GB2110514A - Improvements in or relating to horse-driving harness - Google Patents

Abstract

A horse-driving harness comprises a bridle 4, a breast collar 5, a saddle pad 8, breeching 10, traces and reins (not shown). The bridle 4, the withers straps 38, 40, the girth strap 64, the back band 59, the crupper strap 62, the loin straps 86, 88 and the reins are all made of woven cotton webbing which serves to absorb the horse's sweat, thereby rendering the harness comfortable for the horse to wear and enabling the harness to be washed. It is envisaged that the harness will be particularly suitable for use during practice sessions for competitive driving. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to horse-driving harness This invention relates to improved horse-driving harness and to the component parts thereof, such as the bridle, the breast collar, the saddle pad, the breeching, the traces and the reins.

Horses sweat considerably when exercised and this is particularly apparent in competitive driving when one or more horses are harnessed to a trap on which the driver is seated. Traditionally horsedriving harness is made of leather, and the effect of the horse's sweat is to discolour the leather as well as to render it less supple. It is therefore necessary for the harness to be cleaned regularly, and this involves thorough rubbing and polishing by hand which is strenuous and time-consuming, more specially since it must be performed not only prior to a competition but also at other times such as after practice sessions. Leather is not susceptible to normal washing as soaking in water will tend to cause the leather to perish.

It is an object of the invention to produce a horse-driving harness which is particularly suitable for use during practice sessions for competitive driving and which is capable of being washed.

According to the invention there is provided a horse-driving harness in which at least certain parts of the harness which are in direct contact with the horse in use are made of a moistureabsorbent webbing of cotton or other natural fibre.

The harness will thus absorb the horse's sweat, thereby rendering it comfortable for the horse to wear and less likely to rub, and moreover is capable of being washed in a similar manner to any other cotton or natural fibre-based fabric in order to remove the sweat from the harness. Such a harness is advantageous not only because it is easily cleaned but also because it can be produced at considerably less cost than conventional leather harness and moreover is much lighter than corresponding leather harness. It is envisaged that leather harness would still be used for show events and for actual competition when the appearance of the harness is particularly important, but that the harness in accordance with the invention would be used at all other times.The exception to this rule might be marathon events where the harness is likely to become particularly heavily soiled and consequently the harness in accordance with the invention might be used even during the actual competition.

In accordance with a first development of the invention, a horse-driving saddle pad comprises a plastics moulding of substantially inverted-V shape lined with saddler's felt and having a girth strap and a back band provided with tugs attached thereto, at least the girth strap and the back band being made of a moisture-absorbent webbing of cotton or other natural fibre. The tugs, through which the shafts of the trap are intended to pass, are preferably attached to the back band by sidling tug buckles to give adjustability. The tugs may also be provided with moulded plastics tug liners.

Furthermore a crupper strap, preferably also made of a moisture-absorbent webbing of cotton or other natural fibre, may be attached to the saddle pad by being passed through a slot in the apex of the inverted-V shape moulding.

In accordance with a second development of the invention, a horse-driving breast collar comprises a length of tubular fabric made or cotton or other natural fibre, flattened and stitched to a strip of felt which is intended to contact the horse's breast, and a withers strap made of a moisture-absorbent webbing of cotton or other natural fibre and attached to the fabric. Similarly horse-driving breeching may comprise a length of tubular fabric made of cotton or other natural fibre, flattened and stitched to a strip of felt which is intended to contact the horse's rump, and a loin strap made of a moisture-absorbent webbing of cotton or other natural fibre and attached to the fabric.

Both the withers strap and the loin strap preferably comprise two strips of webbing so as to give extra lift and keep the horse comfortable whilst giving more efficient pulling and braking power. More especially in the case of the withers strap, the two strips of webbing may be joined together at their middle portions by a felt strip intended to contact the horse's withers. Rings for attachment of the traces to the breast collar may be attached to the fabric by polyester webbing.

In accordance with a third development of the invention, horse-driving traces comprise lengths of polyester webbing provided with clips for attachment to the rings on the breast collar. The clips are preferably spring-biased quick-release clips. The traces may be adjustable in length by means of slide buckles.

The invention also provides a horse-driving bridle comprising a head band, a brow band, a throat lash, two cheek pieces and a nose band attached to the cheek pieces, each of which is made of a moisture-absorbent webbing of cotton or other natural fibre. In addition blinker plates made of a material such as reinforced fibreglass may be attached to the cheek pieces.

Finally horse-driving reins may comprise lengths of webbing or cotton or other natural fibre, optionally provided with tongued buckles to enable them to be adjusted in length.

