Bridle bits from Antiquity to the Middle Ages

In addition to what is on this page, you can view the Cheiron seminar on medieval bits and their modern comparators which took place on 23rd November 2024 (External link) 1 hour 15 minutes

On occasion over the years I have had people ask me if I made historical bits to go with the bridles I had made. One answer to that question was that there was little need. Snaffle bits, whether solid or jointed, go back as far as we have evidence and have never ceased to be made and used. That was true in military use as well as in general riding, however the vigorous movements often compelled by hand-to-hand combat can make such direct contact with a horse's mouth problematical. Consequently, from the early imperial period of the Roman Empire though to the late medieval period a type of bit was commonly used to reduce the direct transmission of force to the horse's mouth. These are referred to as "hinged bits" because the reins are attached to a frame pivoting on the mouth-piece.

While the virtue of separating violent movements from the horse's mouth was manifest, for a long time I found it difficult to appreciate how such bits would enact the other function — that of holding the horse back. Furthermore, many of the surviving examples have mouthpieces of a very unpalatable-looking forms. Hence, I was deterred from venturing to make any bits of that sort.
Eventually, the scholarship and discussion taking place in the Horse History movement which I was instrumental in creating in the academic realm in conjunction with my colleague, Dr Anastasija Ropa, brought me to a more complete understanding. This has led me to now make some replicas, although I would not be keen to use the type with those unpalatable-looking mouthpieces I mentioned.

The earlier type of hinged bit functions in a manner that looks forward to the curb bits in use from the Renaissance to modern times. When the reins are pulled fully back, the crossbar of the hinged frame presses against the bottom of the horse’s jaw in a manner similar to the modern curb chain. This mode seems to be less common in the medieval period than the other, but seems to be shown in some manuscript pictures. This rendition is inspired by pictures in Bodleian ms264.

A bit of the earlier manner of function.

The reins drawn back to curb position.

The type of hinged bit which seems to have been more common in the medieval period, at least according to the few archaeological survivals, acts to curb the horse by lifting the back of the saddle via the spurs on the hinged frame (circled) and therefore lifting the rearward projection inside the horse's mouth (also called “spoon” in comparable modern bits) and pressing it against the horse's palate, as well as, in this case, pushing the horse's lower jaw down somewhat.

A bit based upon the virtually identical surviving examples from Haslope (England) and Hungary.

The surviving examples are dated to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries respectively.

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