HORSE BLANKET

Abstract: A horse blanket 10 is a generally U-shaped cover bag comprising an undersheet 16 and oversheet 18 having an opening 22,22′ through which one or more inner blankets 40,40′ can be inserted for variable warmth.

Description: This invention relates to blankets for quadruped animals and particularly to horse blankets. Horse blankets are well known and are for keeping horses warm in wintry conditions. They generally comprise a shaped blanket of warm material having a variety of means to keep the blanket on the horse. Some have no such means and rely on the use of a separate girth strap to keep the blanket in place. Others have straps attached which enable the blanket to be kept on the horse' back. Such straps may be disposed as a crossover surcingle so as to reduce the pressure on a horse's back. If ordinary girth straps are used pressure is continuously applied and this often causes discomfort to a horse after a prolonged period of time. It is known from EP-A-0,060,449 to provide a horse blanket shaped and sized to fit the horse and comprising an undersheet and an oversheet of knitted synthetic fibres which generate therapeutic static electricity, and between them an air permeable synthetic foam lining for additional warmth, all three layers being sewn or welded all around the edges of the blanket. It is also known from DE-A-1,928,505 to provide a quited horse blanket in which an insulating fibre padding is stuffed between a waterproof outer layer and an inner layer of a material that clings to the horse's body, the two layers and the padding being stitched or heat moulded together. In any event however, there is presently no method of adjusting the warmth of a horse blanket. In particularly cold conditions, when a warmer covering for a horse is required, it has hitherto been the practice simply to place an underblanket underneath the main blanket and fold the under blanket over the main blanket at the horse's withers so as to ensure that the under blanket does not slip out between the horse's back and the main blanket. This is not a very satisfactory solution because it is rather clumsy, the blankets do not stay in place very well and two blankets are used, both of which will be soiled in time. Horse blankets soon require washing, particularly during inclement weather conditions. Most reasonable horse blankets are made of thick woolly material, and are usually far too big to be washed in a domestic washing machine. Needless to say, two blankets require two washings. Thus it is an object of the present invention to provide a blanket for a horse or other quadruped animal which does not suffer from, or at least mitigates the effects of, the aforementioned problems. In accordance with the present invention, a blanket for a quadruped animal is shaped and sized to fit the animal intended to wear the blanket, and comprises an undersheet and an oversheet connected together at their edges and an inner lining between them for warmth, the undersheet and oversheet together forming a cover, wherein said cover comprises a relatively light bag with an opening in it, and the inner lining comprises at least one separate relatively heavy blanket which is insertable into the bag through the opening and is releasably fastenable to the cover at least in the region of the neck and shoulders of the animal so as to locate the inner blanket in the cover. The present invention solves both the aforementioned disadvantages of presently available horse blankets. Firstly, it is a simple matter to double up the inner blanket or to replace the inner blanket with a warmer one and so that the warmth of the overall blanket is easily adjustable. Secondly, only the cover will generally require washing as only the undersheet comes into contact with the horse and the oversheet is exposed to the weather and to the ground or other objects which the horse might brush against whilst wearing the blanket. In the case of horse blankets, if the undersheet is made from a light breathable material such as cotton and the oversheet from a substant¡ally showerproof material such as nylon, then the cover will be light enough to be washable in most domestic washing machines. The cover by itself will even provide a useful light blanket for summer use. Preferably the cover is generally U-shaped with a very broad base to the U and the arms of the U being provided to extend around the neck and shoulders of the animal and be joined at its breast. The opening in the cover may be disposed along the joint between the undersheet and oversheet on a line around the outside of the base of said U in the region of the horse's rump when the blanket is being worn by a horse. In this event the cover may be provided with openings at the ends of the arms of said U and through which tabs provided on the ends of the arms of the correspondingly shaped inner blanket can the passed and secured to the cover so as to locate the inner blanket in the cover. Preferably the tabs are of hooped or hooked nylon and patches of correspondingly hooked or hooped nylon are disposed on the undersheet adjacent said openings so that on being threaded through said openings the tabs may be fastened to said patches to securely locate the inner sheet inside the cover. The inner blanket may be provided with corresponding areas of hooped and hooked nylon so that two or more inner blankets can be fastened together to form a thicker and warmer blanket laminate for insertion in the cover. A presently preferred alternative arrangement provides the opening in the cover along the joint between the undersheet and oversheet on a line around the inside of the base of said U in the region of the horse's neck and shoulders when the blanket is being worn by a horse. Preferably this opening is closeable by mutually opposing strips of hooped and hooked nylon disposed on opposite sides of the opening. In this case it is preferred if the correspondingly shaped inner blanket is also provided with strips of hooped and hooked nylon in the same region thereof as the cover, one on each side of the blanket, so that when the inner blanket is inserted into the cover, the hooped nylon on the blanket can be engaged with the hooked nylon on one side of the opening in the cover and the hooked nylon on the blanket can be engaged with the hooped nylon on the other side of the opening in the cover. This