Moosburger Horsehair Pillows from Austria — Available in the United States
Hand-spun horsetail hair, made in a small Vorarlberg manufacture now in its fifth generation. Pillows that hold their shape for decades, regulate temperature naturally, and contain no synthetic materials or chemical treatments. Shipped directly from our workshop in Cologne, Germany, to your US address in 2-3 weeks.
Shipping to the United States
We ship Moosburger pillows to customers across the United States. Ordering from Germany is straightforward:
- Payment. PayPal with full buyer protection.
- Shipping. Your pillow travels with DHL from our workshop in Cologne and is handed to USPS for final delivery to your address. Transit time is typically 2-3 weeks, fully tracked.
- No VAT. The 19 % German VAT is removed from the price for US shipments.
- No surprises at the door. All US import duties and customs handling fees are prepaid by us in advance. You will not be asked to pay anything on delivery, and there is no customs paperwork on your side.
- We stay with your parcel. International shipments occasionally take a day or two longer than expected, and tracking can pause along the way — this is normal. If anything stalls, we follow up with DHL on your behalf until your pillow arrives.
Shipping to Canada works similarly — under the EU-Canada CETA agreement, pillows enter Canada at zero customs duty. See our page for Canadian customers for details on provincial taxes and the offer-based ordering process.
Why we sell pillows made of horsehair
Most pillows sold in the United States today fall into three categories: polyurethane foam, latex, or down. Each has its limits. Memory foam traps body heat and softens further as it warms. Latex performs well mechanically but emits a distinct protein smell that intensifies with body temperature. Down compresses under weight and offers no consistent support for side sleepers.
Long horsehair — specifically the spun hair from horsetails — behaves differently. The fibres are hollow, naturally springy, and lock into each other under pressure rather than compressing flat. A horsehair pillow holds its shape for many years, often decades. The hollow structure transports moisture away from the skin by capillary action, which is why people who normally sleep hot describe horsehair pillows as feeling cool throughout the night.
If you sleep hot
Cooling gels and „cooling fabrics“ work for the first ten to twenty minutes, after which they equalise with your body temperature and stop functioning. Horsehair works by a different mechanism: the hollow fibres draw moisture away from your head by capillary force, continuously, for as long as the pillow is in use. There is no battery, no phase-change layer, no chemical coating that fades. The cooling effect is structural and permanent. Sleepers who tend to wake up warm on memory-foam or gel pillows usually notice the difference within the first nights.
If you have neck pain or sleep on your side
Our Moosburger neck-pillow models (A, B, CF, CG) are filled in two or three chambers separated by stitching, with a zipper. You can remove horsehair from individual chambers to adjust the height and firmness to your exact shoulder width and sleeping posture. Once you find the right setting, the filling stays where you put it — horsehair fibres interlock and do not migrate within the chambers.
This adjustability is the practical reason side sleepers with cervical complaints keep these pillows for years. A pillow that can be re-adjusted as your posture, weight, or sleeping habits change does not need to be replaced.
If you react to off-gassing or chemical sensitivity
Moosburger horsehair is processed without chemicals. The raw hair is washed in 90 °C water and treated with pressurised steam. That is the entire treatment. There is no flame-retardant spray, no anti-microbial coating, no adhesive bonding. The pillow cover is unbleached cotton or half-linen.
If you have spent months looking for a pillow that does not smell — because polyurethane off-gassing or latex protein scent makes you ill — this is one of the few pillow materials that genuinely has no odour and emits no volatile organic compounds.
About the Moosburger manufacture
The Moosburger family has been processing horsehair in Vorarlberg, Austria, since 1888. The manufacture is small and family-run; production is by hand on machinery that has not changed substantially in a hundred years. Moosburger horsehair is used by several of Europe’s leading luxury bed manufacturers as the core filling of their top-tier mattresses — beds that retail for tens of thousands of dollars. Today, these pillows are shipped worldwide.
We — Moonlight Schlafsysteme in Cologne, Germany — are a retailer that can ship these pillows to USA. The pillow that arrives at your door in Brooklyn or Austin is the same pillow that goes to a customer in Hamburg.
Which pillow fits you
We carry twelve Moosburger pillow models. The differences are real and matter — each shape exists because human necks and shoulders differ. If you are unsure which model fits, write to us with your height, sleeping position, shoulder width, and current pillow problem. We respond within one working day with a specific recommendation.
- Model A — wide, firm neck pillow for back and side-sleepers with broader shoulders (40 × 82 cm / 16 × 32 in)
- Model B — compact, firm neck pillow for narrower shoulders (25 × 60 cm / 10 × 24 in)
- Models CF and CG — neck pillows with an integrated primary cover, side- and back-sleeper friendly
- Model H — 30 × 47 cm (12 × 18 in). Shoulder pillow with a contoured shape for targeted neck support. Designed for larger-framed side sleepers with broader shoulders who barely shift position during the night.
- Models E, F2, G2 — all-purpose pillows with adjustable filling, for back sleepers or combination sleepers
- Model D — baby pillow (30 × 40 cm), breathable and temperature-regulating
- Model DE — child pillow (40 × 60 cm)
- Model KR — bolster-style roll pillow
- Model STW — star-shaped specialty pillow
Three Filling Variants
- SH — cattle tail hair — Medium firmness. Good all-round support, used in classic and most cervical pillows.
