I bought this horse brush from Riva (Walter Riva in Italy, sells on Etsy).
I already had an excellent boar brush from him with the same aluminium handle and the knot is much like a Zenith (maybe it is supplied by Zenith). Since then Riva seems to have offered most of their brushes with horse hair and, while I enjoy a good horse hair knot, I was sceptical about these because they are 100% tail hair, which is commonly supposed to be pricklier and stiffer than mane hair. But in the end I got one anyway, and the reviews on his Etsy page have all been very complimentary about this knot.
It is a very surprising brush. The hair is exceptionally soft and the tips are fluffy in feel. There is zero prickle or scritch. Not at all what I was expecting from horse tail hair. The tips are considerably softer than the Zenith XS (extra soft) horse knot - which I assumed is 100% mane hair, and is in turn softer than Zenith’s regular 50/50 mane/tail hair horse knot. Until now Zenith has been my only choice for horse hair brushes but I now like the Riva better. The Riva feels closer to a synthetic than a horse knot, and the tips are softer feeling than any badger. I think the Riva may be a bit less dense than my Zenith XS knots, which also contributes to a very soft feel. I think the Riva has a bit less backbone than the Zenith, it splays very easily, and the hairs don’t feel as springy as the Zenith. In fact the Riva feels less horsey than the Zenith altogether.
Riva must be using some particular type of horse hair that is different from other brushes. It is white hair, which some say tends to be softer than brown or black horse hair, but it’s still unlike what I see reported about any other tail hair knots of any colour.
For those who like strong backbone, horse knots aren’t really going to be your thing, and especially not the Riva or Zenith XS. But if you enjoy a soft brush then this is really excellent. And more ethical than badger, boar or synthetic, since it is natural and no animals are harmed.
Riva offers this aluminium handle quite regularly but most of their other brushes are stabilised wood or acrylic, and are mostly one-off designs - not all to my taste, but quite distinctive. FWIW my aluminium horsehair brush cost £77.
I already had an excellent boar brush from him with the same aluminium handle and the knot is much like a Zenith (maybe it is supplied by Zenith). Since then Riva seems to have offered most of their brushes with horse hair and, while I enjoy a good horse hair knot, I was sceptical about these because they are 100% tail hair, which is commonly supposed to be pricklier and stiffer than mane hair. But in the end I got one anyway, and the reviews on his Etsy page have all been very complimentary about this knot.
It is a very surprising brush. The hair is exceptionally soft and the tips are fluffy in feel. There is zero prickle or scritch. Not at all what I was expecting from horse tail hair. The tips are considerably softer than the Zenith XS (extra soft) horse knot - which I assumed is 100% mane hair, and is in turn softer than Zenith’s regular 50/50 mane/tail hair horse knot. Until now Zenith has been my only choice for horse hair brushes but I now like the Riva better. The Riva feels closer to a synthetic than a horse knot, and the tips are softer feeling than any badger. I think the Riva may be a bit less dense than my Zenith XS knots, which also contributes to a very soft feel. I think the Riva has a bit less backbone than the Zenith, it splays very easily, and the hairs don’t feel as springy as the Zenith. In fact the Riva feels less horsey than the Zenith altogether.
Riva must be using some particular type of horse hair that is different from other brushes. It is white hair, which some say tends to be softer than brown or black horse hair, but it’s still unlike what I see reported about any other tail hair knots of any colour.
For those who like strong backbone, horse knots aren’t really going to be your thing, and especially not the Riva or Zenith XS. But if you enjoy a soft brush then this is really excellent. And more ethical than badger, boar or synthetic, since it is natural and no animals are harmed.
Riva offers this aluminium handle quite regularly but most of their other brushes are stabilised wood or acrylic, and are mostly one-off designs - not all to my taste, but quite distinctive. FWIW my aluminium horsehair brush cost £77.
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