Horse hair from Hartpury helps historical houses

Hartpury College is donating horse hair to be used in a plastering technique, especially for historic and listed buildings.

Unusual Technique

Local business, Stroud Lime Plastering Services, has benefited from the hard work and skill of Hartpury’s students in clipping over 50 horses. As little as 100 grams of hair can mix enough plaster to cover six square metres of wall. Hartpury’s horses provided an ample supply – with as much as a dozen black bags of hair collected.

Used on buildings for hundreds of years, the unusual technique gives a look that is in keeping with older buildings, particularly those that are listed. Adding horse hair helps prevent cracking during the drying stage, because the extra grips gives tensile strength.

High Quality horse hair

Local manufacturer, Listers, provided clippers and blades for the students to use.

Stephen Cockings of Stroud Lime Plastering Services praised the quality: “The hair I have been receiving from Hartpury is some of the best I’ve used, because it’s even, clean and spreads very nicely into the plaster.”