18thC Brass & Steel Fleam for Bleeding Horses spurs part of Benjamin Latchford's 1885

part of Benjamin Latchford's 1885 book

There are patent stamps on the mouthpiece and bit rings

The case has a shoulder strap and a belt loop on its reverse side

A tan leather case which would attach to the saddle

This is stamped "Swaine & Adeney Ltd

18thC Brass & Steel Fleam for Bleeding Horses spurs part of Benjamin Latchford's 1885This antique veterinary tool consists of three steel blades in a brass caseOne of the blades is stamped "BAM +", this was the mark of Jonathan Sutton, a cutlery maker registered in Sheffield in the late 18th Century. A fleam was used to cut into a horse's jugular vein to "let blood", which was believed to be therapeutic until the mid nineteenth century. Apparently the actual process involved hitting the fleam with a wooden club to cut into the vein