How to?

[Dusty]

Back in the 80s, we used to actually break their tail when they were young to get the ball up high enough.  And we wondered why the calves wouldn't stand still in the show ring.

I'm still no expert on tails, but basically you use a "rat comb" to rat the hair in strands and then glue it all together.

I've never mastered getting enough tail hair to make the pretty bushy ones that a lot of calves have now.

What was accomplished by breaking the tail?  Would you then basically fold it up when making the ball?  What if you just cut off the excess to the height you wanted the balll????

 

[kanshow]

Yes, you would fold the bottom - I'd say 4" of tail back up on itself.   There is kind of a little break right at the top of the switch anyway.    If it was broke, it would bend back on itself easily.   Otherwise, it was hard to get the tail bent back all the way & the calf would do a lot of tail switching & leg stomping.    I suppose you could have amputated the end of the tail but you would have lost all the switch hair.     I have however seen showboxes full of tail switches.   

 

[Bawndoh]

Yes, you would fold the bottom - I'd say 4" of tail back up on itself.   There is kind of a little break right at the top of the switch anyway.    If it was broke, it would bend back on itself easily.   Otherwise, it was hard to get the tail bent back all the way & the calf would do a lot of tail switching & leg stomping.    I suppose you could have amputated the end of the tail but you would have lost all the switch hair.     I have however seen showboxes full of tail switches.   

Just makes me think "Blehh".  Gross!

 

[DLD]

If you want a completely fitted look, the tail needs to be fitted too, imo.  The teardrop shape should fill in the twist - comb it out, sort off enough hair around the top of the switch to cover the rest and tape it or have someone hold it up out of the way, lightly back comb the rest, spray with adhesive and form the teardrop, when you get it to hold together, let the other hair down and comb it over the teardrop - trim the bottom if needed, spray with adhesive and smooth it down.  This method leaves a much more natural look than ratting out the whole tail.

As far as length goes, you need to trim it - not tie it up.  When fitted, the lowest part of the tail should be even with the lowest part of the calf's body (maybe not with Brahman influence cattle), so I trim it a couple of inches longer because fitting it pulls it up a little bit.

For a blow and show, spray a little Show Sheen (Kleen Sheen, whatever...) into the switch and comb through it, shape it with clippers if needed.  The sheen will give it a little body and shine for a more finished look.