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Evidence of thong bridle use suggests horses may have been ridden as early as 5,500 years ago.
Tell-tale signs of 'bit damage' found by researchers in Kazakhstan are evidence that horses were harnessed and may have been ridden as early as 5,500 years ago. Researchers found traces of the use of thong bridles, which are simply leather thongs draped over the gap between the teeth of a horse's lower jaw and knotted under the chin, with the trailing ends acting as the reins. This is a depiction of the use of a rawhide thong bridle on a primitive domesticated horse. The thong loops over the bar, or diastema, between the anterior and cheek teeth, and is knotted below the chin.
Credit: Illustration by Sandra Olsen, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
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Related story: Evidence of Earliest Known Domestic Horses Found in Kazakhstan