Many of our clients who use our mohair ropes are choosing them as a natural alternative to synthetic fiber mecates. They are comparable in price, yet have a longer usable life. The synthetics break down with exposure to the ultraviolet radiation in sunlight and become stiff and even hard over time. Mohair, as a natural animal fiber, does just the opposite and gets softer with time and use.
Although mane hair is considered by most discriminating horsemen to be the finest mecate material, mohair ropes are more economically priced for those people who just can't bear the thought of using their mane hair mecates for the first few rides on a colt or need something they can toss in the back of the pickup and not worry about it.
We twist our mohair mecates just like the mane hair ropes we make. Because they are twisted, rather than braided, they tend to have more of the "life" associated with mane hair mecates.
The same properties that make mohair a desirable mecate material can also make it less desirable in certain situations.
Mohair is soft because the fiber diameter is so small. This is fine and dandy until the mecate gets wet. Just like any other mecate made of a twisted animal fiber, moisture gets trapped between the fibers, the twist compresses, and the rope gets hard. Once the mecate is dry, it relaxes back to its original state and is slightly softer and feels more broken in than before it got wet. But because the fibers are so small and tightly compacted in the twists of a mohair mecate, it takes longer for them to dry out and soften back up than mane hair ropes of the same diameter.
Twisted mohair also reacts more noticeably to humidity than mane hair. It seems to absorb more moisture from the air and hangs on to it longer than mane hair does. We can get around this problem by controlling the twist in the rope making process, so let us know what kind of climate you will be riding in before we make your mecate.