anyone date this bit,came from a quarry site.cheers.
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I’d say looks 1910-1920’s based on a quick forage through the interwebs. No markings/stamps on it?
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no markings made of brass though, only found iron bits of them in the past.cheers mudwiggle.
Before you try to date it i would advise you to identify it precisely. You could consult a large thick reference book on horse bitting and bit materials. You will probably find it has a name as long as your arm, something like a “Sweet brass low ported D-link snaffle with Kerb Chain”, or some such impressive title. At a quarry site you might even be looking at a type of bit used for teams of draught horses?
wow! never realized a horses mouth piece could be so precisly documented.iam sure a book with great interest,one for that cold winters night reading…yeah right.cheers for that iam putting the site around the turn of the century. got an enfield round yesterday only two 1940s pennys so far.
Hi Roy. Your bit is a Kimberwick also known as Kimblewick. I cant date it for you, but can say early bits from early 1900s were made from nickle. They can still be bought today but are chrome plated. This particular bit is still in use today…but not in vogue. A variation on the Kimberwick bit included a couple of slots in the “D” through which the reins were attached. Depending upon the slot used, it increased the severity of the "curb " action. The chain on yours would lay flat under the horses jaw and hook to the hook on the other side of the bit. That curve in the middle of your bit is called the “port”. It enables room for the tongue. So to briefly finish, your bit is one of the milder curb bits used to have more stopping control on horses with very little brakes. Measure between the “D” and if 4 and half inches or more…then it was used on a hack not a pony. A hack is 14.2 hands high upwards. A hand is equivalent to 4 inches. Nice find and in very very good condition!
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thanks coilpower where i found it is on a quarry site,i have a feeling it may have been the place where there kept the horses,or ponys, i,am interested whether its a workhorse type of bit or a general riding bit later than this early quarry site.apart from 1940s coins only had a 1860s tradesman token of any age.its a big site nothing left of original buildings,and its been landscaped,i almost forgot my last visit did produce a lee enfield carbine round,more investigation needed.cheers.
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Steptoeandson, Yours is known as a straight bar curb bit. Far more severe than the Kimberwick. Yours is designed to be ridden with 2 sets of reins. The top rein is in the "ring " part and the curb rein has the choice of upper or lower slot. The bottom rein being called the curb rein and is usually half the width of the rein above. Still in use today.
Upon reflection as you mentioned 1930s, if it is very heavy iron, it could/maybe an old cavalry curb bit, as they used these…who knows? Horse bits are very hard to date unless they are nickle…usually denotes early period 1900s and prior to.
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Hi Roy1954. Normaly it is used as a general riding bit. I also forgot to tell you only 1 set of reins are used with your bit…even if there were slots in your D’s. Hope youve polished it up by now…although nickle doesnt polish up shiny shiny.
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Thank you Coilpower, i was hoping that an equestrian would come along and supply the information that i could not.
Thanks also coilpower I’m also interested in these bits I have no idea about them any information is great!
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Similar too a French Snaffe Bit - French-ring Eggbutt snaffle bit.
The shape was supposed to fit comfortably and the sides eliminated pinching but there are differences none the less.
Also very similar to English style Weymouth Curb bit.
I used to use basic D ring snaffle bits - actually I think I still have my horse gear to this day. I know I still have my last saddle as it still hangs over the bunk in the spare room.
I forgot to mention that today the riding is getting more difficult as I have to take a quarter of a blue pill (to calm my nerves of course) before I mount the sadlle then at the crucial moment my pistool wont go off!
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Bottom one will be Full Cheek Snaffle and the thing in middle are called toggles. Top one will probably be O Ring Snaffle also with toggles.
I have seen not seen the toggles in real life but knew of them.
I used to like the look of the toggles on my lady friends bits but they got in the way of my pistool barrel.
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take thr red pill lammerlaw stay in the matrix…
Hi steptoeandson. Your top bit is a loose ring jointed snaffle bit. The lower one is a straight bar full cheek Fulmer bit. The elongations on the Fulmer make it impossible for the bit to be pulled through the mouth. Usually a little leather loop sits over tbe top elongation just below the little bobble, and in turn the other end of the leather loop or keeper has already been threaded onto the side cheek of bridle…thus making the side cheeks (elongations of the bit) impossible to move. This is what is known as a very “still” bit (very little movement) and the cheek pieces encourage turning owing to its action of pushing against one side of the jaw as the opposite rein is pulled.
Both of your bits have “keys” in the middle. Both are “mouthing bits”. …used when breaking in a young horse for riding or work. The purpose of the keys is to encourage a young hotse to “play” with them with their tongue, thereby encouraging salivation and a moist mouth…later a soft mouthed horse as opposed to a hard mouthed horse whose brakes are somewhat wanting.
Great finds for a collection!
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Thanks very much coilpower! You are a wealth of knowledge it’s always good to get info on this I know nothing about!
You are welcome!. The forum has members that have specialist knowledge on many subjects which is great cos we never stop learning or sharing. Love the clear photos too. Keep up your fossicking!.
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Thanks yes a very interesting bunch our specialist subject is railway so any railway finds we can help!
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Mmmm well afraid they didnt leave anything behind when the govt decided to put men working on a line from Pokeno to Paeroa in the 1930s , which ended up an abandoned project after WW2. Remnants of the line can be seen cutting through farmland up my neck of the woods. Personaly I think it would have been more economical to have continued the work rather than cut and drill the Kaimai Tunnel… I did find a spike, but assume that is from the current line.
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