Long, thick manes and tails have a lot to do with genetics. Some breeds (Andalusian, Friesian) are noted for long lush hair; others (Appaloosa) tend to have short, thin locks. Within a breed, some bloodlines will tend to grow more hair than others. Your horse can only grow as much hair as his genetic blueprint allows. However, to make the most of what you?ve got, there are three things you want to address:

1) Feed it. In addition to good quality hay and grain, and plenty of clean water, some horses benefit from the extra vitamins and minerals in a high quality ?hoof? supplement. The hooves, hair, and skin are all related, so what helps one helps them all. If your horse also tends to grow hoof slowly, or the farrier complains about poor quality hoof horn, he's most likely to benefit from targeted nutritional supplements. Always check with your vet if you have questions about your horse's nutritional needs.

2) Protect it, from rough boards and protruding objects, chewing herd mates, and rough grooming techniques. When grooming, be excessively careful with the mane and tail. Don?t tear through the hair with a brush or comb. Instead, pick through the hair carefully with fingers, preferably only after washing and conditioning. Tail bags are a popular form of protection that can sometimes backfire. When they work, they are a great help in keeping the tail clean and reducing breakage. Tail bags should be made of a non-absorbing fabric (nylon, polypropylene); cotton socks tend to absorb moisture and can cause staining and rotting of the hair inside. Hair kept in a bag must be let down regularly for washing and conditioning--anywhere between a few days and a few weeks depending on local conditions. Tail bags should not be used on any horse that is pasture-kept, or turned out for long periods or without supervision, because they reduce his ability to swish insects, and can get caught on fences and trees. Hair in tail bags can become severely matted if the horse is kept in an area with a sandy soil--the silica in the sand works like glue. In the end, whether or not to use a tail bag is an individual choice that should be made after evaluating the particular horse-keeping situation at hand.

3) Treat it regularly with a high quality conditioner. One of the key ingredients of hair is moisture. The strength of a hair shaft is entirely determined by the amount of moisture it contains. Fully moisturized hair is strong and flexible, and resists breaking. As it dries out, hair becomes weak and brittle, and breaks easily. Hair is naturally moisturized when it first emerges from the skin. Over time it loses that moisture. When it loses too much, it breaks. Reduce dryness and you reduce breakage.

It may be helpful to think of the hair as a piece of rope covered with scales. The central rope is the cortex, and the scales are the cuticle. The cortex is the part that determines how strong the hair is, so that?s where we want to get our moisturizers. However, to get there each molecule has to get past the cuticle, and the openings in the cuticle are very small. Thus, a big molecule gets stuck in the cuticle, and leaves its moisture there. The result is that hair looks and feels ?conditioned?, but the cortex is still dry and weak. Until recently this was the best anyone could do. Many products on the market today use these large-molecule conditioners, in part because they are cheap. The breakthrough in hair conditioning came with the development of micro-proteins. These are moisturizing proteins with exceptionally tiny molecules that can fit through the tiny gaps in the cuticle and penetrate into the cortex of the hair. These micro-protein conditioners actually moisturize the hair at its center, where it does the most good. Quic Condition 1 (cream) and Quic Condition 2 (spray) are micro-protein conditioners created specifically for horsehair. They moisturize the core of each hair, resulting in softer, stronger hair that is less likely to break.