Stopping a Switcher.
Apart from operating upon the muscles of the tail to prevent switching, which often is a bad vice in mares, dealers resort to the following trick: The tail is tied up over the horse’s back as tightly as possible and left in that position over night. It becomes so numbed by this treatment that the horse is unable to use it for half a day or so after it is let down.
The switching habit is also mechanically prevented, when the mare is hitched, by fastening a strand of the hair or string from each side of the tail to a part of the breeching of harness.
Tail switching is less likely to be noticed by the buyer if the tail is tied up or braided. Therefore, it is well to let the tail down for this and other reasons before deciding to buy the horse.