Since the beginning of the nineteenth century, a bobtail referred to a horse with a tail cut very short, while a long but neatly trimmed tail has been called a bangtail.
The “bang” refers to the quickness of the cut.
The Americans abbreviated bangtail to bangs in 1878 when hair cut straight across the human forehead became popular.
Like the ponytail, bangs is a hairstyle borrowed from the business end of a horse.