Where tongued buckles are provided on the harness, the tongues of the buckles preferably engage in eyelets in the form of marine grommets, i.e. eyelets having two parts which are pressed into the webbing from opposite sides of the webbing by a tool and anvil such that one of the parts is swaged over on to the other part. Also the strap ends are preferably terminated by military rein ends, i.e. bent plates which are clipped to the ends of the webbing and secured thereto by a rivet passing through the webbing. The parts of the eyelet and the rivet are preferably passed through the webbing by parting the fibres of the cotton fabric so that the webbing is not weakened by being cut.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, a horse-driving harness in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows the harness worn by a horse; Figure 2 shows the saddle pad: Figure 3 is a section through the saddle pad taken along the line Ill-Ill in Figure 2; Figure 4 shows a tug liner; Figure 5 shows one of the traces; and Figure 6 shows one of the reins.

Referring to Figure 1, the harness 1 , which is shown worn by a horse 2, comprises a bridle 4, a breast collar 5, a saddle pad 8, breeching 10, traces and reins, the last two of which are not shown in the figure so as to render it easier to read. Except where otherwise mentioned in the following description, all parts of the harness 1 are made from woven cotton webbing which has the desirable propery that it absorbs the horse's sweat.

The bridle 4 comprises a head band 12, a brow band 14, a throat lash 16, two cheek pieces 18 and a nose band 20, all made of -43-inch wide webbing. The head band 12 comprises two overlying strips of webbing extending through loops 22 at the ends of the brow band 20, the continuation of one of the strips beyond the loops 22 forming the throat lash 1 6 and the continuation of the other strip being attached to the cheek pieces 18. The cheek pieces 1 8 are each formed by two strips of webbing stitched together and are terminated by loops 24 for attachment to the bit (not shown) in the horse's mouth. Portions of the loops 24 pass through further loops (not shown) on the nose band 20.

Tongued brass buckles such as 26 are provided on the throat lash 16, cheek pieces 1 8 and nose band 20 to enable these to be adjusted, and marine grommets such as 28 are provided to receive the tongues of the buckles. The free ends of the webbing are provided with brass military rein ends such as 30. In addition reinforced fibreglass blinker plates 32 are attached to the cheek pieces 1 8 by being stitched between the two strips of webbing, and are coupled to the head band 1 2 by a woven polyester or cotton blinker split 34 provided with a tongued brass buckle (not shown).

The breast collar 6 comprises a length of cotton tubular lampwick 36 flattened and stitched to a strip of 3-inch wide ,-21-inch thick felt. Each end of the tubular lampwick 36 is turned in on itself before stitching to the felt in order to prevent fraying. Two 1-inch wide withers straps 38 to 40 are attached to the lampwick 36 at both ends by being stitched under lengths of polyester webbing 42 which are also provided with loops carrying delta-shaped brass rings 44 for attachment of the traces to the breast collar 6. The two withers straps 38 and 40 are joined together at their middle portions by being stitched to a 3-inch wide, tinch thick felt pad 46 which carries D-shaped brass rings 48 through which the reins pass in use.

The withers straps 38 and 40 are adjustable on either side of the pad 46 by means of tongued brass buckles such as 50.

The saddle pad 8 comprises a plastics moulding 52 of substantially inverted-V shape, the structure of which can be seen more clearly in Figures 2 and 3. The moulding 52 is made from polyesterreinforced fibreglass and incorporates four marine ply inserts such as 54. As may be seen in Figure 3, the moulding 52 incorporates a top cast 57 and a bottom cast 58 which define therebetween a channel 56 for a 1-inch wide back band 59. In addition a slot 60 is provided in the apex of the inverted-V for a pinch wide crupper strap 62. The moulding 52 is stuck to a 3-inch wide girth strap 64 (not shown in Figure 2) which is in turn lined with felt in the vicinity of the moulding 52. Brass rein terrets 66 (not shown in Figure 2) are removably screwed into the moulding 52.

1-inch wide webbing strips such as 68 are stitched to the ends of the girth strap 64 and are adjustably fastened together by a tongued brass buckle 70. Tugs 72, through which the shafts of the trap pass in use, are attached to the back band 59 by brass slide buckles 74 so as to enable the height of the tugs 72 to be adjusted. The tugs 72 are provided with moulded tug liners 76 also made from polyester-reinforced fibreglass and having the general shape shown in Figure 4. The back band 59 is adjustably fastened by means of a brass tongued buckle 78. The crupper strap 62 passes through the slot 60 and extends under the moulding 52, the two ends of the strap 62 being joined together by a brass tongued buckle 80 providing adjustability and enabling the strap 62 to be detached from the saddle pad. A leather insert 82 is provided in the crupper strap 62 for looping over the horse's tail.

