Brushing and styling the tail—many of us usually discard horse hair after grooming. However, surprisingly, there are many products made from horse hair! In this article, we’ll introduce some common uses of horse hair that you might have seen before.
Brushes and Paintbrushes
Using animal hair for brushes and paintbrushes probably comes to mind first. Let’s take a closer look at the various uses of horse hair in these tools.
Clothing and Shoe Brushes
Brushes designed for cleaning clothing are often made from horse or pig hair. Compared to pig hair, horse hair is characterized by longer and softer bristles. Horsehair brushes are gentle on fabrics, making it easier to remove dust and pollen without damaging the material.
For leather products like shoes that require regular maintenance and oiling, it’s recommended to use a soft horsehair brush to remove dirt first, then apply leather oil. For applying the oil into creases and uneven surfaces, a pig hair brush is often used.
Body Brushes
When washing your body, what do you use? Many prefer a body brush with a long handle for easy access to hard-to-reach areas like the back. Horsehair body brushes are characterized by firmness yet gentle touch.
Typically, body brushes are made from tail hair with a coarse texture, but mane hair, which is softer, can be used for facial brushes. You might worry about brushing your face, but you’ll find that mane hair has a completely different, softer feel compared to tail hair. Over time, the brush becomes fluffier and provides a soft, gentle wash.
Calligraphy Brushes
Horse hair also finds its way into traditional calligraphy brushes. The strong bristles make writing sharp and clear, even for beginners. Some brushes use finer hairs around the handle, but the tail hair provides the stiffness needed for brush tips. Different animal hairs, such as deer, sheep, rabbit, or human hair, are also used depending on the technique.
Painting Brushes
Young artists often use brushes with horse hair because of its firmness and resilience, making it easy for children to use without fraying. In art, various types of brushes—oil, watercolor, Japanese painting—require different hair types. Besides horse hair, materials like deer, sheep, rabbit, and even human hair are used as well.
Cooking Utensils
Horse hair is used in various kitchen utensils, both in home kitchens and professional settings. Along with the brushes discussed earlier, horse hair may also be woven into other surprising tools.
Sauce and Bread Brushes
Brushes for applying sauces on meat or spreading egg wash on bread are very handy in the kitchen. For flour-based baked goods, a flour brush is useful for cleaning off excess flour.
Sieves
Many sieves are made from metal, but some are crafted by hand from horse hair. A meticulously made sieve with a wooden frame and horse hair is used not only at home but also in restaurants and traditional Japanese confectionery shops.
Bows of String Instruments
While you may not encounter horse hair in daily life, you might have seen it in orchestras or on global musical instruments. Many stringed instruments utilize horse hair for their bows.
Violin and Cello
The bows of violins and cellos are made from horse tails. The hair is stretched tightly across the bow, allowing musicians to produce sound by rubbing it against the strings. Typically, white hair is used, but thicker black hair is said to produce a stronger sound.
Although synthetic fibers are gaining popularity, many musicians prefer horse hair for its better coupling with rosin and natural feel.
Kokyu and Erhu
The Japanese kokyu and Chinese erhu, both stringed instruments with horse tail hair on their bows, are similar to the violin. However, their bowing techniques and tensioning methods differ. The horse hair is often kept slightly slack and adjusted during play by the performer, making it quite challenging.
Morin Khuur (Horsehead Fiddle)
Many associate horse hair with traditional Mongolian instruments like the Morin Khuur, thanks to its appearance in stories like ‘The White Horse of Sugh.”
Unlike violin or erhu strings made from metal, sheep gut, or silk, the Morin Khuur’s strings are often made from horse tail hair. Historically, animal hair was also used for the instrument’s body, sometimes covered with horse hide. The instrument’s rhythmic sounds imitate horse’s gait and neighing, often reflecting the pastoral culture of Mongolia.
Traditional Arts and Textiles
Finally, we explore how horse hair has been used in traditional performing arts and textiles. Older artifacts and crafts often contain horse hair, possibly more so than modern ones.
Noh Masks and Kagura Masks
Horse hair is used in masks for Noh and Kagura performances to represent hair and beards. Sometimes, horse hair is used to create ornaments attached to performers’ heads, such as crowns or manes, in regional festivals. Although riding horses is common, the number of horses has significantly decreased since the days when horses were essential for farming and transportation. This decline makes obtaining horse hair more challenging for traditional crafts.
Textile and Clothing Foundations
Horse hair is woven into textiles called ‘basu-ori,’ which uses hemp or cotton warp with horse tail hair as the weft. These fabrics are quite stiff and durable, making them suitable for furniture upholstery. Additionally, horse hair fabrics are used as stiff linings for hats, collars, and bags in fashion manufacturing, thanks to their strength.
Summary
From everyday items to high-end products, horse hair plays an unexpectedly broad role in many fields. Historically, horses were close to humans, and their tails and manes have been used as raw materials. Even now, some items made from metals or synthetic fibers trace their roots back to horse hair. This fascinating connection highlights the enduring significance of horse hair across centuries and industries.