horse hair sporran only for pipers???

[beloitpiper]

My horse hair sporran has a pocket, which I really like. But as it's been said, a lot of the old, long sporrans are goat hair. Also, if you'll notice, piper's horse hair sporrans are cut straight across at the bottom, whereas the old goat hair sporrans are left to hang naturally, almost coming to a point in the center. In my eyes, this is the biggest difference between "piper" and "civilian".

[george7]

My horsehair sporran is "non-functional", but it just looks super snazzy with a military-style uniform.

[PiobBear]

Is there really any way to tell if one has a pocket or not?

I would assume that any contemporary one does not (the tiny pocket on the back is for the tassel rings, so they don't snag your kilt).

[McFarkus]

I picked one up on ebay recently that has the small back pocket.

I agree with others in this thread that I don't like the look of a lot of fur sporrans, but I DO like the Fergusson Brit sporrans from Matt Newsome



As well as the Thorfinn fur sporrans



I already own the FB natural Canadian beaver sporran above, and have commissioned Turpin to make me on like the badger pictured here.

[MarkMWE]

I currently have two horsehair sporrans, one with a small pocket and a vintage one without. By all means, get one with a pocket, even if it's the small, flap type... at least you can put a car key and some folding money in it. When I'm on parade I generally have to wear a leather "cartridge case" in the small of my back to hold my keys, cell phone, flask, emergency bagpipe supplies, etc.
However, I've just run across some horsehair sporrans at the webstore "Glengarry Hats" that have FULL pouches: http://www.glengarryhats.com/sporran...me5f7u0k3ok5e3
I'll be putting one my NEXT Christmas wish list...

[McFarkus]

Here are the two I got recently that were part of a Live Ebay auction lot of sporrans

The first is one I plan to wear - it's smaller than many, about 8" x 15"



The second I would classify as a child's sporran (5* x 10"). It's nice, but I'm not sure what I'll do with it.

[Phil]

I've noticed the horse/goat hair sporans are creeping back into use again. Like most fashions what goes around comes around and I quite like them. I don't think they are very practical though as they usually have a very small pocket, if at all, so they are really best kept for dress up occasions (or piping of course) when you don't need to carry a lot of stuff.

[Rex_Tremende]

I have been eyeing the angora goat and Tibetan lamb sporrans at Craigie Originals. I think they are sort of a compromise between the horse-hair and other fur sporrans.



I only wish they offered silver cantles besides the pewter ones.

Regards,
Rex.

[Jack Daw]

I apologize for reviving this dead thread, but I see that this question has not been dealt with recently. I've looked through the responses present in this thread, and am simply looking to see if anyone else has any views on this topic. I think I like the look of the horsehair sporrans, and would like more opinions on them. Also, I see that many of them are non-functional. Is there really any way to tell if one has a pocket or not?

Most horsehair sporrans do not have a pouch; so, what many pipers do is to also wear a black-leather belt pouch. I don't care for this thing as it tends to obstruct sitting. But, you could purchase a Craigies horsehair that does have its own pouch. See the link below. The problem in wearing such a horsehair sporran with a pouch is that it will bulge and not lie right. And, it's expensive. But, it is a choice to consider.

I have 2 horsehair sporrans, but I only wear them for piping.

http://www.sporrans.com/PiperSporrans.html

[Carolina Kiltman]

. . .I'm quite positive that I disagree with this statement. Think of a Prince Charlie (with waistcoat, tux shirt & black bow tie) as the equivalent of a tuxedo; an Argyll jacket (with oxford shirt and Windsor-knot tie; with or without waistcoat) as the equivalent of a business suit, and a tweed jacket as the equivalent of a sportcoat.
.

The above is precisely why I bought a Braemar, rather than an Argyle. With a four-in-hand, (with or without 5 button weskit) it is a dressy business suit. With a formal shirt, 3 button weskit) is the equivalent of a tuxedo. While I agree that the PC can sub for a tux, it cannot sub for a dress suit.