I have been selling shoes for 25 years and not a season passes that something fabulous doesn’t come out in “Pony Hair”.  This season we have a fabulous line of winter boots from Cougar shoes that are waterproof, winter rated, super stylish, exclusive and, yes, pony hair!

And so this year, like so many others, I have to ensure the customer of the origin of this gorgeous, rich and timelessly fashionable material. 

Then What is Pony Hair?

In reality, it's made just like other shoes, using cow or goat leather with the hair left on the hide and shaved to give it that "Pony Hair" look, hence the term. 

With the hair being left on the hide, it's turns out to be very environmentally friendly.

During the unhairing process, large quantities of water and toxic chemicals such as sulphides are employed, generating huge amounts of effluent that must be treated, as well as solid wastes, that could be reused or better treated to avoid soil and water contaminations. 

Pony Hair is also naturally water resistant which avoids a further step of chemical treatments typically applied to regular leathers in order to achieve that ability.