My Parcour brush finally arrived, after being on backorder for over a month. I haven’t tried it on a horse yet, but it’s AMAZING at removing cat hair from the couch!
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My Diamond Gloss doesn’t look like this. It’s a few years old now. I think all of mine that are supposed to be horse hair look like horse hair, including the Military that I very recently got from RW. I think I got all of them except the Vollblut from US sellers…Vollblut maybe came from Fundis?
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I bided my time. It paid off. Eqclusive has a 15% off sale.
I ordered myself the Eqclusive Shining pack for all colors.
As per the note on the site these are supposed to be new “improved” brushes (is it possible to improve something that is nearly perfect?)
Now I just have to wait patiently for it to get sent out and cross the Atlantic Ocean and wend its way over here.
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Packages from Eqclusive are worth the wait - congrats!
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Awesome! I got a handful from Riding Warehouse on sale on Black Friday. And then broke down and bought a few more at full price. 
But I was wondering, did you happen to ask Eqclusive if the “improved” brushes contained a mix of synthetic bristles?
Like I said, I never saw the old ones, but the newer ones I’ve been buying seem to have a mix of synthetic bristles. I love them though!
I did not ask the question yet, I am sure that they are busy from Christmas and the after Christmas sale.
I did notice going through the Eqclusive site that ONE horsehair brush said that it also had synthetic bristles in it, I think it was the Senior brush. So this leads me to believe if the other horsehair brushes had synthetic bristles that it would be noted in the description of the brush.
Besides, both Germany and England have advanced economies. I do not know for sure but I am assuming that these countries have truth in advertising rules.
I went on the German Haas web site https://www-haas-manufactur-de and I got my son to put me on Google translate.
Of the horsehair body brushes they list, ONLY the “Junior” and the “Senior” are made with “a small amount of synthetic” fiber. NONE of the other horsehair brushes say that they have any synthetic fibers, they are made of horsehair, mane hair, tail hair, black horsehair, grey horsehair, and some have bay horsehair and chestnut horsehair.
They do say that their “rice root” bristles are synthetic, and several of their brushes are made of synthetic bristles, but the Junior and Senior were the only horsehair brushes I saw with a small amount of synthetic fibers (I think they said that the synthetic fibers were added for durability.)
Thank you, I was unable to figure out how to translate their site. Maybe I will look at it again because it would be fun to be able to read it.
I did ask Riding Warehouse if the brushes (in particular the Amazone, Fellglanzburste and Diamond Gloss) contained synthetic bristles and this is their response:
Haas states, they use a combination of bristles made of different material. The craftsmanship and modern production technology ensures the exemplary quality and longevity of all HAAS products. This equals happiness for horses, owners and grooms. All brushes are made in Germany.
HAAS brushes are patented. Generally HAAS uses specially selected synthetic materials as the basis for all brushes and combs.
So I don’t know…that seemed like a very general response that to me really doesn’t rule it out. I know the backs of the brushes (and some of the brushes themselves) are synthetic of course. Which is GREAT because it makes them washable (I’ve had wooden-backed brushes of cheaper brands warp and so I am afraid to dunk them).
But either way, I’m extremely happy with the brushes. I think they are awesome. I was NOT trying to suggest anyone was being untruthful. Just that they were a mixture of fibers, some natural, some plastic. And because the website is in German, I really only have the small descriptions on the English speaking seller’s websites.
I don’t want to irritate anyone, I joined this forum (after being a lurker for several years) because I wanted to join in the Haas brush thread. So the last thing I want to do is have people irritated at me. It’s nothing personal, just honest question. I like to talk horses and by extension Haas brushes. 
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I can speak for their longevity. Many years ago I was gifted what I believe is a Haas Military brush. It’s has to be almost thirty years old and still looks great; the leather handle did dry up and break off, but the brush washes up like new with Oxiclean. Recently I found the exact same brush (with a dried up split strap) at a used tack sale for $1 and I would have bought it but didn’t need another.
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I think that the synthetic substance they are talking about here is the BODY/back of the brush, which is a resin and means that water will not hurt it.
Hopefully they describe all brushes that contain synthetic bristles on their site, and the Junior and Senior were the only horsehair brushes that specified that they had a small amount of synthetic bristles in the brush. Of course they have several brushes that have only synthetic bristles.
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Okay, thanks! It seems the consensus is the horse hair brushes are all horse hair, and that’s great to hear, no complaints there. 
I know some are all-synthetic, I bought a Diamond Wurzel and a Brenig Madoc too and love them. I have a feeling the Diamond Wurzel might become my “most used” brush for it’s dirt-knocking abilities. And the cat can’t get enough of the Brenig Madoc. Seriously! I bought a second one so the cat could have one (she lives in the house). I have never seen her so excited to get brushed. She seems to be saying, “It’s just like a big wet tongue!” 
I’m so happy to have found some really quality brushes with a hand strap. Most of the ones I find locally are quite frankly, junk! Or they are nice brushes in that more rectangular shape which for some reason I find awkward to use. But the Haas are just the right size and shape for me. 
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Just thought I’d update, I’m pretty sure the Koko mane brush is all natural coconut fibre! I was actually a little surprised at unpacking it, the bristles aren’t very long and are a bit on the stiffer side than I expected. However, my horse really likes it and it works a lot better than any of my other brushes. Also no more shocking from all the static! If one of the bristles falls off, I’ll have to try the burn test that was mentioned earlier just for kicks, although they do feel very coconut-y and not overly smooth like the synthetic bristles.
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I am SO HAPPY today!
My Haas Shining Pack came. I finally have the instructions!
The Haas blurbs about this pack said new and improved brushes, well a lot of my brushes are at my lesson stable so I can’t compare the brushes until next Wednesday, weather permitting.
