If you were a tired, unwilling, or infirm horse, you d probably start swishing your tail east and west in protest trying to rid yourself of the upcoming event much the way you would if you were trying to rid yourself of an unrelenting fly. Horses with East-West tails usually walk with their heads low and bobbing. At times you ll see flopped over ears with a total disinterest in everything going on around them. If their tails ever stop going east and west, they will quickly lie flat against their rumps. They ll offer no trouble to more willing and spirited horses who are interested in running.
Tucked tails are the third variety of negative positions.
However, you won t see this type all that often. It is most often associated with a very frightened horse. The tail itself will almost disappear between the hindquarters. Horses displaying a tucked tail are usually quite fractious and at times have a very wild look in their eyes. Racing is the very last thing that they want to do.