Harness for working animal – Tail holders
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-27
2002-06-25
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3644)
Harness for working animal
Tail holders
C054S022000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06408603
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a tail set for supporting a tail of a horse thereon and more particularly to a tail set which is secured to the horse by a harness.
BACKGROUND
When displaying show horses, it is desirable, to improve the appearance of the tail of the horse to ensure that the tail has a high elevation while being aligned straight with the horse's back. To ensure that the tail is properly set for shows, various training devices are used to prior to displaying the horse for correcting undesirable deviations of the tail.
One known tail set device comprises a harness having a strap which is looped under the horse's tail for supporting a pad known as a crupper under the tail of the horse. The harness also includes straps about a back, chest and belly of the horse, however this is generally not sufficient to adequately position the crupper for proper tail correction. Also, the crupper does not provide sufficient lateral support to the tail to correct lateral deviations thereof.
Another tail set device known as a bustle comprises a padded strap which is looped under the horse's tail in place of the crupper. The bustle engages respective sides of the horse's tail to provide more support than the crupper, however the resilient padding is not sufficient to adequately correct lateral deviations of the tail or support the tail in sufficiently raised elevation as desired.
SUMMARY
According to the present invention there is provided a tail set apparatus for supporting a tail of a horse, the apparatus comprising:
a trough having a base along a bottom side thereof arranged to extend longitudinally from a first end to a second end of the trough, the trough including side members extending upwardly from respective sides of the base to extend longitudinally therewith so as to receive a portion of the tail of the horse extending through the trough from the first end to the second end securely between the respective rigid side members thereof;
a support member having an outer surface mounting the first end of the trough thereon and an inner supporting surface opposite the outer surface, the inner supporting surface being oriented to span transversely to a longitudinal direction of the trough wherein at least a portion of the inner supporting surface is offset laterally outward from each side of the trough and at least a portion of the inner supporting surface is offset vertically from the first end of the trough so as to support the trough on a rear end of the horse to project outwardly therefrom when the inner supporting surface is engaged on the rear end of the horse; and
a plurality of strap mounts mounted on the outer surface of the support member, each strap mount being arranged to secure a harness strap thereon wherein at least one strap mount is offset laterally from each side of the trough such that the trough is suspended from the strap mounts therebetween for supporting the trough on the horse.
The configuration of the support member ensures that the tail set is properly positioned on the hindquarters of the horse while the trough provides lateral support to secure the tail therein. The side members of the trough ensure that the tail is properly aligned with the hindquarters of the horse unlike any previously known device. The resulting horse tail when supported in the tail set according to the present invention is thus supported in raised elevation by the base of the trough while being corrected of any lateral deviations.
The trough may be arched in the longitudinal direction from the first end to the second end thereof. Preferably, the trough is curved downwardly and outwardly from the outer surface of the support member.
The side members of the trough may be arranged to extend upwardly to respective free ends which are parallel and spaced apart from each other. This provides sufficient support for securing the tail therebetween while correcting the tail of lateral deviations.
In one arrangement, the support member comprises two lobes, each lobe extending laterally outward from a respective side of the trough. The lobes are preferably spaced apart with the inner supporting surface of each lobe being generally concave in shape.
Preferably the support member is generally symmetrical about a vertical plane extending longitudinally with the trough so as to evenly balance the support member on the rear end of the horse.
The base of the trough is preferably spaced outwardly from the inner supporting surface of the support member. In this arrangement, the trough does not interfere with the bowel movements of the horse in use.
The support member preferably spans both upward and downward from the first end of the trough so as to adequately support the trough with the weight of the tail thereon to extend outwardly from the rear end of the horse.
A cap may be arranged to be mounted on the trough spaced from the base thereof so as to secure the tail of the horse between the cap and the base of the trough. The cap is preferably hinged along one side thereof on one of the side members of the trough so as to be arranged to fully enclose a top side of the trough when engaged thereon.
Preferably at least one of the strap mounts is mounted on the support member offset upwardly from the first end of the trough to provide vertical support to the trough.
There may provided one strap mount spaced above the trough and one strap mount spaced below the trough offset laterally from each side of the trough to ensure that the support member is statically positioned on the rear end of the horse in use.
When, the support member comprises a pair of spaced apart lobes there may be provided an adjustable strap member coupled therebetween spaced above the trough.
The trough is preferably formed of rigid material wherein there is provided a lining along an inner surface of the trough formed of resilient padded material to comfortably support the tail thereon.
There may further be provided a lining along the inner supporting surface of the support member formed of resilient padded material to comfortably support the tail set on the rear end of the horse.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1991299 (1935-05-01), Swaggerty
patent: 2508117 (1950-05-01), Lavery, Sr.
patent: 3534527 (1970-10-01), Miller
patent: 3736906 (1973-06-01), Peterson
patent: 3827403 (1974-08-01), Meyer
patent: 4141197 (1979-02-01), Nichols
patent: 4969917 (1990-11-01), Prue
patent: 4972660 (1990-11-01), Black
patent: 6085499 (2000-07-01), Mead-Lewis
Battison Adrian D.
Dupuis Ryan W.
Jordan Charles T.
Nelson Judith A.
Williams Michael R.
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