Mattress Upholstery
June 2020All about horsehair mattresses and beds
Updated 2020: If you’re looking at mattresses containing horsehair or tail congratulations you’re now looking at one of the best mattress upholstery fibres available! You’re now in serious quality bed territory opening up the most incredible of sleep experiences by choosing a horsehair mattress. Before you buy a horsetail mattress this guide will explain exactly why horsehair is so highly praised and what else to look out for when considering a new mattress.
Horsehair & Horsetail Mattresses
Because of this accepted heritage horsetail and horsehair can be used as part of an overall blend to create a new upholstery product, for example, horsehair and wool blends, or horsehair, wool and cotton blends. The significant properties of pure horsehair will be altered when producing these blends but they do create products that have a place of their own within an appropriate mattress.
- How is horsehair used in mattresses?
- What is the difference between horsehair and horsetail?
- What’s the benefit of a horsehair mattress?
- How humane is horsehair?
- How are horsehair mattresses made?
- Which is the best horsehair mattress?
- Are horsehair mattresses ok for allergy sufferers?
How is horsehair used in mattresses?
When horsehair is blended with wool, for example, the ratio between each component part should be considered: the more horsehair within the blend will be more supportive (to a degree) and the more wool will make the new component part softer. There is no standard blend containing horsehair, each blend will be produced according to the actual specification of the manufacturer.
A thought has to be applied as to the other upholstery components the particular blend will be used with. It will invariably be used as a mid-layer offering a bridge between support and comfort. A very good example of this kind of usage can be seen in The Vi-Spring Sublime Superb: this has a mid-layer of 1525 gsm blended horsetail and Shetland Isle fleece wool. Another good example of blended usage also comes from Vi-Spring in their Tiara Superb utilising 1200 gsm of horsetail and Shetland Isle fleece wool.
Horsehair and horsetail can be seen as an extremely durable product. There is absolutely nothing that can affect its longevity within a mattress. It won’t collapse or settle to an extent that will cause the usefulness to be diminished. When used within a blend these properties are slightly altered. Wool has no supportive qualities whatsoever but when blended, the horsehair acts as a glue to keep the wool fibres stable resulting in another upholstery product with exceptional longevity.
What is the difference between horsehair and horsetail?
Quite simply, horsehair is short and horsetail is long. Horsetail is phenomenally expensive due to a limited supply chain and as such are graded on quality. Where the horsetail comes from will also have a bearing on the overall quality and price. If we look at Savoir Beds for guidance on this they are the company who significantly use horsetail as a component. We can see that within their Royal State Mattress they utilise curled horsetail. Scrutinising the images provided for this particular model we can see that the horsetail used is predominantly white. This is a significant visual clue to the quality of this product they have used.
When fibres are graded they are initially graded by colour. White is always a premium colour for fibres used for upholstery. The same is true with cashmere, mohair etc but these will be discussed in separate sections. The point to take from this is that white horsetail is premium quality and the source (Latin Americas / Canada etc will also be considered for premium grades. China is the world’s biggest supplier of horsehair and horsetail and no doubt will be available to converters for a lower price than the aforementioned countries.
Will you feel the difference in comfort between white horsetail from Canada and black horsetail from China? No, of course, you won’t, but don’t pay white horsetail prices for black horsetail.
Horsehair & Horsetail act as both a spring and a soft comfort layer
Incredibly breathable and high wicking they keep you cool and temperature regulated
What are the benefits of horsehair in a mattress?
Aside from the durability aspects as described above, it has to be the ventilation properties that put this product into a league of its own. Horsehair and horsetail are open-celled and ‘hollow’, which makes it the perfect wicking material to dissipate the moisture that accumulates during the sleep process. Moisture passes through the hollow strands so quickly that if you wet horsehair with water and give it a shake, it dries straight away. Horsehair mattresses are far cooler than synthetic fibres and memory foam mattresses.
Horsehair can actually be a combination of the hair and tail. When horsetail is graded the tail fibres that are too short to be classed correctly as horsetail will be added to the horsehair grades.
Secondary, the analogy we use of horsehair acting like millions of tiny individual springs is not as far-fetched as it may sound. Over time, the product may naturally settle but it will be the individual hairs that are settling into the minute spaces between them, they are certainly not flattening out which is quite impossible!
How ‘humane’ is the acquisition of horsehair?
This is quite a thought-provoking question and for some people, animal products in mattresses simply are not suitable. Which is why we created the UK’s first entirely plant-based Vegan Mattress the Artisan Latex.
