Tail Alteration of Horses

Position

"The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) is opposed to the surgical alteration of the tail of the horse for cosmetic or competitive purposes. This includes but is not limited to docking, nicking and blocking.  These procedures do not contribute to the health of the horse and are used primarily for gain in the show ring (nicking, blocking and docking) or because of historical custom (docking)."

Background

Horses require their tails for a number of reasons including protection from insects, thermal regulation and behavioral purposes.  Amputation may lead to infection, pain, neuroma or phantom pain.

The CVMA opposes surgical alteration of any animal for purely cosmetic reasons (1). Tail docking in horses is the surgical removal of the tail done almost exclusively in draft breeds (2). One possible rationale for this procedure has been to prevent the horse’s tail from becoming caught in a working harness. There is no evidence to support this assertion (3).

Tail blocking refers to the procedure whereby the nervous supply to the tail is chemically altered to create a more desirable effect of a flatter tail in the show ring (4,5). Tail nicking involves cutting the horse’s tail tendons to affect tail carriage creating an artificially higher carriage (6).

The procedure of tail blocking and nicking is a veterinary procedure that betrays the trust society places in the profession, as it uses the special knowledge inherent in the practice of veterinary medicine for the purpose of misrepresenting the quality of an individual animal.

The CVMA encourages horse owners and veterinarians to realize that long standing customs are not necessarily in the best interests of their animals (docking) and that facilitating cheating in the show ring is unprofessional conduct. 

References 

1) CVMA Cosmetic Surgery Position Statement.  Revised November, 2000.

2) Nebergall SA. How to perform surgical tail docking in draft horses. Proceeding Amer Assn Equine Pract 1999;45:113-114.

3) Cregier, Sharon E.  Shocking docking: mutilation before education? Equine Vet Sci 1990;4:252-255

4) Lowder MQ, Bridges ER, Gutierrez A, Padmore CL. Tail blocking in a quarter horse. Equine Practice 1991;13:17-19.

5) Colter SB. Tail alterations in show horses. In: Current Therapy in Equine Medicine L. Mills (Ed) 1992 WB Saunders, Philadelphia, pp 579-581

6) Tozzini, Sandra.  Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow:  Equine Cosmetic Crimes and Other Tails of Woe. Anim Law 2003;9:159-181

(Adopted July 2007)