The breeching 10 comprises a length of cotton tubular lampwick 84 flattened and stitched to a strip of 3-inch wide,2-inch thick felt in a similar manner to the breast collar 6. Two 1-inch wide loin straps 86 and 88 are stitched to the lampwick 84 and are stitched together at their middle portions where they pass through a loop in the crupper strap 62. Also stitched to the lampwick 84, on top of the loin straps 86 and 88, are shaft straps 90 which are adjustable by brass slide buckles 92 and form loops for wrapping around lugs on the trap shafts.

Figure 5 shows one of the traces 94 which is formed from 2-inch wide polyester webbing and is provided with a spring-fastening twist or swivel clip 96 at one end for attachment to one of the delta-shaped rings 44 on the breast collar 6, the form of the clip 96 ensuring that the traces lie flat against the horse in use. At the other end is a loop 98 which is adjustable by a slide buckle 99 and is intended to be attached to a lug on the trap. The traces 94 are capable of being adjusted in length by means of slide buckles 100. The clip 96 and buckles 99 and 100 are made of high carbon steel.

Figure 6 shows one of the reins 102 which is formed by two lengths 103 and 104 of -43-inch wide webbing joined together by a brass tongued buckle 105 so as to enable the length of the rein 102 to be adjusted. A respective loop 106 or 108 is provided at each end of the rein 102 and adjustability is again provided by brass tongued buckles such as 110.

The various buckles, terrets and other metal fittings which have been described as being made of brass could also be made of nickel or nickelplated steel.

Claims (27)

1. A horse-driving harness in which at least certain parts of the harness which are in direct contact with the horse in use are made of a moisture-absorbent webbing of cotton or other natural fibre.

2. A horse-driving harness according to claim 1, including a horse-driving saddle pad having a girth strap and a back band provided with tugs attached thereto, at least the girth strap and the back band being made of a moisture-absorbent webbing of cotton or other natural fibre.

3. A horse-driving harness according to claim 2, wherein the horse-driving saddle pad comprises a plastics moulding of substantially inverted-V shape lined with felt.

4. A horse-driving harness according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the tugs are attached to the back band by sliding tug buckles to give adjustability.

5. A horse-driving harness according to claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the tugs are provided with moulded plastics tug liners.

6. A horse-driving harness according to claim 3, wherein a crupper strap made of a moistureabsorbent webbing of cotton or other natural fibre is attached to the saddle pad by being passed through a slot in the apex of the inverted-V shaped moulding.

7. A horse-driving harness according to any preceding claim, including a horse-driving breast collar comprising a length of tubular fabric made of cotton or other natural fibre, flattened and stitched to a strip of felt which is intended to contact the horse's breast.

8. A horse-driving harness according to any preceding claim, including a withers strap made of a moisture-absorbent webbing of cotton or other natural fibre.

9. A horse-driving harness according to any preceding claim, including horse-driving breeching comprising a length of tubular fabric made of cotton or other natural fibre, flattened and stitched to a strip of felt which is intended to contact the horse's rump.

1 0. A horse-driving harness according to any preceding claim, including a loin strap made of a moisture-absorbent webbing of cotton or other natural fibre.

11. A horse-driving harness according to claim 8 or 10, wherein the withers strap and/or the loin strap comprises two strips of webbing.

12. A horse-driving harness according to claim 11 , wherein the two strips of webbing are joined together at their middle portions by a felt strip intended to contact the horse's withers.

13. A horse-driving harness according to claim 7, wherein rings for attachment of the traces to the breast collar are attached to the fabric of the breast collar by polyester webbing.

14. A horse-driving harness according to any preceding claim, including horse-driving traces comprising lengths of polyester webbing.

1 5. A horse-driving harness according to claim 14, wherein the traces are provided with clips for attachment to rings on a breast collar.

1 6. A horse-driving harness according to claim 15, wherein the clips are spring-biased quickrelease clips.

1 7. A horse-driving harness according to claim 14,1 5 or 16, wherein the traces are adjustable in length by means of slide buckles.

18. A horse-driving bridle in which at least certain parts of the bridle which directly contact the horse in use are made of a moisture-absorbent webbing of cotton or other natural fibre.

1 9. A horse-driving bridle according to claim 18, comprising a head band, a brow band, a throat lash, two cheek pieces and a nose band attached to the cheek pieces, each of which is made of a moisture-absorbent webbing of cotton or other natural fibre.

20. A horse-driving bridle according to claim 19, including blinker plates attached to the cheek pieces.

21. Horse-driving reins comprising lengths of webbing of cotton or other natural fibre.

22. Horse-driving reins according to claim 21, provided with tongued buckles to enable them to be adjusted in length.

23. Horse-driving harness, bridle or reins according to any preceding claim, provided with a tongued buckle, the tongue of the buckle engaging in an eyelet in the form of a marine grommet.

24. Horse-driving harness, bridle or reins according to any preceding claim, having strap ends terminating by military rein ends.

25. A horse-driving harness substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

26. A horse-driving bridle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

27. Horse-driving reins substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.