Tom Bass

How this work helped shape America

Born enslaved in Boone County, Missouri, Tom Bass transformed knowledge of horses acquired during his youth into an independent professional career after emancipation. He established his own horse-training stable in Mexico, Missouri, where customers from across the country brought horses to be trained using his renowned methods. Bass became nationally and internationally recognized as a saddle-horse trainer and equestrian and developed the “Bass bit,” designed to provide effective control while reducing harsh treatment of horses. His enterprise and specialized expertise contributed to America's expanding horse-training, breeding and equestrian economy during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.