Did you know that 99.99% of the bow hair in bows today is from slaughterhouse horses? Yes, it's true.

When Emily and I went to Anping, the capitol of bow hair processing, we quickly learned that all of the bow hair being used by bow makers around the world came from animals that were killed in the slaughterhouse. We had to see it for ourselves. One of our first trips was to the border with Mongolia, called "Inner Mongolia". Still part of China, it is where most of the bow hair that is used by bow makers world-wide is from. These animals are an important part of the culture there, but when they are no longer useful to humans, they are sent to the slaughterhouse. Now don't get me wrong, these animals are not killed for their tail hair. In fact, just about every part of the animal is processed for something. Skin for the textile industry, bones for fertilizer, meat for dog food, body hair for shaving brushes, mane hair for paint brushes, tail hair for seat cushions and violin bows. But they are slaughtered nonetheless.

Emily and I found a small farmer's cooperative in northeastern China where we could buy hair from living horses. We call it Manchurian LIVE™. We process it the same way all of our hair is processed: cleaned with a mild detergent by hand (machine cleaning damages the cuticle layer of the hair), double drawn, visually sorted. The only difference is it is from animals that continue to live.

If you are an animal supporter or if you are sickened by the slaughter of innocent animals, and you play a bowed-string instrument, you should consider switching to Manchurian LIVE™.

You can buy Manchurian LIVE™ yourself and take it in to your favorite violin shop next time you want to rehair your bow. Or, you can call your favorite violin shop and tell the bow rehair person to switch over to Manchurian LIVE™ next time they order bow hair. You can find out more yourself on my TwoTree website here, or place an order on Emily's Luthier Supply website here.