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Collecting the Horse Hair
Submitted by Pony Up on Tue, 06/23/2009 - 11:32

Preparing the Hair for collection and Braiding.

You will want to start by washing the tail first. By washing the hair before you start cutting the hair will make this process very easy and have a nicer finished piece.

Brush or comb out the CLEAN tail prior to cutting and again before you start trimming. The mistakes that are most common here is that the hair is not long enough or that you do not cut enough hair.

You will find the longest hair is found at the top of the tail bone and will be best for your jewelry. Next, gather a lock of hair that is about the diameter of a thimble when squeezed tightly. The Minimum length for a Bracelet is 22 inches, so start at the top of the tail bone from the underside.

 


 

  • Grasp the longest hairs at the bottom of the tail.
  • Lift the longest hairs over to the side with one hand and with the other hand pull the shorter hairs away.
  • Separate away as many short hairs as possible so you are only cutting just the longest hair.
  • Cut close to the tailbone.
  • Cut 2-4 bunches from different places on the tail so you do not cut too big a chunk from one place.
  • The final bundle should be about the diameter of a nickel or more, the more hair the better the piece of Jewelry.
  • For a standard sized bracelet the length needs to be at least 18 inches long, however, 22 inches is better.
  • With Scissors, cut the hair from the tip and immediately bind the hair with a runner band or use braiding bands.
  • Once cut, Keep the cut ends of the bundle even with the each other.
  • We can use the some of the shorter hair for key chains and zipper pulls.
  • Bundle the hair in a large plastic bag. Do not braid, fold, knot or kink. Just loosely coil the hair if needed.
  • Make sure to tie a rubber band around the bundle. Please do not use tape.
  • The hair should be clean and free of tangles or mats.
  • Do not knot or braid the hair. Just a gentle loop like below.
  • Place the Hair in a Zip Lock bag along with the horse's name, and you may want to add a date on the bag. Image and video hosting by TinyPic

    • **REMEMBER: Not all the hair that you trim for you jewelry will not be usable.

    We find that only about half makes it through the sorting process once we receive the hair, so please make sure you send enough. To make sure you can do quality work for your bracelet oother items you will need about the diameter of a nickle.

      Image and video hosting by TinyPic

     

    Did you already collect the hair and did not clean it first

     

    For cleaning the hair, you will need to secure one end of the hair with a hair rubber band.

    You will need to thoroughly wash it with a disinfectant soap.

    You may need to wash the hair more than just once, sometimes several times. If the hair is really dirty, let it soak for at least 24 hours in a dish pan with disinfectant soap.

    Then rinse it well, soak it again, and then give it another wash. Once it is free of debris and dirt, urine or feces, then hang the hair to dry.

    You do not want to add any kind of oil, show sheen, or any other similar product to the hair. Blot the hair dry with towels and hang to to dry.

    A hair dryer may be used to speed the drying process. Make sure it is completely dry before starting your project.

    Once dry, take the end with the most uniform ends and remove all the shorter hairs until it is all about the same length for the braid. It can be quite a process. Just take your time. You are ready to go.

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