PELETHONIUS, king of the Lapithæ, according to Pliny, was the inventor of the bridle and saddle; and Virgil ascribes the invention to the Lapithæ, whom he styles Pelethonii, from Pelethronium, a mountain in Thessaly, where horses were first broken.
Horses were originally managed only with a rope or a switch, and by the sound of the voice. This was the practice of the Numidians, Getulians, Libyans, and Massilians. The Roman youth were also taught to ride without bridles, as an exercise in the manège. On Trajan's column soldiers are represented riding on horseback at full speed without bridles.