Draft tails were not docked for ease in harnessing, they were docked because there is nothing more horrifying than the sight of a long tail that has wrapped itself into farm equipment and been ripped out. Draft people who are using their draft horses for farm work will still dock for just this reason.
Same reason cattle tails are docked. Most large farms have automatic scrapers now for manure, pens are cleaned every 10 minutes! When they lay down in the stalls however, their tails "dangle," and few things are more horrifying to see or more painful to the animal than a scraper slowing de-gloving a tail.
I think as stewards, we need to be RESPONSIBLE for out actions. If you alter tails, you better keep a fly sheet on your horse, loaded with flyspray, etc. Don't turn heifers out with docked tails either, that's just a pretty low thing to do. Don't think every docking/whatever is done in a cruel manner either - and don't rely on youtube, PETA, or HSUS to see how its done. I think the bands left on for a long period of time is absolutely horrible personally. BUT, the American public seems to think a rotting piece of meat flopping aruond for days or weeks is kinder than leaving the band on a day or two to kill nerves and blood supply, then lopping it off
I could go on about the CONSTANT misinformation about agriculture, and practices such as this for DAYS. For some reason, we listen to the guy with the pretty big garden and 4 chickens about our food instead of the 4th generation farmer in the business for 30 years, but thats just as much producers not wanting to be open, most of which is because the guy with "4 chickens and a pretty big garden" constantly thinks they know more than the farmer does. itch scratch cycle.
Please, THINK before you automatically point the cruelty finger. For beautification only purposes? I am SO against causing undue pain, however, a LOT of the practices mentioned here, in passing and head on, all come from a direct function, and things would go very bad if the practice wasn't done.
