Quote Originally Posted by longhuntr74 View Post
No offense to John, but I disagree that horsehair = military. As a recent thread about a sporran for a wedding spurred discussion on the same issue...if you look at photos, lithographs, and drawings of kilted individuals from the late 1700s thru the early 1900s, you will see that the preponderance of kilted men wore hair sporrans of either horsehair or goathair.

No offense taken. I was actually trying to comment more on the (mis-?)use of the term "piper's sporran" in describing the horsehair sporran. The horsehair sporran with or without tassles - especially the kilt-length sporrans - is considered a military-style sporran, at least in the pipe band circles I'm familiar with (Midwest US), and is worn with what is often described as "#1 dress", which is a British military descriptor of the uniform those sporrans are most often worn with. Most civilian (non-military, non-public-service) pipe bands in this area don't wear them because of that impression.

I would venture to guess that many of the men pictured in the various media were either active or retired military, or imitating the look, as has been described as the custom in the late 1800's through the turn of the 20th century. Granted, the goathair sporran is civilian, but it looks vastly different from the horsehair sporran.

Before we derail this thread further, let's agree to disagree on this one, OK?