On the Ninth Day of Horses, my true love gave to me...nine silvery sleigh bells. Back in the days when the only way to travel between neighboring farms was by horse and cutter (sleigh) harness bells were an important way to know if there was anyone else on the road but you.
Image: PriceGrabber If you couldn't see anyone coming, you could at least hear them. And because each farmer had a unique set of bells, you would be able to tell who was coming by the distinctive jingling.
Jingle bells, (Compare Prices) like the ones in this picture would likely be placed over the horse's back. Attached to the shafts or along the front dash of the cutter there would often be a line of little open chimes like tiny church bells that jingled as the horse trotted along. Some jingle bells were as large as 4 inches across and rung in a deeper tone than the smaller ones. The combination of large and small bells would give each horse and cutter their own sound.
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