arrangement makes it very easy for more than one inner blanket to be used because two or more can be connected together in this neck region of the blanket by engagement of respective hooped and hooked nylon regions, always leaving on one side of the multiple blanket a region of hooped nylon for engagement with the hooked nylon in the opening of the cover and on the other side a region of hooked nylon. In this way, the inner blanket, or each of them where there is more than one, is securely held in place in the cover by its or their engagement with the hooped/hooked nylon regions in the opening of the cover. This reduces any tendency for the inner blanket to ruck or otherwise move about inside the coversheet while the blanket is being worn by a horse. The arms of the cover may be provided with further patches of hooped and hooked nylon by means of which the arms may be secured together at the horse's breast. This method may be supplemented with straps and buckles if desired. Furthermore, the oversheet may have straps connected thereto, in the American style for instance, whereby the cover may be secured to a horse's back. The or each inner blanket is preferably a quilt. The invention is further described hereinafter, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig 1 is a top plan view of a blanket according to the present invention; Fig 2 shows a horse wearing a blanket such as that shown in Fig 1; Fig 3 is an underneath plan view of the blanket of Fig 1; Fig 4 is a plan view of an inner blanket; Fig 5a is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of an inner blanket according to the present invention; and, Fig 5b is a similar view of a cover for use with the blanket of Fig 5a. A horse blanket 10 according to the invention is generally U-shaped having an essentially square part 12 forming the base to the U and arms 14,16. The blanket 10 comprises two sheets of material forming a cover, only the top, oversheet 18 being visible in Fig 1, while only the bottom, undersheet 20 is visible in Fig 3. The two sheets 18,20 are sewn together around their peripheries to form a bag. An opening 22 is left at the base of the U which is closeable by poppers 24 or the like or by a zip fastener, for instance. The top oversheet 18 is of breathable weatherproof, or showerproof, material such as nylon, while the undersheet 20 is made from a comfortable breathable material such as cotton. The oversheet 18 has straps and buckles 24 sewn, or otherwise secured, thereto by means of which the blanket can be secured on the back of a horse 50. The straps 24 are arranged in the American style for maximum comfort for the horse. The arms 14,16 are provided with complementary patches 30,32 of hooped and hooked nylon, one patch 30 on the oversheet side of arm 16, and the other patch 32 on the undersheet side of arm 14. When placed on a horse's back as in Fig 2, the two arms 14,16 are pressed together with the patches 30,32 against one another so that the patches interengage to keep the arms 14,16 together and to further secure the blanket 10 on the back of the horse 50. Alternatively, the arms 14,16 may be provided with straps and buckles (not shown) or other means to securely connect the arms together when the blanket is being worn by a horse. Between the sheets 18,20 inside the bag formed by them, is inserted an inner sheet 40 (see Fig 4) which is of the same general shape as the sheets 18,20 only slightly smaller. This is a quilted cotton sheet provided for warmth and may conveniently be supplied in several thicknesses. Furthermore each inner sheet 40 may have on each side complementary patches 42 of hooped and hooked nylon (only the patches on one side being visible in the drawing). This enables two or more inner sheets to be laid on one another to create an overall inner sheet of any desired thickness. The inner blanket 40, or a number of them if joined together, are inserted through the opening 22 in the cover 18,20. Arms 44,46 of the inner sheet 40 are provided at their ends with tabs 48 of hooped or hooked nylon. These are passed through holes 52,54 provided for this purpose in the ends of the arms 14,16 in the cover 18,20. Additional tabs 49 can also be provided in the region of the horse's withers for passing through holes 53,55 in this area of the cover 18,20. Further patches 56 of hooped or hooked nylon are disposed on the undersheet 20 to cooperate with the tabs 48,49 and so as to secure the inner sheet in position in the cover 18,20. The cover 18,20 and the inner sheets 40 are shaped by tucks 60 so that, once placed on a horse's back, the blanket 10 conforms neatly with the shape of the horse. A preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figs 5a,b. Here the opening 22′ in the cover 18′,20′ is on the inside of the base of the U in the neck and shoulders region of the blanket 10′ when it is being worn by a horse. The opening has mutually facing strips 70,72 of hooped and hooked nylon which are adapted to be pressed together in use to close the opening 22′. The inner blanket 40′ differs from that of Fig 4 in that it has no tabs 48,49 (no corresponding openings 52,54 being provided in the arms 14′,16′ of the cover 18′,20′), nor does it have the patches 42 of hooped/hooked nylon. Instead it is provided with strips 74,76 of hooped and hooked nylon, one on each side thereof, which, after the inner sheet has been inserted through the opening 22′, are adapted to be engaged between the strips 70,72 of hooped/hooked nylon in the opening 22′. This serves the dual function of closing the opening 22′ so that the inner blanket 40′ cannot come out of the cover 18′,20′ and more importantly firmly holds the inner blanket in place. This reduces any tendency which the inner blanket has of moving about inside the cover. It will of course be apparent that two inner blankets 40′, possibly of different warmth values, can be attached to each other by strips 74 on one and 76 on the other so that the resulting laminate still has mutually opposing strips 74,76 for attachment in the opening 22′. In this embodiment of the invention the arms 14′16′ of the cover 18′,20′ are provided with straps and buckles 90 to enable them to be connected together at the horse's breast. The present description is confined to a horse blanket, but of course the same principles could be applied to a blanket for any quadruped animal.

