Stitching with Horse hair

**rebel_chick** · 10-10-2009, 10:41 PM

So we got to talking to day and somehow the question of stitchin came up. Lets skip around all the what-ifs and that would never happen and bla bla blas. If for SOME reason, you had to stitch up someone, could you use horsehair? I think it was on Old Yeller or something, I don't remember, but he took a strand of hair off the horse/mule's tail to stitch up a wound. I want to know if it can be done and if it lasts?

Yes, I know that it is obviously unsanitary. But, if you were bleeding to death, would you do it?

**crashdive123** · 10-10-2009, 10:48 PM

I have read that it has been used to stitch up cuts.

**rebel_chick** · 10-10-2009, 10:54 PM

Huh. I keep trying to tell david to sit still, I wanna try it. hehehe

**Rick** · 10-10-2009, 11:55 PM

In the book, Railway Surgery dated 1890 the author states the following..."The material for the sutures may be wire, catgut, or silk, or horse hair. The choice of material will depend upon the amount of support required by the lips of the wound." ... "Silk and horse hair are excellent suture materials."

I suppose a length of any material could be used in the near term as long as it was reasonably clean. But with such easy access to sterile suture sets why not just carry them?

**pocomoonskyeyes** · 10-11-2009, 12:25 AM

Originally Posted by Rick

In the book, Railway Surgery dated 1890 the author states the following..."The material for the sutures may be wire, catgut, or silk, or horse hair. The choice of material will depend upon the amount of support required by the lips of the wound." ... "Silk and horse hair are excellent suture materials."

I suppose a length of any material could be used in the near term as long as it was reasonably clean. But with such easy access to sterile suture sets why not just carry them?

Having horses I could think of a couple. Say your Horse packing and something spooks the horses, a rider is thrown and injured and the horse/mule that was packing the first aid supplies took off for parts unknown....You manage to maintain control of just 2 horses and happen to have a sewing kit in the saddlebags. What would you do if that pack animal couldn't be found, Or fell off a cliff that you couldn't get to... All this and you are Waaaay back in the boonies, No radio communication, no cell phone service.
Not probable but possible.... Just sayin'....

**Rick** · 10-11-2009, 08:25 AM

Or.......you keep your survival kit on YOU and when you fall off and all the horses/mules take off you just shrug, borrow some of Coot's shine, whip out your survival kit and stitch up you now numb wound. On second thought, you might want to let Coot stitch it up. If you partake in his shine you might stitch your hand to your leg.

**pocomoonskyeyes** · 10-11-2009, 09:19 AM

So you are telling me you keep sutures on your person? You are probably the only one that has the miniaturized extensive FAK. I think you have watched one too many of the "Honey I shrunk the_____ " Series.LOL

**pocomoonskyeyes** · 10-11-2009, 09:30 AM

On a side note I just wanted to say that Horse hair is strong. In Feudal Japan Horse hair(and sometimes human hair) was used to make the string that connected the two rods on flails(AKA Nunchaku) and was preferred to other materials. This is also the supposedly the preferred material for Ninjas to use in their ropes,that and silk because of strength. Not trying to get into the Martial Arts aspect, just using examples of the strength of hair.

**your_comforting_company** · 10-11-2009, 11:59 AM

Originally Posted by rebel_chick

So we got to talking to day and somehow the question of stitchin came up. Lets skip around all the what-ifs and that would never happen and bla bla blas. If for SOME reason, you had to stitch up someone, could you use horsehair? I think it was on Old Yeller or something, I don't remember, but he took a strand of hair off the horse/mule's tail to stitch up a wound. I want to know if it can be done and if it lasts?

Yes, I know that it is obviously unsanitary. But, if you were bleeding to death, would you do it?

My own hair is quite long and gets washed regularly. It would be cleaner than the hair around a horses.. you know.. but if needed to sew up a bad cut then you are doggone right I would use it. Horse hair is very strong and would definately make suitable stitches, at least till you could get somewhere to take care of the wound.
the worst part would be opening the wound back up to clean it properly.

I don't know firsthand, but judging from the things the others say from books and whatnot it can be done (if you have a needle) and I would think it would last at least long enough to get you out.

to answer your last question. YES, I would use it. I've used worse... If you can find some willow trees and use the inner bark to clean the wound and hair (being astringent) you'll probably fare better than going to the doctor. those places are full of infectious bacteria and germs. I hate hospitals and doctors. ever visit someone in the hospital just to get sick yourself a week later?

**Winnie** · 10-11-2009, 12:15 PM

Now this is where I have a problem. I'm with Rick on the FAK, BUT whether you use sterile sutures or horse hair, you need to know what you're doing. Even if you've been on a training course, unless you suture on a regular basis I'd not want to do it. There are other ways to stop bleeding that don't require specialist training and equipment. Having been in a situation where the worst happened, my dad put a billhook into his wrist down to the bone, creating a 4 inch gash. I applied pressure to the wound, and then kept it sort of closed with a pad of material and used a peice of my shirt to tie this in place. I then splinted his arm straight and helped to hold the arm up while we walked the mile or so back to civilisation. Simple, effective methods are just as good and it got him to hospital far quicker than if I'd faffed about trying to stitch it up. JMO.

Edit- The damage was far worse than we imagined, he'd severed the tendons to all four fingers and had to have reconstructive surgery a week in hospital and several weeks of physio.

**Skysoldier** · 10-11-2009, 01:42 PM

Many years ago while taking an EMT course, we did a few hours of ER work. A question was asked of an ER doctor about using sterile dressings and bandages in the field, and his statement was: "Use whatever you have. I can handle infection... I can't do anything about death from loss of blood." Just something to ponder.