Bristol Bits Courtesy of Dick Flint

Wade,

You recently wondered if there is any connection between the horse exhibitor D.M. Bristol and the Bristol bit.  I’ve attached the first several pages of a book I have by Bristol where he advocates his bit and offers them for sale.  There is no publication date on the title page or any copyright notice but the author dated his introduction 1881 and my copy of this book has an owner’s inscription of 1883.

At the start of the second paragraph of his introduction, Bristol mentions several other earlier horsemen who wrote small books and exhibited their work including the famous J.S. Rarey.  Dennis Magner, also mentioned, briefly had his own circus in the early 1870s and published a book on horse training that went through numerous editions by the end of the century.

I think published works such as these are excellent documents in understanding the evolution of managing the horse, the key generally to understanding how animal training has evolved through improved knowledge and always in the direction of greater patience and care.

Dick

 Bristol's_Illus_Horsemanship.pdf    

The Circus "NO SPIN ZONE": Prof. Bristol

'I agree with Historian Richard Flint(I normally do) 100% about the importance of documents and the learning and understanding of history.  Unless you really know the "roots" of something you will never begin to appreciate advance's that have been made and that includes animal training and animal husbandry.  Don't ignore, deny,  sweep it under the rug, look away from history.  Study it and learn from it.'