Care and maintenance of horse hair sporran

[Tarheel]

The "frazzle" in horse hair sporrans begins with the degrading of lanolin in the hair. As the hair ages, it does not produce new oils and must be replenished. There are shampoos, cleaners and additives that can be applied to refurbish the sheen of old (technically dead) shafts. The products that Terry mentioned (via Steve's post) can be found through folks that groom horses for show.

Look for online sites that chat about manes and tails. Check with veterinarians and pet groomers about hair products.

[Tobus]

I use "Cowboy Magic" on my horse's mane and tail. It's an excellent detangler and smoothing product that makes it easy to brush without ripping or pulling out hair. It makes the hair feel slick and lay down well. It won't get rid of waviness (I'm not aware of anything that will), but it's an excellent product for keeping horse hair under control.

[MacGumerait]

I have a horsehair piper's sporran that I had packed away for about 30 years . It had developed two large waves in it due to the way it had been laying . The tassels also had the same waves .

I used the following method to remove the waves which worked very well :

1. Fill up the kitchen sink with mildly warm water .

2. Remove the tassels from the sporran .

3. Dip as much of the horse hair into the water as possible without getting the leather on the back wet for about 1 to 2 minutes . ( I actually tipped the sporran forward a bit to get more hair into the water which did get a bit of the leather wet when I hung it up , but it didn't hurt the leather . )

4. Lift the hair out of the water and let it drip for a moment , then dip and repeat 3 more times .

5. Hang the sporran up and let it drip dry .

6. Do the same with the tassels .

Once dry , the sporran and tassels looked brand new , nice and straight and smooth . This process worked very well ... at least for me .

Cheers , Mike