Play toy for animals

A play toy for animals is provided of reasonable weight and size to be handled by the animal for which it was designed. The toy is of any of a number of regular and irregular shapes, including rectangles and squares, having a plurality of tabs or other members intended to be grasped by and held in the animal's mouth. The toy's configuration is non-rigid, pliable, and safe to the animal by which it is intended. The structure contains a filling which forms a soft pillow or cushion like structure from which the tab members extend. A covering holds the filling and forms the outside surface of the toy. This covering is of a pliable, non-abrasive, and strong material which will greatly resist tearing and which is tough enough to withstand continuing use by the animal. The filling material is of a non-toxic, non-harmful nature, and is selected from a class of materials which will not injure the animal if ingested or inhaled.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed to a play toy for an animal, and in 
particular, to such a toy for both a young and a mature horse and other 
animals which is safe for its use. Applicant has processed Disclosure 
Document Deposits recorded by the U.S. Patent Office as number 367878. 
Many hoofed and pawed animals, such as horses, dogs and cats enjoy play 
things. Almost universally these play things, or toys, are designed for 
the animal to pick up and hold in its mouth, or to push with its nose or 
feet (hoofs, paws). These prior animal play toys have been designed to 
occupy the animals in some sort of activity, such a chewing, gnawing, or 
butting and pushing. Most are also designed to look appealing to the 
animal's owner. 
Usually these prior toys are designed to be durable, i.e. to be tough 
enough to not be easily destroyed or broken by the animal. This durability 
has manifested itself in a generally rigid or semi-rigid object made from 
metal, wood, tough rubber compounds or tough plastic compounds. In 
addition, these prior toys often provide a grasping surface which 
universally has been embodied as a closed loop or narrowed, round 
rod-shaped, section. An example of a horse toy of this design is a tough 
rubber coated ball, of a size between a volley ball and a basket ball, 
with a rigid protruding grasping loop. This grasping loop is made from a 
rod projecting from the surface of the ball and attached at both ends. 
Many of these toys, including this ball toy are awkward and too heavy for 
young horses to safely handle. Moreover, as the projecting closed loop is 
made large enough for the horse to grasp in its mouth, it is often, also, 
large enough for the young horse to trip on. Its opening is also large 
enough for the horse to get its hoof caught in, or to injure its leg. 
Stuffed toys, such as stuffed human-looking dolls, and dog-like or cat-like 
dolls, have been used as small animal play toys. These stuffed toys are 
unsuitable for larger animals, such as horses. They are not durable 
enough, nor do they provide a proper grasping surface for the animal. A 
young, or even an older horse can gag on many of the appendages of such 
doll-like toys. However, stuffed toys are soft and pliable and usually 
cannot cause injury when stepped on, unless they create a tripping hazard. 
It is desirable to provide an improved animal toy, which is durable and 
which is soft and pliable so a not to cause injury when stepped on or 
tossed about. It is also desirable to provide such a toy which presents 
grasping appendages of a size and shape to be easily grasped in the 
animal's mouth without allowing a horse to gag. It is further desirable to 
provide such a toy which is safe and non-toxic to the animal if it is 
broken or torn apart. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
An objective of the present invention is to provide a play toy for animals, 
such as a horse, which is safe for it to use and which does not present 
any sharp or hard protrusions. 
A second objective of the invention is to provide such a play toy which 
includes a soft and pliable body and a plurality of soft protrusions by 
which the animal can grasp and carry the toy in its mouth. 
A further objective of the invention is to provide such a toy which is 
durable under normal use and which if punctured or broken does not present 
a toxic condition to the animal. 
These objectives are realized in an animal toy having a pillow-like or 
cushion-like body and a plurality of soft and pliable tabs projecting 
therefrom. The body of the toy has a covering of tough but pliable 
material which is tear resistant and cut resistant. A filling material is 
contained within the body in sufficient quantity to give some bulk to the 
body, but yet may allow the body to fall limply when held or carried by 
the animal. The body size, the tabs size and the amount of filling 
material may be modified for the age and size of the animal, as well as 
for the type animal for which the toy is intended. 
The tabs are connected to the body in a reinforced configuration so as to 
naturally stand out from the body surface. The filling material is of a 
non-toxic type, if ingested or inhaled.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is a pillow-shaped or cushion-shaped animal play toy 
11, FIG. 1, having a plurality of teething tabs 13 by which an animal, 
such as a horse 15, can grasp and carry the toy 11. The configuration of 
the body 17 of the toy 11 is such that it can hang limp when grasped by 
the horse 15. 
The body 17 has a square profile, FIG. 2, with a covering of tough 
material, such as DuPont "CORDURA" nylon, having an integral water 
resistant backing. The weight of the covering can be in the range of 4 to 
7 ounce material for a play toy 11 intended for horses. This weight of the 
covering material will affect the overall weight of the toy 11 and the 
strength of the covering, including its resistance to tears and cuts. 
