, tight look. Your tail extension should be up snug against your horse’s tail bone. Brush through your horse’s tail and the tail extension to blend all the tail hairs.
If your horse’s tail will be hunter braided, your braider will implement the loop at the top of the extension to lay the extension snug against the tail bone as they braid down the length of the tail bone.