Claims: A blanket (10,10′) for a quadruped animal (50), the blanket being shaped and sized to fit the animal intended to wear the blanket, and comprising an undersheet (20,20′) and an oversheet (18,18′) connected together at their edges and an inner lining between them for warmth, the undersheet and oversheet together forming a cover (18,20,18′,20′) characterised in that said cover comprises a relatively light bag with an opening (22,22′) in it, and the inner lining comprises at least one separate relatively heavy blanket (40,40′) which is insertable into the bag through the opening and is releasably fastenable to the cover at least in the region of the neck and shoulders of the animal so as to locate the inner blanket in cover. A blanket as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that the undersheet (20,20′) is made from a light breathable material such as cotton and the oversheet (18,18′) from a substantially showerproof material such as nylon. A blanket as claimed in claim 1 or 2 characterised in that the cover is generally U-shaped with a very broad base (12) to the U and the arms (14,16) of the U being provided to extend around the neck and shoulders of the animal and be joined at its breast. A blanket as claimed in claim 3 characterised in that the opening (22) in the cover is disposed along the joint between the undersheet and oversheet on a line around the outside of the base of said U in the region of the horse's rump when the blanket is being worn by a horse (50). A blanket as claimed in claim 4 characterised in that the cover has openings (52,54) at the ends of the arms (14,16) of said U and through which tabs (48) provided on the ends of the arms (44,46) of the correspondingly shaped inner blanket (40) can the passed and secured to the cover (18,20) so as to locate the inner blanket (40) in the cover. A blanket as claimed in claim 4 or 5 characterised in that the inner blanket has corresponding areas (42) of hooped and hooked nylon so that two or more inner blankets can be fastened together to form a thicker and warmer blanket laminate for insertion in the cover. A blanket as claimed in claim 3 characterised in that the opening (22′) in the cover (18′20′) is along the joint between the undersheet (20′) and oversheet (18′) on a line around the inside of the base of said U in the region of the horse's withers when the blanket is being worn by a horse (50). A blanket as claimed in claim 7 characterised in that said opening is closeable by mutually opposing strips (70,72) of hooped and hooked nylon disposed on opposite sides of the opening. A blanket as claimed in claim 8 characterised in that the correspondingly shaped inner blanket (40′) is also provided with strips (74,76) of hooped and hooked nylon in the same region thereof as the cover, one on each side of the inner blanket, so that when the inner blanket (40′) is inserted into the cover (18′,20′), the hooped nylon (eg 74) on the inner blanket can be engaged with the hooked nylon (eg 70) on one side of the opening (22′) in the cover and the hooked nylon (eg 76) on the blanket can be engaged with the hooped nylon (eg 72) on the other side of the opening (22′) in the cover. A blanket as claimed in claim 9 characterised in that more than one inner blanket (40′) is connected together in this withers region of the blanket by engagement of respective hooped and hooked nylon regions (74,76), always leaving on one side of the laminate blanket so formed a region of hooped nylon for engagement with the hooked nylon in the opening of the cover and on the other side a region of hooked nylon.

Inventors: DENNIS, JEAN MARGARET, TRIBE, MARIAN
Applicants: DENNIS, JEAN MARGARET, TRIBE, MARIAN
Application year: 1989
Main classification: A01K13
IPC codes: A01K13