Any of you guys have horses ?

K

Kevin the grey

Joined
Aug 26, 2005
Messages
4,106
I realise horses are a very personal issue and may even be considered members of the family . I have asked a couple of people up here for horse hair and you would think I was asking them to pull teeth . I,m trying to learn how to braid a horse hair bow string . I have some I got from a violin maker on E-bay . There is just not quite enough to make a string . They are also asking quite a bit as this is premium Mongolian pony hair used to make Violin bow strings . If any of you guys know of a source I,d appreciate it .
 
Try slaughter houses, sounds awful I know, but when I did leather work a chap maker I knew got horse tails from a slaughter house. I think he was sending the hair to a prison somewhere to be braided in to hat bands and decorative panels for belts and chaps. Most areas have services that remove dead large animals it may be worth check with them as well.

Todd
 
Good ideas boys . There isn,ttoo many of the aforementioned facilities anywhere near me . I might be able to see the guy who processes for a buffalo farm in the country . He mostly does cattle but you never know . I hope they don,t still turn horses into glue ?
 
Do you have any stables in the area? They sometimes store horses there temporarily before turning them into glue.
 
Josh I don,tthink so .Its really not horse country around here .Personally I hope such magnificent animals are no longer used for glue . I guess its a good idea that everything gets recycled . I think there are a couple of stables in the country . They are not that accessible to me and as I said private owners are quite attached to their horses .
 
How much do you need? We have a few horses and I might be able to help. Gotta clear it with my sister though.
 
Kevin the grey said:
I realise horses are a very personal issue and may even be considered members of the family . I have asked a couple of people up here for horse hair and you would think I was asking them to pull teeth . I,m trying to learn how to braid a horse hair bow string . I have some I got from a violin maker on E-bay . There is just not quite enough to make a string . They are also asking quite a bit as this is premium Mongolian pony hair used to make Violin bow strings . If any of you guys know of a source I,d appreciate it .
Click to expand...

Hi Kevin:

I've owned horses and rode alot. Roped and worked cattle, too. Even fell off!

A thought about your hairy need.

Go to a stable and get horse hair off a brush that has been used to groom horses. It's just cleaned off the brush and thrown away.
 
E-mail me and I will be able to fix you up.

Do not pay for horse hair! :rolleyes: I don't care whose stinking arse it comes off of, royalty or not. :D

Does it matter what color?
 
BTW, would you prefer cheap, southern American mixed breed that was accidental in the making, or registered Arabian? :D
 
Terry Newton said:
BTW, would you prefer cheap, southern American mixed breed that was accidental in the making, or registered Arabian? :D
Click to expand...

Both would be good . Whatever is stronger . Its best if all of one kind stays together ab imbalances occur within a string if different breaking strains are used .As for color ?A light colored string is always visually appealing . Colr is not as important as quality or quantity .

The longer the better . It was suggested to get it off curry brushes ? While I have gotten a small quantity that way it is not always the best . It is usualy damaged hair that is ready to break that is collected on the brushes . I should have my E-mail back up in a week to gove you my address or I will get a yahoo one as Yvsa suggests .
B:T:W: Thanks .
 
tedwca said:
How much do you need? We have a few horses and I might be able to help. Gotta clear it with my sister though.
Click to expand...

My E-mail will be up in a week and I,ll send a letter to you .
Thanks .
 
We have horses here on our property, Quarter horses and Friesian. The Friesians hair is jet black.
My brother made a bow for his symphony base with his own hair, I think he also made a violin bow. Let me know if the others provide what you need. Horse hair is really strong and should work well. If you want to try the plant fiber route, let me know (Well-made plant fiber string is superior to string made of animal fibers because it holds the most weight while resisting stretching and remaining strong in damp conditions. However, plant fiber strings are generally much more labor intensive to make than animal fiber strings, and the preference in the recent past was for sinew, gut, or rawhide.) I grabbed that off the University of Iowa website.
 
John even horse hair is quite the art . Usually a Violin bow string is many single strands gathered and stretched over a bow . An archery bow string is braided along its length . As the lengths are not long enough they must also be joined together to make a longer strand . There-in lies the rub . It is best I have as much as I can gather as failure is part of the learning curve . No matter how well a string is made it will eventually fail . Supposedly if it was made from horse hair the maker will be quite busy for the first little while .

You are right I would not even attempt a plant fiber string unless the fibers were processed for me . I have made a couple of Flax/linen strings and Yhough I can tell you it is a pleasure to braid, the gathering and processing is beyond me for the moment .

Your son must be proud to have made his own Violin bow string . Does the music sound sweet ?
 
Call the local 4-H club. I think the kids would love that project and maybe you could tell them a little something about what you are doing.
 
DGG said:
Call the local 4-H club. I think the kids would love that project and maybe you could tell them a little something about what you are doing.
Click to expand...

I can just about guarranteeyou there are no 4H clubs within 75 miles of me . Its a good idea and I,ll keep it in mind when I,m out and about . You are right . Kids involved intheir own projects would be interested insomeone with projects of their own .
 
I don't think Jasper would have enough of a mane or tail to donate.

doctorevil.jpg
 
hollowdweller said:
I don't think Jasper would have enough of a mane or tail to donate.

doctorevil.jpg
Click to expand...

I talked with one guy whu has used lengths as short as 4 inches . I think you would need magic elven fingers and lotsa spare time to do it like that .I betcha goat hair would be strong . I think I,ll stick to goat cheese . There is a guy not too far from me that made a Jalapeno goat cheese that was out of this world .

My bad . Is that a burro ? I don,t think I,d like to milk a burro .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top