Brushes With Pony Hair Bristles

My Pony Hair brushes are popular with artists who sometimes have a quick hand, and who like a brush that holds a lot of media and which can keep up with a fast technique.

The Pony Hair brush is good for all kinds of water based media, and it is also good for thin solvent based media. Remember that solvents accelerate wear of natural hair brushes. I don’t recommend Pony Hair for viscous media types because the brush hair is very soft. Pony hair is one of the few brush types that will keep up with artists who have a very quick hand. It holds more ink or paint than nearly any other type of brush other than sables, and the media comes off the brush in a very predictable and uniform way.

The Pony Hair i use is double dressed. This means it is meticulously cleaned and combed out two times and is uniform in length. Pony hair has a small diameter and a pointed tip. Pony Hair is NOT what you may think of when you think of typical horse hair.

My Pony Hair bristles originate form the chest hair area of about 2 year old Ponies.  The hair is shaved from the pony. The first growth has a tapered tip but after that horse hair has a blunt tip. Pony hair is both very soft and produces a fine point. The result is a brush that is very soft, holds a lot of media and which will deliver the media in a uniform way. In addition Pony hair can deliver paint or ink to the tip very quickly, if needed. That is one of the best and most unique capabilities of this brush!

While it produces a fine tip it is not the brush to use for detailed work. As with all natural hair brushes, Pony Hair starts out great and tends to improve over time. In addition to having a fine tip the brush really excels on its belly, its side, or with the tip splayed.

The larger diameter brushes are easily capable of holding 2 or 3 colors on the brush to mix on the canvas or paper. Mixing color on the canvas or paper produces awesome and unique results.

Pony hair is not very long and as a result I offer these brushes in bristle lengths of about 3/4″ and 1″.

3/4” Long Bristle Pony Hair Brushes

The 3/4″ inch long bristle is favored by many artists because it works for a wide variety of painting techniques.The brushes excel when a lot of media holding and delivery is needed and are ideal for wet and soft drybrush work.

1” Long Bristle Pony Hair Brushes

The 1 inch long bristle is favored by artists because they are great for general applications and works well for some types of expressive work. The Pony Hair brush is also excellent for wet and drybrush techniques. The fine hairs are great for dappling, making leaves, bushes, grasses and wispy patterns.