We are currently helping out with a horse who was neglected by a 'friend'. Health wise, he's not too bad, just a little thin. The vet thinks that with care, that will be ok soon. The person claims poverty as a reason for not looking after the horse, and voluntarily gave ownership to my sister, who is capable of caring.

But the maine and tail are a mess-and the horse isn't so comfortable around humans as to let us spend a lot of time brushing it out. Would it be more fair in this situation to just cut them back and start with new growth? The vet had just said to work on it-but like I say till he gets used to us, he won't allow that.

I would just work at it bit by bit. The tail is a valuable body part for the horse. Without it they can't swat flies. I think it would be more stressful for the horse to lose the tail than for your sister to keep working at it. Also, it's a good way of showing the horse you won't hurt it, of gaining trust.

I would definitely cut the mane back, you could go for the fjord horse look, and that will be a lot easier to comb out the first time. It might have some difficulty dealing with flies if you cut the tail, is there anything else the horse can use to brush flies away?

Yes, I can see that being a concern and hadn't thought of it before so thank you. I think we may proceed to cut back the mane as best we can, and just take the tail with care. It is too close to those hind legs for my liking.....

Depending on how twisted it is you could be stuck cutting off more than you'd like from both. Even if you could trust him completely if his tail is a mess much of it would be coming out when you detangle it. You can look into a tail bag which normally has a small whisp on the end to flick flies with. Also remember that if you roach the mane (the Fjord lok) it will grow back spikey and upright and need to be tamed down properly after.

What about the possibility of using something like a conditioner to make it easier to comb out? I wouldn't think that if you could wash it off properly that a cheap human conditioner would be too much of a risk for the horse but it would definitely make it easier to comb.

Give the horse some time to get used to you, and hopefully things will be made easier for you after that.

Just be patient with the horse, and you will be able to work on the maine and tail a bit.

If you rush things too quickly, you will just be making it more difficult for yourself.