An interesting topic-

Remember  that horses figure considerably in English and European seasonal 
celebrations.

Hobby horses, mari lwyd....the list goes on and on.....

Most of these are depicted with tack including bits almost always. Bits were 
important as they helped jaws move and make noise....an important part of 
the persona

Therefore not all horse bits will be bits for real horses!  Some will be 
made of strange materials- wood/wire for example others will be made 
differently from functioning ones, others will be modified real bits scaled 
or adapted to fit the wooden horse head or perhaps human costume......this 
could be quite interesting and something to be sure to be aware of as it can 
provide insight into seasonal customs and traditions that is hard to find 
otherwise.

most horses used in rituals- costumes, modified skulls- sculptures were lead 
around with horse tack as generally the guy in the costume could not see 
much.....

be aware of modified skulls as well.....

Conrad

-----Original Message----- 
From: Gonzalez-Tennant, Edward
Sent: Friday, January 20, 2012 9:28 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Request from a Student - Horse Bits

Greetings all,



I have a request from one of our students here at Monmouth, Tabitha 
Hilliard. Part of her thesis project seeks to develop information about 
horse bits. I've copied her request below, please feel free to respond to 
her directly if you can help out.



Thanks,

Ed Gonzalez-Tennant



------------------Message Follows------------------

Hello!



My name is Tabitha Hilliard and I am a graduate student of Monmouth 
University.  I am currently working on a paper presentation for this year's 
MAAC Conference 2012, to be held in March.  I am researching horse bits 
dating to the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. My long-term goal is to 
develop a chronology of horse bits across time and demonstrate how styles 
change.  For the purposes of this paper, which will be scratching the 
surface of such an investigation - I am seeking bits that have been 
excavated from both English occupied sites, as well as Dutch sites. My 
problem is that I have come across MANY bits from English sites and none 
from Dutch sites.



Do any of you happen to have horse bits in your collection(s) that have been 
excavated from Dutch sites - bits that I may include in my research?



If so, please contact me at: 
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> OR 
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>



I would be extremely grateful!!!



Sincerely,



Tabitha Hilliard

Monmouth University

Anthropology, Graduate Assistant