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Description
From the Royal Armories in England. The interesting thing about this piece of equipment is the bit's configuration relative to he headstall and the double reins. On "modern" bits of that form (English civil war and after) the curb chain is located at the top ring so that when the bottom reins pull the chain digs into the chin. However, on this one, the bottom set of reins rotates the bit (right/left turning) but does nothing else. The top set of reins is like an emergincy brake, using leverage connecting to the headstall to pull the bit back and down in the mouth. This exact same sort of bit is still used today in Western riding in the US, just with a completely different configuration of reins/chains.

Description
From the Royal Armories in England. The interesting thing about this piece of equipment is the bit's configuration relative to he headstall and the double reins. On "modern" bits of that form (English civil war and after) the curb chain is located at the top ring so that when the bottom reins pull the chain digs into the chin. However, on this one, the bottom set of reins rotates the bit (right/left turning) but does nothing else. The top set of reins is like an emergincy brake, using leverage connecting to the headstall to pull the bit back and down in the mouth. This exact same sort of bit is still used today in Western riding in the US, just with a completely different configuration of reins/chains.