Thieves trim tail hair from 3 horses in Montana

[October 28, 2010]  BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) -- At least two southwest Montana horse owners are reporting thieves trotted off with tail hair from their horses.

Such hair can be valuable to makers of handcrafted horse bridles or other items. Sandy O'Rourke reported someone entered a Three Forks corral on Oct. 17 and cut off the tail hair of two horses and part of the mane of a third horse. The hair was cut off below the bony section of the tail. The horses were not injured.

In Dillon, Bob and Connie Riley are offering a $500 reward for information leading to whoever snipped the tail off their horse about a month ago.

Horses use their tails to communicate with one another and to swat flies. Bob Riley told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle that it takes four to five years for the tail to grow back.

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Information from: Bozeman Daily Chronicle, http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/

[Associated Press]

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