A terret or rein ring is a metal loop on a

horse harness A horse harness is a device that connects a horse to a horse-drawn vehicle or another type of load to pull. There are two main designs of horse harness: (1) the Breastplate (tack)#Harness, breast collar or breaststrap, and (2) the Horse collar, ...

through which the lines (reins) pass to prevent them from tangling or getting snagged on the harness or shafts. The lines run from the hands of the driver, through the terrets, and then attach to the

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

bit The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communication. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represented as ...

to guide the horse. Most harnesses have two pairs of terrets, one on the

harness saddle A harness saddle is an element of horse harness which supports the weight of shafts or poles attaching a vehicle to a horse. Like other types of saddle, it lies on the horse's back directly behind the withers, often has an internal supportive ...

, and one on the hames of the

collar Collar may refer to: Human neckwear *Clerical collar (informally ''dog collar''), a distinctive collar used by the clergy of some Christian religious denominations *Collar (clothing), the part of a garment that fastens around or frames the neck ...

(or on the neck-strap of a

breast collar A breastplate (also referred to as a breastcollar, breaststrap or breastgirth) is a piece of Horse tack, tack (equipment) used on horses. Its purpose is to keep a saddle from sliding back. It is also a safety feature—if the saddle's Girth (ta ...

). Terrets are commonly made of

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

, and they may stand up stiffly, or they may consist of a hinged ring. They are usually circular, but may be U-shaped or square. Where a horse is driven behind another (such as in a team of four or more, or in

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

), each terret on the rear animal's harness may be divided into two, allowing the lines for the forward and rear animals to be kept separate. There may also be an additional pair of ''head terrets'' on the rear animal's bridle, taking the reins for the forward animal, also called a "Roger ring". The word terret may also be used for other metal loops for attaching ropes or chains, such as the ring on a

dog collar A dog collar is a piece of material put around the neck of a dog. A Collar (animal), collar may be used for restraint, identification, fashion, protection, or training (although some aversive training collars are illegal in many countries ). Ide ...

. The word derives from the

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

''toret'' or ''touret'', meaning small and round.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 1933: headword "Terret" Because the terret was often decorated and has the same mounts as harness bells and plumes, sometimes in combination, the word often extends to include these even when the guideline function for the reins is itself missing. The purpose of bells, for example, was to give audible warning of the approach of a team, as the weight of a load requiring four or more horses in hand makes rapid stopping very difficult. Fly terrets were intended to discourage flies from bothering the horses, especially during the summer. While they were somewhat successful in dissuading flies, terrets also assumed a decorative role during the last half of the 19th century. The use of brasses and fly terrets was most popular from 1850 through 1910 when they were mass-produced by either stamping or casting.

Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

terrets from horse harness are a common archaeological find from the European

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, sometimes with decoration.

References

See also