Horse Hair Sporran Question

[Grant60]

Here's a newbie question. Is the horse hair sporran considered to be a "pipers" sporran? Or maybe just the traditional military sporran?

[freddie]

I personally love horse hair sporrans and don't think they should be confined to pipe bands. In fact at one time everybody wore them, so there's a tradition of civilian wear.

[Jock Scot]

In Scotland, in particular, and probably elsewhere too, I think these days horse hair sporrans are indeed regarded as band and military attire. There is nothing wrong with a civilian wearing one if they so choose. I think the reason is, that kilted civilians in general here have found that grandfather's hair/fur sporrans are now starting to look a tad tatty and it is just simpler and possibly less expensive, to wear the more "plain" leather sporran instead.

[OC Richard]

Here's a newbie question. Is the horse hair sporran considered to be a "pipers" sporran? Or maybe just the traditional military sporran?

Calling a horsehair sporran a "piper's sporran" is really a misnomer.

Long hair sporrans evolved by 1830 or so, and from then up until they went out of favour (around World War One) they were worn by everyone, military and civilian, in all modes of Highland Dress.

In the military they were worn by everybody from the Colonel to the Private, the riflemen and drummers and pipers alike.

In civilian Highland Dress they were worn with fine Evening Dress and with the plainest possible Day Dress throughout the Victorian period.

Around WWI Highland Dress underwent a massive overhaul, which included the introduction of two new suites of sporran styles, both shaped like small pockets, seal with silver top for Evening Dress and brown leather for Day Dress. It was at this time that the long horsehair sporrans became exclusive to the Army. In the Army they continued to be worn by all Highland soldiers, just as they are today. Long horsehair sporrans are not now, and never have been, exclusive to pipers.

What did happen was the rise of civilian pipe bands in Scotland, beginning around 1900, who tended to wear military style dress which included of course the long horsehair sporrans. Civilian pipe bands abandoned that style of dress and switched to ordinary modern civilian Highland Dress by the 1970s, though a few pipe bands, especially in England, continue to wear the oldfashioned military style full dress.

Go to the World Pipe Band Championships in Scotland. You'll see over 200 pipe bands. You won't see horsehair sporrans, because even the Army pipe bands switch to civilian kit for competition.

A typical civilian in Highland Dress, latter half of the 19th century, wearing a long hair sporran with quite plain dress. Note that the sporrans worn with Day Dress tended to be brown/grey hair, and have plain leather cantles. They didn't tend to wear metal with Day Dress then, usually lacking cap badges, kilt pins, etc (the watch chain being a conspicuous exception)



Horsehair sporrans are still issued to every Scottish infantryman. I have to laugh every time I see one of these current Royal Regiment Of Scotland sporrans being sold on Ebay as a "piper's sporran" because pipers are the only RRS soldiers that don't wear them!



Long hair sporrans are still worn by Highlanders, here at the Oban Ball



And who wouldn't be caught dead wearing a horsehair sporran? Pipers!



Here's a video showing loads of different bands at The Worlds. I love the second half of the video, the bands having fun at the end of the day marching about displaying their prizes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2Sw5QHtqNA