- RS — horse tail hair — Firm support. The strongest and most resilient option, ideal for heavier builds and side sleepers.
- RH — horse mane hair — Soft. Used exclusively in baby and children’s pillows because the head of a small child needs gentle support.
Five Generations of Austrian Craftsmanship
The Moosburger manufactory has been processing horsehair in Hörbranz, Vorarlberg, for over 100 years. Located at the foot of the Pfänderberg in the Leiblachtal valley, the family business is now in its fifth generation. Every step — from washing the raw hair to sorting, spinning into thin braids, steaming and curing for at least three months — happens by hand in this small Austrian workshop. The work combines traditional machines with skilled handwork that no factory line can replace.
Why Horsehair Is the Most Valued Natural Filling
Horsehair has been a premium upholstery and bedding material for over 500 years. Its unique properties come from the structure of the hair itself:
- Air circulation. The hair never lies completely flat, even under pressure. Air can always move through the pillow, keeping the surface temperature even.
- Moisture regulation. Horsehair absorbs moisture and releases it back into the surrounding air. Even during a fever, internal humidity stays below 60% — far too dry for dust mites.
- Mite-free environment. Dust mites need 73–85% humidity to survive and feed on mould spores. Washed and steamed horsehair contains no organic food source for them and stays too dry for colonisation.
- Exceptional longevity. Keratin can last over 100 years. A Moosburger pillow can be refurbished after 7–10 years and serves for decades.
- Temperature balance. The same pillow works in summer and winter — the hair adapts to body temperature without overheating or chilling.
- 100% natural. No chemicals, no glues, no synthetic additives. The cotton cover is from controlled organic farming, unbleached and undyed.
How Each Pillow Is Made
The raw hair comes from cattle and horse tails — collected only after slaughter, never from living animals, and approved by veterinary inspection. At the Moosburger workshop the hair is hand-sorted, washed in clear water, then spun into very thin braids on traditional machines. Steam fixes the curl permanently. Each braid then rests for at least three months — much like wine maturing — before being unwound by hand and filled into the pillow shells. The shells themselves are sewn in-house from controlled organic cotton, unbleached and tightly woven so no hair pricks through.
Suitable for Allergy Sufferers
Because horsehair is keratin — the same material as fingernails or hair — it cannot develop mould. Combined with the constant dryness inside the pillow, this creates an environment where dust mites simply cannot establish themselves. The cotton cover from certified organic farming is GOTS-certificated without chemical residues, making the pillows particularly suitable for sensitive skin and for children.
Care and Refurbishment
The best care is regular airing — ideally in morning sunshine. Pillows can be washed at 30 °C on the wool cycle with mild wool detergent (never spin-dry); covers tolerate 60 °C. Tumble-dry only on the gentlest setting. After 7–10 years of use, Moosburger refurbishes pillows: the hair is loosened, dry-cleaned, aired and combed back to full volume. The pillow is then as good as new. A detailed German-language care guide is available as PDF below.
→ Full range with prices on our main page (in German)
A note on price
A Moosburger pillow costs between 230 and 350 US dollars depending on the model and cover. This is in the upper range of what pillows cost in the US market, but it reflects what is inside: hand-spun horsetail hair from an Austrian manufacture that supplies the most expensive beds made in Europe, in a cover sewn in Austria.
The pillow is built to last between fifteen and thirty years with periodic re-fluffing and an occasional cover change. Spread over that life, the cost per night is approximately one US cent. A typical memory-foam pillow lasts two to three years before it has to be replaced; over twenty years, you would buy seven to ten of them. Horsehair is a one-time decision.
How we make sure your pillow fits
A pillow is personal, and Moosburger pillows are built around a specific idea: instead of guessing what feels right and replacing the pillow when it doesn’t, you adjust the pillow to your body. There are two steps to this, and we are part of both.
Before you order — we help you pick the model
Each Moosburger model has its own geometry: height, firmness, chamber structure, intended sleeping position. The differences matter. Write to us with a few details and we recommend the model that fits:
- Your height and shoulder width (or just „narrow“, „average“, or „broad“)
- Whether you sleep on your side, back, stomach, or change positions
- What you sleep on now and what is wrong with it (too hot, too soft, sinks, smells, etc.)
- Any neck or shoulder issues you are managing
You will hear back within two working days, usually with a specific model and the reasoning behind it. There is no obligation to order, and we will tell you if we think a Moosburger pillow is not what you actually need.
After it arrives — you adjust the filling yourself
Every Moosburger neck pillow has zippered chambers. Over the first few nights, you can remove horsehair from individual chambers to lower the height, soften a section, or shift the support to where your neck actually needs it.
If after two or three weeks the pillow still does not sit right, write to us. We can ship additional Moosburger horsehair filling to the US for a small fee, swap a cover, or — in the rare cases where a different model is clearly the better fit — work out an exchange. It is not common, but it is possible.
The point is simple: this is not a pillow you discard after a year, and we are not a shop that disappears after the sale. If you have any concern after your pillow arrives, you have one email address to reach.
Get in touch or place an order
Email us at info@moonlight-schlafsysteme.de with your question or your order.
Moonlight Schlafsysteme
Cologne, Germany
