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Horse brasses were fastened to various parts of the horse’s harness, and a horse could wear up to three hundred at a time. This is a fly terret and consists of 3 discs set in the shape of a clover, with the top disc pierced by a star. Fly terrets were used as an alternative ornament to head bells and plume. It was acquired by the donor in Somerset.

1 fly terret: metal (brass); good condition

MERL 'Catalogue index' card – [51/280] – ‘Horse brasses almost certainly began as amulets to ward off evil and to bring good luck, but they continued as festive decoration long after their origin had been forgotten. In England the earliest horse ornaments made of brass date from the reign of Elizabeth when they were made entirely by hand from sheet metal. The heyday of horse brasses was between the years 1851 and 1900 when they were cast. Horse brasses are fastened to various parts of the harness, to face pieces, to martingales and to side pieces. A horse may wear as many as three hundred brasses, though when they are more numerous the smallest are little more than studs. Many horse brasses are symbolic.’, MERL 'Catalogue index' card – A fly terret was used as an alternative ornament to head bells and plume. It consists of one or more disks of polished brass swinging in brass rings. The disks are frequently replicas in miniature of the larger brasses. // These ornaments are known variously as FLY TERRETS, FLYERS, SWINGERS, or SWING-BRASSES. (The use of ‘terret’ alone is incorrect; it is the brass ring through which the driving reign passes). // This fly terret was bought in Somerset and consists of 3 disks set in the shape of a clover. // The top disk is pierced by a star. It stands 5.75” high., MERL ‘Associated information’ form – ‘Name of Object: Horse brass // Age…: various - probably 19th Cen. // Name and address of present owner: [...] Rusthall Tunbridge Wells // Description of use to which it was put…: 8 unmounted brasses - 4 on leathers - 1 swinging head piece with foot plate added for convenience of standing. I believe the head of King Edward VII is the latest of the brasses - studded leather to which it is attached considerably older. Bought in Somerset 15 to 30 years ago mainly at Minehead.'