Extra Soft Horse Hair Brush with Modern Blue Resin Handle. 28mm Made in Italy E8

Extra soft horse hair shaving brush by Zenith with a modern blue resin handle.

Vie-Long is not the only company making quality horse brushes. While they are more known for their boar and badger brushes, Zenith has been making horse hair brushes for a number of years. Horse brushes are commonly described as a cross between boar and badger. I think of them as initially softer than pure or black badger, but with time will break in nicely. They initially hold more water than a boar, so don't need as long of a soak. Being a boar lover, I'm only now importing the softer horse brushes from Zenith. I believe that they use a higher ratio of mane to tail hairs to get the softness.

No harm is caused to the horse, the hairs are cut while grooming. Because they are cut, they take longer to break in than a boar brush. Unless you like the horsey smell, let it soak and shampoo several times before use.

One criticism for the Zenith Horse brushes is that they tend to be floppy. These are specially ordered with a slightly lower loft to reduce floppiness. One can always use the traditional Italian Barber pinch, by holding the knot rather than the handle for more control.
This actually has a large 28mm knot in it. The loft is set at 54mm with an effective loft of 47-50mm from the glue bump. The total weight comes in around 80 grams. The knot is the extra soft version that Zenith makes with more mane than tail hairs. I've been unable to get the exact ratio.