The Waterford Bit
The Waterford bit is that which has a row of balls all linked obviously and they make it difficult for the horse to take the bit and run with it. If you have a horse who tends to literally take the bit and pull, try a Waterford. These I have found are very old and are chain bits quite terrible for a horse, I would imagine. Life was not so nice for horses in the days before the combustion engine was invented as the horses had to do all the pulling, carting and were also transport for humans. If they were difficult to manage trainers just turned to harder and more severe bits and whips. The top two are very old certainly about 100 years old. They are quite nasty. A standard Waterford bit today can be very useful.
The top bit has rings which suggest a Newmarket. The mouthpiece would have been wrapped in leather the remnants of which can be seen either end of the bit.
Provenance: South Hatch Museum, The Pitt Collection