Horse Hair questions

[c-denby 0]

Hey everyone, I have noticed recently that a few people have been tying with horse hair and I have found a few patterns that call for it. Now I live on a horse ranch and we cut the mane's quite often so I would be crazy not to gather up a bunch of hair to use for my flies.

Now here is the big question, How do I clean the hair? I would prefer to be able to get a big bunch of hair and crimp them all together at one end like you would find with krystal flash and other synthetics, But once i've done this, How would I go about cleaning and making sure there is no bugs or eggs??

 

We have several different kinds of horses and different color mane's so I would be able to get some white color that I could Dye. Would this be possible and/or How would I Dye it?

[rockworm 0]

Horsehair is an underused, but excellent material. It makes great bodies on very small flies (Marinaro used it for his ant bodies.) I have seen dyed horsehair for sale somewhere- across the pond I think. I shouldn't think it would offer any difficulties to the dyer. Just don't let the dyebath get too hot. White horsehair is actually clear and should take up dye readily.

 

If you have no experience dying, I suggest you refer to previous threads here on the subject. Or consult one of the many books on the subject (Rosborough's Fuzzy Nymph, Best's Dying and Bleaching.) Dying is not difficult, but it can be tricky and it often is messy. Start with small amounts of material and keep detailed notes. You will be a master in no time.

 

As for washing. Are you sure its necessary? If it is, I would use dish detergent in hot water. Rinse and dry well. When it's absolutely dry, store in a Zip-Loc bag with a little para-di-chloro-benzene (moth crystals.)

 

When you're done why don't you post some pictures of your horsehair flies to inspire us.

[c-denby 0]

Thanks Rockworm, For you help.. I'm heading out to the barn right now to do some "trimming"..

[David Legg 0]

That is a material I have never tied with. I'd love to see you post up some flies when you produce something with it. I am curious how you like it.

[blakejd 0]

Hey everyone, I have noticed recently that a few people have been tying with horse hair and I have found a few patterns that call for it. Now I live on a horse ranch and we cut the mane's quite often so I would be crazy not to gather up a bunch of hair to use for my flies.

Now here is the big question, How do I clean the hair? I would prefer to be able to get a big bunch of hair and crimp them all together at one end like you would find with krystal flash and other synthetics, But once i've done this, How would I go about cleaning and making sure there is no bugs or eggs??

 

We have several different kinds of horses and different color mane's so I would be able to get some white color that I could Dye. Would this be possible and/or How would I Dye it?

I'm curious to see the results of this post. I've been harrassing my sister to send me some clumps of horse main from her mustangs. I may have to add bribery to get them but I thing it will be a delight to work with. Do you have any links to flys tied with horse?

 

Josh

[Al Beatty 0]

Hi c-denby,

 

Take a clump of from-the-horse hair and temporarily bind it together with tying thread or tie wrap then wash it by hand in Woolite, rinse and dry. Once the washed hair is dry cut one end of the clump even then use a hot-glue gun to anchor the trimmed ends the cut off the thread/tie wrap. When you need strands of hair just trim them out of the glued clump and tie them on the hook.

 

You can use the same process to prepared pre-stacked moose/elk hair for tying hair-wing flies. Take care & ...

 

Tight Lines - Gretchen & Al Beatty

www.btsflyfishing.com

[djmyers 0]

What patterns have you seen with it used?

 

 

[Jessie 0]

I've used horse tail hairs, they are also easy to wash by hand. Just roll them up like leader material to store them.

 

The tail hair makes awesome midges. It's the perfect diameter and makes a great looking ribbed body. I also use it for ribbing march brown nymphs and stoneflies.

[neoFLYte 0]

I am anxious for warmer weather when we will clean up our horses. I've been eyeing manes and tails (keep it clean, folks) and maybe even curry trappings since the fall of last year. Seems to me a little experimenting would be fun and maybe even productive! My sister runs an Equine Assisted Therapy facility for psychological support of youngsters. I might whip up some horsehair flies from the "therapy horses" and make a shadowbox for the kids to look at. Come to think of it, I could even do some fly tying classes for her kids. Hmmm.

 

[rockworm 0]

NeoFLYte

 

That's the best idea I've heard this year. Make sure some pics of the kids' flies (and some of your horsehair creations) show up here!

[c-denby 0]

I don't have the links to the horse hair flies, However if you do a search on this forum You should find one post about it. One of our members recently tied a few Horse hair flies and thats where I originally got the idea.

 

Once spring comes and we start cutting the horse manes and tails, I will make up a bunch of hanks of hair and give away to anyone who would like to try. Usually when we cut the manes We take off quite a bit of hair, and with 10 horses, I will have enough hanks of horse hair to last 10 lifetimes.

At the moment I have been cutting a little bit here and there but we don't usually cut any hair while it is still cold out and with snow on the ground.

 

 

Chris

[flyderaght 0]

Sheridan lake in BC has used a pattern using horsehair. It's been a staple for the big bows in there for years.This is a close variation of it using black bear hair.

http://www.tourcanada.com/sheridan.htm

marc