Iron, ring, bit, horse bit, ring snaffle

Horse bit (ring snaffle type). The straight, jointed links would have gone into the horse's mouth; the rings on either side would have rested against the horse's cheeks and been attached to the straps of the headstall (this holds the bit in place in the horse's mouth) and also to the reins the rider used to control the horse. In medieval times specialist smiths made different types of horse equipment: loriners made stirrups and bits and spurriers made spurs, for example. In 1327 inter-trade disputes led to a fight in the streets involving loriners, saddlers and others, in which several men were killed.