Pit pony bridle: Leather head piece with two holes for the eyes and two panels on the front in the shape of shells under each of the eye holes. Chain running under the chin from one side to the other.
Digital image on Keeper’s computer – S:/Keeper/MyPictures/Exhibitions/DisplayNewVisitorCentre. Taken October 2003.
See also T00035. See conservation report filed in information file.
Exhibition label text: Pit pony bit and bridle, 1900-1920.
Pit ponies worked in the dark, so they did not wear blinkers. Unfortunately, the walls of the pit roadway were often sharp and uneven and could injure a pony’s eyes. The Coal Mines Act of 1911 made it illegal for ponies to go underground without some type of eye protecton. The eye guards on the bridle displayed here, which are shaped like scalloped shells, have been added sometime after it was originally made, perhaps to comply with the 1911 Act.
The heavy leather of the bridle also offered some protection to the top of the pony’s head, although its back still remained uncovered and liable ot injuries called ‘scrubbing’ or rooving.
h:30 x w: 44.