The horse harness presented as part of the Volnikovka hoard is designed in the same style as the weapons and belt. It is richly decorated with transparent red stone inlays and gilding. Its set includes bimetallic bits with faceted silver tips. Their iron part — a movable mouthpiece that was supposed to be in the horse’s mouth — has not been preserved. The exhibition includes bimetallic psalia (cheekpieces), also with silver tips, and clamps for the straps leading from the bits to the headpiece, of which only three out of four have survived. There are also four cross-shaped plaques that covered and secured the strap crossings on the horse’s face, four bells made of gilded copper with shield-shaped pendants decorated with carnelian inlays, and a set of four small buckles and long harness strap tips with a thickened end.
All these parts are made of different metals. The cross-shaped plaques are copper, overlaid with gold leaf; four out of the five long strap tips are silver with gilding, and one is copper with gilding. The bridle set seems to also include four faceted washers made of gilded copper and several small strap plaques. The red carnelian inserts in gold settings, additionally surrounded by a ring of corrugated wire on gold-embossed foil backings, gave all the items the elegant appearance of expensive products.
