#bridle

This is a prison made horsehair bridle with matching reins, c1910. I believe it was made in Deer Lodge State Prison, MT. They were used by Wild West Showmen, for parades and mostly as wall art.

The craft of hitching horsehair into colorful bridles flourished in the prisons of 12 western states from about 1885 through the early 1930s. Horses were always kept on the prison farms, so most of the required materials were inexpensive and available. Hitched and braided horsehair pieces were created by hand without the benefit of any special tools and could be made in the confines of a small cell. The inmates had the time to devote to this folk art, which required focus and attention to detail for long periods.

By producing pieces that would sell “on the outside” for a good price, inmates could earn money for tobacco or to save for their release. One hundred years ago, these bridles would sell for $50 to $100 each in 1900.

In hitching, a series of horsehair pulls, or strands, is knotted over string that is wound around a wooden dowel. The dowel provides something sturdy to hitch over and provides shape for the item to be hitched — usually in geometric patterns based on a diamond shape.

Each of the Western prisons had its own style of bridle with unique colors and patterns, along with different styles of tassels and rosettes. Inmates at Arizona’s Florence State Prison — completed in 1908 to replace the territorial prison in Yuma — made the most original bridles, which employed bright colors and different types of knots. At Montana’s territorial prison in Deer Lodge, inmates put text or numbers on bridles. Wyoming prisoners utilized a combination of braided calfskin and hitched horsehair. Cañon City, Colorado, inmates braided their bridles and made their own bits.

𝕬 𝖀𝖓𝖎𝖈𝖔𝖗𝖓 𝕽𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖘 𝖎𝖓 𝖆 𝕲𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖓 ⋆˙⟡

need to make ends meet this month & was in the mood to draw some pretty accessories so i made a unicorn about it :0]c

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Arden the Ardennais!