Why are horse brushes not as popular

[DannyZ]

I own two Vie-Long horse hair brushes. One is a brown hair brush (12601) and the other is a white hair brush (13061b). Both are 21mm knots. I love these brushes.

I soak the brushes for maybe 60 seconds and only squeeze them at the base of the knot. I lightly swirl the tips while loading and do not apply pressure. I use paint strokes to build my lather and the feeling is sublime. I feel they perform on par with my badger and synthetic brushes. They just require a different technique.

I feel the need to add that I have coarse facial hair and my skin is not sensitive at all.

 

[niketin]

I thoroughly enjoy my horse hair brushes. Different face feel. Never had any problem with tangling. My favorites are the Zeniths.

 

[lurchbrian]

First the stench was really bad

Cheers

maybee yours was from the top of the tail .

 

[Rusty Blade]

I was wondering what makes people skip horse brushes and why they seem to draw very little attention. I've been using mine along with badgers and it gives me some great shaves. I like it much more than the boar brushes I've tried.

I, too, have wondered why horse hair brushes are not more popular. I have two Vie-long and I enjoy both. Both have good backbone. I do find I have to be careful pressing too hard while I load my brush because the darker hair brush can develop tangles. This is not a big problem because when they are dry I run a comb through the hair and they are fine. The only down side to horse hair brushes is the break in time. It does take a while to get the horsey scent out of the brush. Otherwise they are great.

 

[Heron]

My horse brush was prickly so I sold it.

 

[cryhavoc]

I love my Vie-Long BGS2012 Butterscotch Beehive Natural Horse. I like it better than my badger's but not as much as my boar's.

I think Horse brushes are excellent performers and are really overlooked in the endless B&B discussions on what brushes to try next.

For folks who don't want a badger or boar due to humane reason's, the horse brush a great option for a natural but cruelty free brush.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I read they tangle but mine hasn't tangled at all.

I have just this one. It's extra soft horse from Zenith.

In my opinion it's a handsome looking and great performing brush. It's different. It had some horse smell at the beginning but it went away pretty quickly. It has a feel unlike my boars and unlike my badgers. It loads in a somewhat different way, too. However, it is a lather monster for me (I'm a face latherer) even though it looks different from boars and badgers in the process. I really like its feel on my skin, too.

I've considered buying another one. If I had only this one brush I'd be fine. It's a much better brush than thought horse brushes could be. I'm glad I read a great review on this brush and became convinced I should try one.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[MntnMan62]

I've never used one but I imagine they'd be too floppy.

 

[cryhavoc]

I've never used one but I imagine they'd be too floppy.

Mine isn't floppy and has a great backbone, much stiffer than my Semogue 1250

 

[rudyt]

I've never used one but I imagine they'd be too floppy.

Maybe for the white ones, but the brown ones set at the right loft are plenty stout, more backbone and exfoliation than most boars, but without that “lathered tennis ball” feel of a stout badger.

I have a Vie-Long 12705 (24/50mm) and an 12601??? (24/52mm) and floppy is something they’re not. The taller skinnier “neck duster” brushes are very floppy however.

 

[FireDragon76]

I've never used one but I imagine they'd be too floppy.

My Rubbersets have as much backbone as boar brushes, and are good for soap or cream.

I have used floppy horsehair from China and it's hellish in how much it tangles. Sshort lifespan (it only lasted a few years). But the Rubberset or Vie-Long have coarser hairs.

 

[MntnMan62]

My Rubbersets have as much backbone as boar brushes, and are good for soap or cream.

I have used floppy horsehair from China and it's hellish in how much it tangles. Sshort lifespan (it only lasted a few years). But the Rubberset or Vie-Long have coarser hairs.

How are they from a scritch and softness standpoint?

 

[FireDragon76]

How are they from a scritch and softness standpoint?

Like cheap badgers, not as bad as a new boar brush or older nylon (which are very scratchy when new). I'm OK with that, I mostly bowl or puck lather, but it isn't so uncomfortable I couldn't face lather with them, either.

One thing I don't do is press hard on the brush. You let the brush do the work, using only the tips.

 

[rudyt]

How are they from a scritch and softness standpoint?

Definitely scritchy and exfoliating for the brown horses. The white horses are much softer and plush feeling, with a hint of scritch (although it’s there), but for my lathering style, they tangle like mad. I much prefer the brown horses.

 

[MntnMan62]

Definitely scritchy and exfoliating for the brown horses. The white horses are much softer and plush feeling, with a hint of scritch (although it’s there), but for my lathering style, they tangle like mad. I much prefer the brown horses.

I'm not a big fan of lots of scritch. I like a little but too much is off-putting to me. It sounds like between the level of scritch and tangling issues means that horse isn't for me. That's ok by me because I have plenty of boar, badger and synthetic.

 

[FireDragon76]

I, too, have wondered why horse hair brushes are not more popular. I have two Vie-long and I enjoy both. Both have good backbone. I do find I have to be careful pressing too hard while I load my brush because the darker hair brush can develop tangles. This is not a big problem because when they are dry I run a comb through the hair and they are fine. The only down side to horse hair brushes is the break in time. It does take a while to get the horsey scent out of the brush. Otherwise they are great.
View attachment 1017946

I got some Ship Shape on recommendation of a poster here, and it took care of the horsey smell. The smell can be really foul. It persisted even though the brush NOS and hadn't been used in decades- if anything it was more foul than other horses I have used. A few good washes and it was good to go, only minimal animal smell left and it's tolerable.

Boar brushes can also stink. I have a Turkish boar and it smelled quite strong when it was new.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I mash every brush into my skin. Splay is an essential ingredient in every lather I build. My Zenith horse is ridden hard and put away wet. From the very first time I used it I loved how it felt on my skin. It's a different brush but it lacks enough scritch to bother me at all + it has enough scrub to get the job done.

Not a big fan of scritch, but I'm a huge fan of scrub. That makes me hard to please. My horse is a favorite brush. lt looks great, but, trust me on this, performance is everything in my brush choices. I like the horse. A lot.

That doesn't mean anyone else would like it as much as me.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[KW Driver]

I got a Vie Long. it stank. Badly. For a long time. That wasn’t the sticking point for me. For me was the scritch. Too scritchy, but otherwise similar to boar.

 

[Brutus]

Some years back, I gave Vie Long horse brushes a try.

The smell was not a problem, as I got rid of it quickly.
They had a good backbone, maybe a bit on the prickly side.

The main reason that I gave up on them was the tangling and hair loss.
Brown horse hair brushes seemed to be worse off than white ones, but that could be related to the ration of mane and tail hairs that differ between brown and white brushes in case of Vie Long.
Tangling could be controlled by religiously combing them after drying, but for me that worked against them as none of my other brushes require that sort of treatment.

Except that the animal is not harmed, horse hair brushes have IMO nothing that I can’t find in a quality boar or badger brush.

So I stopped using them.


B

 

[Suhrim21]

I have a horse knot from shave forge that graydog put in a handle for me that I love. It has a little backbone but is an amazing brush. I also have two vielong brushes that are horse and they have a lot less backbone but I did learn quickly not to put pressure on them as one has a doughnut hole in it. But I still love them. The feeling is soft but still has some scritch to it.

I will get some more brushes with the horse knot from shave forge.