# Horse body hair



## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

Can anything useful be made of horse body hair? Besides using it as a stuffing (as in upholstered furniture cushions). Can it be felted? The Icelandic horse that board and train here at my place is shedding absolutely mind-numbing amounts of long white hair. Yesterday his owner was over and brushed out more hair from his 540lb body than I have ever brushed from my 1700lb drafts in one setting. DH gathered up a few fistfulls and put them in a couple of the chicken nest boxes to see what the hens think. I was wondering if it could be felted into a pad for a nest box, or... I don't even know! There's just so much of it that it seems a shame to just put it in with the compost or leave it out for the birds.

The individual hairs are probably a good 4" long, though I have not measured.


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## goodhors (Sep 6, 2011)

Manes and tails get used for stuffing, but not body hair that I ever heard of. I know we have horsehair stuffing (manes and tails) in our harness saddle padding. They also make horse hair belts, ropes, decoration tassels with the coarse tail hair. Used to be used in furniture as stuffing over the springs, during the Victorian times, after processing. 

Maybe in Iceland there were traditional uses for body hair, they didn't waste much. But here in the US, unless body hair got mixed in with other fibers to be felted up for that rough, grey felt on inexpensive saddle pads, I can't think where it would be useful commercially or in home uses. Body hair can be DARN picky when stuck on you after grooming a horse, though not as picky as tail and mane hairs that are coarser. 

Our horses shed, but don't have that length hairs. 3" was probably the longest, with some 4" guard hairs on a horse from the Canadian Plains. He could really POOF up in the cold!

Sorry, not much help. How about using hair as stuffing for pet pillows? You could sew the cases shut and even run them thru the washer as needed.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Yes, as far as I know, horse hair will felt very well. You sure can try it.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

I'll bet if it was spun good and tight it'd make good warp thread for weaving rugs or something sturdy.

Probably a bit itchy once it is spun, as it's hair not wool ... but a 4" staple would make spinning a fine, sturdy thread fairly possible I would think!


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

I have a pair of cotton quilted booties padded with reindeer hair. Purchased, no idea what it looks like, but it sure is warm.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

I doubt you would have to spin it. But to felt it I would wet felt it. Maybe put the fibers between two pieces of cloth to secure them until they begin to felt.


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## Tommyice (Dec 5, 2010)

I'm not sure how you'd clean it. I mean my horse was, how shall we say, an indiscriminate roller and was always filthy.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

But if wet felted it would be cleaned during the felting process.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

Yeah, poopy hair doesn't sound too great. I would have to figure out a way to wash it if I was using it for anything other than chicken nest box pads. Well, y'all have given me some ideas. I think I will just GO FOR IT. If I am successful, I'll pop back in here and let you know.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Good Luck Jennigrey! Hope we hear back from you


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## horsehair (Sep 8, 2020)

Tommyice said:


> I'm not sure how you'd clean it. I mean my horse was, how shall we say, an indiscriminate roller and was always filthy.


Clean by putting in zip up closed mesh bag put in washing machine, or in bucket to wash, rinse hang on the line to dry, it matt's in the wash but easily pulls apart to use for whatever purpose!


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

The best saddle pad I ever owned was made of horse hair with a finely woven lightweight canvas backing. They were common when I was a young child but by the time I was out living on my own, I had the only one I knew of. They were no longer for sale.

Some Asian country tried to copy them using goat hair felt and it turned horsemen right off the hair pad.


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