Horsetail Bandits Grab The Booty

This a tale of missing horsetails.

At least seven eastern Iowa horses have been stripped of their tails in recent months, with the latest theft occurring last week in Solon.

“I have no idea who would be mean enough to do this,” said Val Upmier, who runs a stable where the tails of two horses were cut off two months ago. “They didn’t take the whole tail off. Whoever did it had a conscience. They left a fifth of what had been there.”

It takes about two years for the hair to grow back. Without tails, the horses are uncomfortable this time of year.

“We’re into the fly season. They need the tail to keep the flies away,” said Don Gaddis, whose horses were also victimized.

So Gaddis has woven strips of sheet into his horses’ tails. Caretakers at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids have tied on denim.

The tails may have been taken to make jewelry or hair extensions for show horses, said Nellie Wilson, a faculty member in Kirkwood’s horse science program.