Harness for working animal – Track
Patent
1990-06-22
1991-12-31
Swiatek, Robert P.
Harness for working animal
Track
B68B 100
Patent
active
050760416
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a hitch for a horse-drawn vehicle having a single shaft passing over the horse's back.
A hitch of this type and a corresponding horse-drawn vehicle are described in Document FR-A-2 589 418.
The hitch comprises a single shaft passing over the horse's back with its leading end connected to a harness via a cradle on which the single shaft is mounted by means of a pivot, while its rear end is connected to a horse-drawn vehicle. Curved frame members rest directly on the horse's back and horse comfort is ensured by padding.
This hitch constitutes a distinct improvement over prior single-shaft hitches. In antiquity, a single shaft or pole was hitched to a throat collar but was very inefficient since it compressed the jugular veins of the horse so that hitch did not benefit fully from the tractive force of a horse. Other hitches have used a saddle analogous to that used in a conventional draft harness, placed on the horse's back and carrying the leading end of the single shaft on top. As with the charriots of antiquity, the horse's tractive efforts are not fully transmitted and as a general rule it is not possible to draw a vehicle heavier than a sulky.
French patent number 712 758 describes a traction cradle associated with a single shaft via a vertical hinge and having a pair of traces fixed thereto. This hitch is suitable for drawing agricultural implements, working at walking pace, but it is not usable at the other paces of the horse.
The main drawback of the hitch of FR-A-2 589 418 is that the padding of the frame members does not prevent the horse from getting sores in the long run because of the rubbing that takes place, and this naturally sets a limit on the uses to which the hitch may be put.
The invention therefore provides a device of the type described above in which the cradle comprises two arcuate frame members interconnected at their bottom ends in order to be connected to a harness and separating progressively from each other to reach maximum separation vertically over the horse's withers, an element integral with the single shaft being rotatably mounted on a member interconnecting the two frame members where they are at maximum separation, and the cradle rests on the horse's back by means of two pads swivel-mounted on the rear frame member which is disposed obliquely, the pads being situated on either side of the midline of the horse's back.
The inside face of each flap in contact with the horse's back is padded and has a convex right cross-section in the central zone of the pad in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the rear frame member, the lateral portions of the pads on either side of the frame members being concave in section in planes parallel to the plane of the frame member and having a concave right cross-section in the central zone of the pad in a plane parallel to the plane of the frame member, the top and bottom portions of the pad being convex in section in planes perpendicular to the plane of the frame member. Advantageously, the top portion of the pad forms a tip and its bottom portion forms a big end, giving the pad an egg-shape whose big end constitutes its base. Because of this shape, the pad has its central convex portion resting in the hollow situated between the horse's shoulder and its back, with the two lateral concave portions serving to receive the corresponding muscles against which the pad bears in turn as the horse moves. The central concave portion enables the pad to be positioned on the crossed-over muscles of the horse and the top and bottom convex portions put the pad into contact with the hollows situated on either side of the junctions between the superficial muscles of the horse's back, withers, and shoulder (respectively the great dorsal muscle, the trapezius and the triceps). Because of this shape and because of the swivel connection between the pad and its support, the horizontal back-and-forth displacement of the shoulder blade causes the pad to rock about the rear frame member while keeping the pad in contact with the hors
REFERENCES:
patent: 3847408 (1974-11-01), King
patent: 3942305 (1976-03-01), Cameron
patent: 4072000 (1978-02-01), Clemens
patent: 4473991 (1984-10-01), La Mura et al.
patent: 4662157 (1987-05-01), Frigon et al.
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