Horsehair is not farmed which means its an end of life ‘byproduct’. We use a natural fibre provider here in the UK using the highest humane standards and processing methods. Which helps us assure that our acquisition process is quite humane and ethical. We have also read extensively the views of horse breeders who also state that although the hair produced from (essential) grooming whilst the horse is alive is not enough to provide the industry with its total requirement of mane and tail hair. It is what is gained from the end of life that produces the quantity. It has to be said though that Horses are certainly not farmed for the production of hair. Like most animals, bovine as well as equine, there is a value in the skins as well as other parts when they do unfortunately reach the end of life.
How is horsehair used within a mattress?
Horsehair is provided to the manufacturer in either rope, loose, or needled on to hessian sheets.
Ropes are supplied ready for the manufacturer to cut to the appropriate weight and carded (combed) to produce a loose tangled mass of hair. When you see a description stating ’hand teased horsehair’ it means that the manufacturer is layering this mass of tangled hair in an even layer within the mattress to form part of the upholstery. This is an extremely highly regarded craft from time served professionals in the industry and commands a high price for utilising this technique. It annoys me immensely when I read descriptions stating ‘hand teased’ when I know full well it wasn’t. This is quite disingenuous to the companies and craftsmen who actually do hand tease the material.
Horsehair needled onto a hessian sheet are provided by the processors to the manufacturers in mattress sized sheets. The horsehair is still loose to some extent but the hessian backing (like sackcloth) provides a manageable substrate to the hair. The main advantage of this method of using horsehair is that the hair is evenly laid within the mattress. Loose laid Horsehair by not entirely specialised artisans may well be laid (teased) unevenly with the possibility of ending up with a clumpy lumpy mattress.
Loose horsehair is pre-carded and all the manufacturer has to do is weigh the hair and tease it (lay it) into an even upholstery layer.
Horsehair does have a certain smell associated with the product, particularly when blended with wool. Certainly not offensive and will dissipate over time. When you are purchasing mattresses of this ilk it is expected that the general maintenance and care of the mattress includes regular airing. Personally, I like the natural smell of wool (lanolin) and horsehair – it is the assurance that all as described is within the mattress.
Horsetail is braided and then heated to form a springy rope
This is then unrolled and turned into high loft pads of fibre
What are the best horsehair & horsetail mattresses?
We’ve established that horsetail mattresses are seriously high end. Not only do they offer far more advanced support and comfort than synthetic mattresses; they have an incredibly long lifespan. So they really are worth the investment if possible. Don’t be fooled by blends of horsehair with other fibres such as polyester or cattle hair. You’re wanting to only view horsehair mattresses that are 100% Natural fibre as blending these fibres can drastically reduce their support properties.
Here are our Top 3 Horsehair mattresses.
Artisan Luxury Mattress – Soft feel Horsehair/Horsetail Mattress
For a softer feel mattress, the Artisan Luxury features 1200GSM of horsehair and 1200gsm of horsetail adding extra support amongst the 100% Natural wool comfort layers on top of a Vanadium coated Pocket Spring.
Artisan Bespoke 004 – Medium feel Horsehair/Horsetail Mattress
For a true medium feel Natural Fibre mattress our Arisan bespoke 004 features 1200GSM of Horsetail alongside 2400GSM of 100% Natural Fibre fillings and a Vanadium coated Pocket Spring.
Artisan Bespoke – Firm feel mattress Horsehair/Horsetail Mattress
Our Artisan Bespoke is our firmer feel Natural fibre mattress, again using only 100% Natural mattress fibres including 1200GSM of horsehair and 1200gsm of horsetail adding extra support. Making this a firmer feeling mattress with a Vanadium coated calico encased Pocket Spring.
Are there any allergy triggers associated with horsehair when utilised within a mattress?
It has been our opinion that this is extremely unlikely. Horsehair during the conversion process is steamed at a very high temperature which completely removes the proteins and bacteria that are the cause of allergic reactions (the exact temperature is something we are currently trying to establish which we will post when we do). We have also written to Allergy Advice UK to garner their thoughts and considerations on this subject (awaiting a reply). We have also written to Enkev, a multinational company who specialises in natural fibre conversion for their thoughts (awaiting a reply).
Summary
Horsetail and horsehair can take your search for the perfect mattress to new heights. The high loft fibres are highly breathable and temperature regulating. Which is why so many high-end mattress manufacturers use it in their high spec models. See even more on natural upholstery fibres here.
We have a number of models in our range that use horsehair. So why not get in touch?
If you’re looking for a tailored mattress recommendation then why not get in touch with our friendly team on 0161 437 4419.
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