Gingering

Gingering, or gingering the tail, is the practice of making a horse carry its tail high, and to a lesser extent to encourage it to move in a lively fashion, by applying an irritant, such as raw ginger, to its anus or vagina. Historically the process, the purpose of which was often to make an older horse behave like one that was younger, or to temporarily liven up a sick or weakened animal, was known as feaguing (from which the modern term figging derives), and involved a piece of ginger, onion, pepper, tobacco, or a live eel. The modern practice commonly involves a paste product with concentrated gingerol.