# Frentera
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{{Short description|Horse tack element}}
thumb|Frentera on bridle in the British museum, Etruscan, c. 700-650 BC
{{wiktionary|frentera}}
A '''frentera''' is a part of some [halter](/source/halter)s and [bridle](/source/bridle)s, usually on a [horse](/source/horse). It is a cord, strap, or chain on the face of the horse that is attached to the crownpiece or browband and runs down the horse's face to the [noseband](/source/noseband) or [bit ring](/source/bit_ring)s. A frentera can be split at the top to pass on either side of the forelock, or on either side of the ears. In the latter case, the frentera usually substitutes for a browband. A frentera can also be split at the bottom into two or more parts to support and stabilize a heavy noseband or [bit](/source/Bit_(horse)).
The known history of the frentera dates back to [Ancient Greece](/source/Ancient_Greece), possibly earlier, and the frentera is in use today in Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America. When it includes a disk or sheet of metal, often silver, it is known in English as a '''testera''' ([Spanish](/source/Spanish_language) [loanword](/source/loanword)), '''chamfron''' ([French](/source/French_language) [loanword](/source/loanword)), or '''faceplate'''.
Equipment with a similar purpose of stabilizing a bit or noseband include the '''forelock hanger''' (North America), '''bit lifter''' (Australia), and '''cheekers''' (Australia). The frentera is not to be confused with a similar appearing piece of tack, the [overcheck](/source/bearing_rein).
==History==
In the [Alexander Mosaic](/source/Alexander_Mosaic), circa 200 BC, both Greek and [Persian](/source/Achaemenid_Empire) horses wear frentera, in two different styles. Some horses of the [Terracotta Army](/source/Terracotta_Army) ([China](/source/China), 210 BC) wear a bridle with a split-top frentera. Stiff, padded and studded testera have been found in [Scythian](/source/Scythians) tombs.[Bennett 1998, page 48]
More recently, in the 19th century frentera were used on [cavalry](/source/cavalry) horses of several nations, including [Germany](/source/Germany), and today are used in cavalry ceremonies in [Argentina](/source/Argentina).
==Current use==
thumb|right|Cheekers
Today, the frentera is seldom seen in English speaking countries but widely used elsewhere in the world. It is used in [Spain](/source/Spain) and [Portugal](/source/Portugal) on [serreta](/source/Serreta_(cavesson)) bridles, in [Hungary](/source/Hungary) on similar bridles, and in [Argentina](/source/Argentina) and adjacent countries on both halters and bridles.[[http://www.laquerencia.com.ar/site/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=79 online catalog in Argentina] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213112539/http://www.laquerencia.com.ar/site/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=79 |date=2007-12-13 }} showing a bozal (muzzle) style halter with a 3-part frentera and a [fiador](/source/fiador_(tack)).]
In Argentina, the frentera is an integral part of both utilitarian halters and parade bridles. The parade bridles often are ''chapeado'', even made entirely of chains of [sheet metal](/source/sheet_metal) (often silver) heavily decorated with [repoussé and chasing](/source/repouss%C3%A9_and_chasing) work. The frentera may be attached to the browband, passed between the ears to the crownpiece, or passed below (outside) the ears to the cheek pieces or [fiador](/source/fiador_(tack)). If a halter and bridle are worn together, typically only one of them will have a frentera. In the English-speaking world, an ornamental frentera is seen occasionally on some [parade horse](/source/parade_horse)s.
==Related equipment==
Several items of specialty horse tack of a utilitarian nature are related to the frentera. On an Australian [polo](/source/polo) noseband bridle a frentera-like strap supports a heavy noseband attached to the rings of a [snaffle bit](/source/snaffle_bit). Also in Australia, two items involve a forked strap suspended from the browband or crownpiece of the bridle, that help to maintain the position of the bit. These are the '''bit lifter''' and its variant '''cheekers''', a rubber bit lifter with an integral pair of [bit guard](/source/bit_guard)s. Both bit lifters and cheekers are approved for [thoroughbred racing](/source/thoroughbred_racing) in Australia.[{{cite web
|title=Register of Nationally Approved Gear
|author=Dion Villella
|publisher=Racing Victoria Limited
|url=http://www.racingvictoria.net.au/asset/cms/Stewards%20Notifications%20PDF/128312%20RVL%20Gear%20Register%20Book.pdf
|access-date=2010-12-27
}}] In the [United States](/source/United_States) and [Canada](/source/Canada), a leather thong or string is sometimes attached to the top of the crownpiece of a headstall and used to support a [bosal](/source/bosal). It sometimes is tied to the horse's [forelock](/source/forelock) rather than the headstall and then may be called a '''forelock hanger'''.[{{cite book
|author=Bennett, Deb
|year=1998
|title=Conquerors: The Roots of New World Horsemanship
|publisher=Amigo Publications Inc
|edition=1st
|ISBN =0-9658533-0-6
}} Page 61.]
File:German dragoons crop.jpg|Frentera on horses of the Badisches Dragoner 2nd Regiment circa 1830 (illustrated 1835)
File:BattleofIssus333BC-mosaic-detail1-crop.jpg|Frentera on [Alexander the Great](/source/Alexander_the_Great)'s horse [Bucephalus](/source/Bucephalus), depicted in the [Alexander Mosaic](/source/Alexander_Mosaic)
File:Terracotta army 4-horse crop.jpg|Four-horse chariot team of the [Terracotta Army](/source/Terracotta_Army)
File:Kastor Niobid horse head.jpg|Frentera on the bridle of a horse, depicted in the 4th century BC
File:Doublebridle overuse.JPG|Frentera on a double bridle, Germany
==See also==
{{wiktionary|bit lifter|chamfron}}
{{commons category|Frentera (tack)}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Horse equipment}}
Category:Headgear (horse)
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Frentera](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frentera) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frentera?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.