The body 17, contains filling material 19, FIGS. 5 and 6. When the body 17 
is fully packed with filling material 19, it will have a full or rounded 
profile, FIGS. 4 and 5. If less filling 19 is used, the body 17 will be 
more limp, FIGS. 2 and 6. The amount of filling material 19 use will 
affect the overall weight of the toy 11. This filling material 19 is cedar 
wood shavings or "curls". This material will not harm the animal if 
ingested. It is also the type of material which is not easily inhaled. 
The body 17 is made of two layers of the covering material which are sewn, 
double stitched 21 along each peripheral edge. This double stitching 21 
contributes to making that portion of the body 17 along its edges more 
rigid, in order to withstand the stress of being clasped in the mouth of 
the animal or buffeted about. The double stitching creates a peripheral 
reinforced grasping edge. This double stitching 21 is used when the toy 11 
has a rectangular profile body 23, FIG. 7, a circular or round profile 
body 25, FIG. 8, a tubular shaped body 27, FIG. 9, or a triangular profile 
body 29, FIG. 10. 
A webbing 31 is sewed across each face of the material covering of the body 
17, FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. This webbing is sewed on each face in a crossed leg 
fashion. It provides further reinforcement or stiffening to hold the shape 
of the square profile body 17. The webbing 31 is braided flat nylon 
webbing having a tensile strength in the range of from 1,000 to 10,000 
pounds per square inch. The webbing 31 extends beyond the edges of the 
body 17 to form a plurality of double thickness edge tabs 13. An 
orthogonally extending outward projecting tab 33 also extends from each 
opposing covering face of the body 17 at the web overlap position 35 in 
the center of each face. 
The orthogonally outwardly projecting tabs 33 enhance the probability that 
at least one of the tabs 13, 33 will be upward standing regardless of how 
the toy 11 is laying. Each of these tabs 13, 33 provides a rectangular, 
flat gripping object for the horse or other animal to mouth and grip with 
its teeth. In combination the tabs 13, 33 extend in each of the "x", "y" 
and "z" directions (vector axis directions). The size of each of these 
tabs 13, 33 is the same. The tabs 13, 33 and the face of the body 17 
simulate a pacifier structure to a young horse and a curiosity structure 
to an older animal. The tabs 13, 33 are flexible, tough and safe 
protrusions by which the toy 11 can be grasped, tossed about and played 
with. When the body 17 is loosely packed with the cedar shavings filing 
19, its limpness allows for changes in the contour of the toy 11 as is 
folds and crushes in upon itself. This adds to the animals attraction to 
and preoccupation with of the toy 11. 
The toy 11 when made in the other profiles shown in FIGS. 7-10 is made of 
similar weight and size with similar dimensions and strength, as the 
square shape shown in FIGS. 2-6. The square shaped toy 11 is about 21 
inches on a side and about 4 to 6 inches thick at its central thickest 
dimension. The toy 11 contains about three-quarters to one and one-quarter 
pounds of cedar filling 19. Cover and webbing weigh about 4 to 8 ounces. 
When made for foal or weanling, the dimensions are about 14 to 16 inches on 
a side, about 3 to 4 inches thick at its thickest, and weighing about 
one-third to five-eighths pounds. 
The tabs 13, 33 are each 2 inches wide and 4 inches long. These dimensions 
of the tabs are the same for the smaller animals. The size of a tab will 
allow it to be drawn a substantial distance into the animals mouth for the 
animal to grab it, teeth it and even suck on it. However, a tab is not big 
enough to gag the animal. 
The facing of the webbing, being sewn double thickness, combined with the 
flex features of the "CORDURA" nylon keep the body of the toy from being 
drawn any substantial distance into an animal's mouth. 
Normally the double stitching is made about one-half to three-quarter inch 
from the extreme edge of the body 17. This provides about a three-quarter 
inch wide reinforced edge for the animal to grasp. The width of this 
stitched band about the periphery of the body can me made wider for 
animals that may want to carry the toy by the edge. 
When the toys 11 shown in FIGS. 7-10 are sized for a horse, the rectangular 
pillow shown in FIG. 7 is about 21 by 12 inches; the circular pillow shown 
in FIG. 8 is about 18 inches in diameter; the cylindrical pillow shown in 
FIG. 9 is about 18 inches in diameter and 18 inches long; and the 
triangular pillow shown in FIG. 10 is about 12 inches on each side and 20 
inches on its bottom of longest side. 
Many changes can be made in the above-described invention without departing 
from the intent and scope thereof. The shape can change. Size, weight, tab 
dimensions, and thickness can be changed to suit the animal application. 
It is thereby intended that the above description be read in the 
illustrative sense and not in the limiting sense.