Original Item: Only One Available. This is a well-used original U.S. Army Model 1904-pattern cavalry bridle and bit assembly retaining much of its early 20th-century leather equipment together with a metal bit and two brass U.S. rosettes. The set shows substantial age and service wear, including crazing, old cuts, and areas of leather loss or alteration.

The tack (harness, saddles, bridles, halters, etc.) used in World War 1 had changed little since the U.S. Civil War in the 1860s fifty years before. For that matter, there have been few changes in the hundred years hence, though saddles and tack are much more padded for both horse and rider, and synthetic materials, not yet invented in 1917, may be used for padding or in place of leather.

This is a good original WWI era horsebit set with many of the associated leather straps meant to wrap around the horse’s head and torso, with the smaller leather thongs tightening the straps in the right configuration to be attached to the horse. The metal bit itself retains both US brass rosettes.

There is some crazing of the leather and custom cuts that may have been period alterations or later removal of dry rot.

During World War I, cavalry, artillery, mounted officers, transport units, and other services still required large quantities of saddles, bridles, reins, halters, harness, and related horse equipment.

A U.S. government procurement notice from October 1918 still called for tens of thousands of replacement parts for cavalry bridles, including Model 1909 cheek pieces, crown pieces, headstalls, reins, and curb components, illustrating the continued scale of mounted-equipment use late in the war.

The combination of the early Model 1904-pattern construction, surviving leather headgear, metal bit, and U.S.-marked brass rosettes makes this a useful representative example of American cavalry horse equipment from the transitional period immediately before and during World War I. Its worn leather and old modifications are significant condition considerations, while the surviving military fittings preserve the character of an original early 20th-century mounted-service bridle assembly.