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
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