Saving your horse’s tail hair after death is one of the most meaningful ways to preserve a physical connection to an animal you loved. The process is straightforward if you act quickly: gather the tail, secure it with a soft hair tie, and cut just below the tailbone with sharp scissors. From there, you can clean it, store it, or send it to an artisan who will turn it into jewelry, pottery, or another lasting memorial.
How to Cut and Collect the Tail Hair
You’ll want to collect the hair as soon as possible after death, before the tail stiffens or conditions deteriorate. Gather the entire length of the tail, bundle it with a large elastic hair tie (no metal crimps), and cut with good scissors just below the tailbone. That bony structure running down the center of the tail is called the dock. Cut below it so you’re only taking hair, not tissue.
A few things to avoid: don’t use tape, zip ties, or vet wrap to bundle the hair. These can crimp or damage the strands. Don’t braid the tail before storing it either. Leave it loose, like a ponytail, to prevent breakage and permanent crimping that could limit what an artisan can do with it later. If you’re collecting hair for multiple keepsakes, you can separate it into bundles, but keep each one secured with a soft elastic at the top.
Cleaning the Hair Properly
Horsehair fresh from the tail is usually dirty, oily, and full of shorter pieces that need to be removed. A thorough cleaning makes a real difference, whether you plan to display the tail at home or send it to a craftsperson. The process takes some patience but uses common products.
Start with warm water and a good scrub using antibacterial dish soap like Palmolive. This strips the worst of the grease and grime. Follow that with a mild, scentless shampoo (Orvus paste is a favorite among equestrians) that lathers well and rinses clean. For light-colored or especially dirty tails, make a paste from Orvus shampoo, baking soda, and water, work it into the hair, and let it sit for about 20 minutes before rinsing with white vinegar. If you have a white or gray tail, a whitening shampoo like White ‘N Brite can be worked in and left for 15 minutes before a final rinse.
Once the hair is clean and dry, you’ll want to remove the shorter pieces near the top of the bundle. Hold the tail about 8 to 12 inches from the top, then brush upward toward the tied end with a firm hairbrush. The short hairs will pull free, leaving you with a clean, uniform bundle of long strands.
Storing Horsehair Long-Term
If you’re not ready to decide what to do with the hair right away, proper storage matters. Horsehair is an animal protein, which means it’s vulnerable to the same pests that eat wool and fur. Hide moths and carpet beetles can destroy a tail that’s been tucked away in a drawer or closet.
Make sure the hair is completely clean and bone-dry before storing it. Place it in a sealed plastic bag, ideally a gallon-sized ziplock, and store that inside a plastic tote with a tight-fitting lid. Cedar chips or cedar oil placed alongside the bag act as a natural deterrent. Even with these precautions, it’s worth checking on stored hair at least once a year. If you ever spot signs of insect activity (tiny holes, fine dust, or webbing), freeze the hair for a few weeks to kill any larvae before returning it to storage.
Memorial Jewelry and Bracelets
Horsehair jewelry is the most popular keepsake option. Artisans braid or weave the hair into bracelets, necklaces, pendants, and rings, often incorporating silver or glass beads. Many horse owners describe wearing these pieces daily as a way to carry a piece of their horse with them. The tradition of braiding horsehair into wearable art dates back centuries and remains deeply rooted in equestrian culture.
Most professional braiders need a minimum of about 3 inches of hair to work with, though longer strands give more flexibility for bracelets and necklaces. When choosing an artisan, look at their portfolio and ask about turnaround times, since many work with long wait lists. You’ll typically mail your cleaned hair to them directly.
Horsehair Pottery
Horsehair raku pottery creates striking, one-of-a-kind patterns by burning individual hairs onto the surface of a ceramic piece. The potter fires a pot to between 1,300°F and 1,800°F in a kiln, then pulls it out while it’s still glowing hot. Individual strands of horsehair are draped across the incandescent surface, where they instantly sear and leave dark, carbon-line markings. No two pieces look alike because the hair curls, moves, and burns in unpredictable ways.
The technique requires a porous ceramic body so the carbon bonds permanently into the surface. Once the piece cools, it’s washed to remove residue and often waxed to bring out the contrast of the markings. The result is a subtle, organic piece of art. Many potters who specialize in this technique accept mailed horsehair and can create urns, ornaments, or decorative vessels.
Other Keepsake Options
Beyond jewelry and pottery, horsehair can be used in a surprising range of memorial pieces. Some artisans encase strands in resin or glass pendants. Others incorporate them into framed shadow boxes alongside photos, nameplate engravings, or a piece of your horse’s halter. Horsehair tassels and bookmarks are simpler projects you can make at home with basic braiding skills and a few online tutorials.
If you kept the full tail bundle intact, it can also be displayed as-is. Some owners mount the cleaned tail on a wall bracket or keep it in a display case alongside other mementos. There’s no single “right” thing to do with the hair. The point is preserving something tangible from an animal that meant a great deal to you.
Shipping Hair to an Artisan
If you’re mailing horsehair to a jeweler or potter, package it in a sealed plastic bag inside a padded envelope or small box. Clean, dry horsehair is simple to ship domestically and poses no special regulatory issues for standard mail. If you’re shipping internationally, postal regulations for animal specimens may technically apply: the USPS requires animal specimens to be triple-packaged in sift-proof containers, with the outer packaging marked “Exempt animal specimen.” In practice, most artisans who regularly receive horsehair will give you specific mailing instructions. Follow their guidance, since they know what works best for their process and what condition the hair needs to arrive in.