Has anyone ever made braided horsehair jewelry?

[targetsmom]

I have an idea for a group I am involved in of making braided horsehair bracelets - like friendship bracelets - and selling them as a fundraiser. But of course I have never done this before so wondered if anyone has experience working with horse hair? Like how to obtain it, keep it clean and tidy, and how many bracelets you might be able to make per horse? Without destroying their ability to fight flies! It is pretty easy to get info on the braiding itself, but not how to work with horse hair. Any help would be appreciated.

Our group is Angel Horses, a non-profit organization in Granby, CT that provides a retirement home for former therapeutic riding horses where they can still provide useful service to ablebodied and disabled persons, but not be ridden. Note that miniature horses could provide the same sort of therapy that these horses will be providing in their retirement!! The first program will start soon with a group of preteen special ed students.

Their Website is currently under construction - I will post when it is back up.

 

[candycar]

Maybe I can help a little. I get my hair from my horses. When you brush the tails usually get a few. Save it. You can cut a little from the tail underside if you need to. How much depends on how fat the braclet. 1/4 to 1/2 in goes a long way. The hairs should be at least twice as long as the finished product depending on the braid and how you connect the ends. Long hairs you can double. I usually use 30-70 hairs.

Organization is labor intensive if you have a ball of loose hair. (Seperate each hair and sort by size), easier if it has been cut from the tail. Glue together at one end to keep it contained. Clean as you would any hair.

I use fabric glue, it can be washed and is flexible. When you go to braid, count the hairs out for each strand and use mustache wax (I use clear) to keep the hairs together while you braid. It will wash out when you are finished.

You can find connector ends on line or at some hobby stores, I have been using the crimp kind, but there are other options.

Hope this helps a little! PM me if you want any more! Here's a pic of my "on all the time" bracelets. They will last about a year or so with constant wear before the hairs start breaking.

 

[lilstars]

mary thats a great idea, and candycar does a great job on her bracelets (someday i will get more hair down to you) lol!!

 

[minimule]

One of my friends makes horsehair jewelry. This is the link to the page where she explains the steps in collecting, cleaning and preping......pretty labor intensive.....

http://www.beautiful-horses.com/bracelet1.htm

 

[dreamlandnh]

I would love to braid mane/tails...checked out the site and it looks like ALOT of work

 

[targetsmom]

Thank you so much!! This is just the kind of information I was looking for. The people on this forum are the best!!!

I do not plan to do the work myself but hope to train volunteers. Angel Horses already has a number of volunteers and this would be just another way they could help out. Many have their own horses so could perhaps even contribute hair. Although I thought it would be really neat to market the bracelets with a photo of the horse the hair came from. We'll see on that one...

 

[AppyLover2]

Wow Minimule, her work is gorgeous. Thanks sooo much for posting that link. I really enjoyed looking at it and thinking of things I might like to have made someday.

 

[Sterling]

What a wonderful idea for a fundraiser! Thank you for starting this thread and thank you to those who posted info and links! I had given this some thought before....now I will look into it moreso! Targetsmom....the pic along with the jewlry sounds like a fantastic idea!!

 

[SilverDollar]

One of my friends makes horsehair jewelry. This is the link to the page where she explains the steps in collecting, cleaning and preping......pretty labor intensive.....http://www.beautiful-horses.com/bracelet1.htm

Her work is absolutely beautiful! Thank you for posting the link. I've always wanted to learn how to braid horsehair; now I think I will just commission Jacquee' to make some jewelry for me instead!

I just love her silver pieces as well as her custom pieces. Her prices seem reasonable, too. Must send that link to my hubby.

 

[funnybunny]

Beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

I saw a thick cuff bracelet at a "big" horse show about a year ago. The horsehai was twisted, not braided. Wonder how they did that?

The one I saw had silver bands about every 1/2 inch. I can't figure how they did that twist and kept it even.

 

[minimule]

Jacquee' does do beautiful work. The pieces are even more gorgeous in person. She's a great business person too....very professional.

 

[TinyMiteVillage]

This is a great thread. I have a neice that lost her horse and I cut some of his tail and saved it to make a keychain or something for her but have not figured out how to do it. This sorta gives me some ideas. Thanks again...........