Not such a long face now: The horse who lost his tail to cancer is riding high after having it replaced with hair extensions

By TOM GOODENOUGH

Happy, the former show jumper, is restored to his former glory and proudly shows off his new tail

Horses are well known for having long faces, but Happy the horse had more reason than most for looking sad.
After vets discovered a tumour at the base of his tail, they were forced to remove the huge, grapefruit-sized melanoma - leaving just a stump behind.
Fortunately for Happy, however, a hair extension company has come to the rescue and returned the horse to his former glory.
And now the former show jumper can go back to enjoying his retirement at his home in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire.
The steed formerly lived in Leeds at a horse sanctuary but was adopted shortly after undergoing the operation.

Happy was left anything but when vets were forced to remove his tail after discovering a tumour

And the intervention of the company, 'Horse Hair Extensions', has come at just the right time for Happy, who was starting to show signs of distress at no longer having a tail to wave away flies.
Luckily for his new owners, the generous company even agreed to waive the £70 fee for reconstructing Happy's new pride and joy.

Not again! Happy keeps a close eye on his tail as co-owners Anita Elcome and Ruth Varty inspect his new pride and joy

Amy Shedden, from Hope Pastures Horse and Donkey Sanctuary in Leeds, West Yorkshire, who briefly took in Happy before he was re-homed, said he seemed delighted with his new tail: 'It’s important for a horse to have a tail so they can swat away flies and Happy was in desperate need.
'We are a charity so couldn’t afford to pay for a new tail so Happy’s previous owner started contacting people after I spoke to her.
'Then, Horse Hair Extensions contacted us and asked what colour he was so they could match the tail.
'He still had the dock so we took pictures of that and sent it off so they could see what they were working with, and they began making the tail out of real horse hair.
'After it arrived in the post we braided it onto Happy’s tail and he seemed really pleased. He was rehomed just a week ago and will be a riding horse.'

The 16-hand horse named Happy received his new tail with the kind assistance of a hair extension company after being left with just a stump

Happy might still have a long face but he seems content with his new tail at his home in West Yorkshire

Happy’s new owner, Anita Elcome, a 34-year-old cleaner from Knaresborough, North Yorks, said she fell in love with him as soon as she saw the horse: 'We have to remove his tail every few days because there isn’t much hair remaining on his dock, so it works free after a while.
'After we remove it we then braid it back in.
'But it is very important for a horse to have a tail as it shows their mood, and also swats away flies.'

source: dailymail