I can compare the Schimmel brush. The new one feels a little bit firmer when I press down on the bristles. I got the “older” Schimmel brush in November last year and I’ve used it 3 or 4 times to get mud off and one time to brush his mane, so I have not worn it down into a softer brush.
My lesson horse is a sensitive skinned chestnut, and he did not like the Schimmel when I used it on him as a dandy brush. He did seem to like it when I brushed his mane with it.
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When I realized that I probably won’t get a lesson next week (frozen ground, navicular horse properly shod) I remembered my note cards where I put down everything about a Haas brush I could find on-line, from multiple sources, as well as measuring the “old” Haas brushes I bought.
I have the old type Schimmel, Parcour, Lipizzaner, Cavaliere and Military. I did not have the Coat Gloss brush so I do not know how that one changed.
The Schimmel. I noticed on the Eqclusive site that previously they said that the Schimmel was made of coconut fiber, now they say vegetable fibers. The new one is just about the same size, and after handling it more I think that the new one has SLIGHTLY less stiff bristles (I know I said otherwise above, but now I have played with it more.) The chestnut I ride may be able to stand this one better than the old one, except for the mane and dried up mud he did NOT enjoy being brushed with the old one.
The Military used to have a raised border 1/8" longer than the center of the brush. The new one is different in that the border bristles are at most 1mm longer, really subtle difference from the center of the brush. I’ll have to compare the brushes in real life to see if they feel as stiff as they older Military brush.
The old Parcour used to have a raised border of black horse hair, around the same length of the old Military. Now the new Parcour border hairs are the mixture in the rest of the brush (black, grey, and some chestnut horsehair). The base measures around a 1/4" shorter both in the long direction and the crosswise direction. The border bristles MIGHT be 1mm (or less) longer than the center of the brush, I had to look hard to see this. Again I will have to get to the stable to compare the stiffness of the old brush versus the improved brush.
The old Lipizzaner had a border of longer black hair with a grey center (with a black H). The improved one no longer has this black hair border, it is all grey except for the black center H. Again the edge hairs MIGHT be around 1mm longer, and I had to look closely to notice this. Again I will have to compare the two brushes in real life to tell if the bristles are less stiff.
The old Cavaliere had a border of around 1/4" longer grey hairs. The improved Cavaliere does not have a different colored hair border, except for the center grey hair H it is all black hair with occasional grey hairs. Again the border bristles MIGHT be around 1mm longer than the center of the brush, again I had to look really close to see this. Again the base is a little bit smaller than the old one. Again I will have to compare stiffness in real life.
The Diva, my old one is the pink Girly Girl one, the new one is the regular Diva. The black border bristles of my old one are longer than the black border hairs of my new one. Of course the center sheepskin hair is just as soft and lush as the old one.
The curry that came with the Shining Pack is a New Generation Curry comb.
Yes, the improved brushes are slightly different. The bristles still feel like horsehair to my hands.
I sure hope the horses like the improved brushes better. Maybe in a week or two I will be able to see if the horses enjoy the improved brushes better.
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FWIW, I just received the Shimmel, based upon this thread and thought “ouch, this one is stiff, oh well.”
Tried it today and my horse still shifted his body a bit, but man - ALL THE DIRT COMES OFF - in one light swipe. He has a full coat, doesn’t get muddy, but dusty/sandy. A rat study of just one day, but I am encouraged!
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That was my reaction too. I thought “Oh, this will be a very good mud brush” but I wasn’t sure about it for anything else.
Now, I start with the disclaimer that I am currently grooming an Irish Yak who likes firm pressure in most of his brushes. But when said Irish Yak gets warm and has dried sweat between his back legs on the inside of the gaskin and around his sheath area, he picks up his back legs and lifts them sideways so that I can reach to brush this area with the Schimmel. I didn’t expect that based on the stoutness of the brush!
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I love reading this thread! I’ve been trying out my Haas brushes too. I’ve sort of got a mish-mash and not a regular set, because I bought them individually. What I found out was, after buying a non-Haas face brush locally (it was Christmas and it was purple and well, I just bought it) is that I actually don’t need a face brush after all. My mare really loves any of the Haas body brushes on her face. The Amazone, Parcour, Fellglanzburste, she is happy with any of them.
I have been having a ball trying them out and my mare enjoys it too. Pre- Haas I just used a metal shedding blade most of the time. So we are really enjoying our grooming sessions now.
One trick Iearned that works for us, after having problems with static electricity while grooming and saddling, is I took an old fly-spray bottle, filled it mostly with water, and just put in a dash of fabric softener and shook it up really good. I will then give each brush a little spritz as I use them and not only does it stop the static but I find it actually takes the dust off the horse nicely too! And she’s not getting shocked when I put the saddle blanket on her after I do that.
I found a fun link to a place in Australia that has a copy of the Haas brush catalog online. (I hope that’s okay to post it here). The catalog has information in English too, which is quite nice for us English speakers. Enjoy!
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Thank you @Mountain_Trails!
This will be very helpful for all of us.
I keep telling myself that I DO NOT NEED each and every brush!
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I know! I didn’t buy a Schimmel but I keep seeing all these great reviews on the Schimmel. I think I will eventually buy one…but not right away, I got way too many “toys” for Christmas. 
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I was reading the Haas catalog that Mountain_Trails so kindly provided the link for.
One sentence caught my attention, this is from their insert that has the Haas catalogue, with a translation of the forward.
“The required horsehairs are cooked more often than other brushes in order to prevent germs or other pollutants from entering.”
I am wondering if this cooking of the hair is changing the structure of the horsehair enough so some people think that the horsehair is synthetic.
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