Riding saddles

Abstract: A saddle for equestrian use has panels (2) having sealed air bags (4) filled with air at atmospheric pressure to permit an even pressure to be applied over the back of a horse. The interior of the panel (2) above the air bags (4) is filled with packing material (6) to permit adjustment of the fit of the saddle on the horse throughout the working life of the saddle.

Description: The present invention relates to saddles for equestrian use. A conventional saddle has at its underside panels of a compressible structure intended to spread the weight of the rider over the back of the horse. Conventionally, the panels consist of an envelope into which a packing of wool or comparable synthetic material is inserted by hand. In principle, the packing formed by the wool or other filling is intended to conform to the shape of the horse's back and thereby to spread the load while minimising pressure points on the horse's back. When a saddle is used only on one horse, the panels of the saddle will, over a period of time, compress and set to take on the shape of the particular horse's back. However the extent of possible compression which occurs in the packing is relatively limited and unless the saddle tree is shaped to the exact conformity of the horse, pressure points often arise where too much of the weight of the rider is transferred to the horse's back in specific areas. This results in the skin not receiving sufficient blood flow which reduces the ability of the skin to sweat and if this situation continues for a long period of time it can result in hair loss, sore back, and possible muscle damage to the horse. These problems are compounded when, and as often happens, the saddle is used on more than one horse and whereby the compression needed to properly bed the saddle down onto the horse will not arise. More specifically, the invention relates to a saddle for equestrian use, the saddle having panels, each panel containing a plurality of sealed air bags and, externally of the air bags in relation to the horse, a packing, a separate said air bag being at least in a forward part and a rearward part of the panel and each bag in use serving to apply a relatively even pressure to the back of the horse. In a saddle of this form disclosed in EP 0 7 64607 the air bags are in the form of bladders which are inflated by plumping and careful adjustment is required either by operating the pump or by opening a.valve to properly shape the saddle to conform to the horse's back. This adjustment is not only difficult to achieve but also the bladders will inherently tend to inflate into a rounded shape. In contrast the present invention is characterised in that each air bag is substantially flat and is substantially filled within its interior with a resiliently compressible open cell foam, and the packing is capable of adjustment after insertion of the air bags into the panel. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the bags within each panel are formed into a single unit for insertion into the panel. Advantageously, the external surface of each bag or of the bag unit carries a lining to prevent damage to the bags during insertion of, or re-packing of, the packing. The present invention also provides a method of producing the saddle comprising inserting into each of the panels the plurality of sealed air bags, said bags lying adjacent a part of the panel which contacts the back of the horse whereby the bags provide a padding effect to distribute to the back of the horse the loading arising in use of the saddle, providing a lining layer to shield the air bags, inserting into the panels packing material, said packing material contacting the lining layer, and adjusting the packing material within the panel. An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-section of a saddle in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention showing the saddle panels containing an air bag arrangement and adjustable packing externally of the air bags; Fig. 2 is a cross-section through an individual air bag; Fig. 3 is a section showing schematically the configuration of the air bag, an associated liner, and packing within the panel; Fig. 4 is an underneath plan view showing an air bag unit consisting of front, and rear air bags; and Fig. 5 is an underneath plan view of an air bag unit consisting of front, intermediate, and rear air bags. As shown in the accompanying drawings a saddle in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention is, save for the filling within the panels, of known construction using leather, synthetic materials or a combination of leather and synthetic materials. In accordance with the invention, each of the panels 2 defines an envelope which receives an arrangement of air bags 4 and, above the air bags 4 either along the entire length of the panel 2 or at selected positions, packing 6 preferably in the form of a wool stuffing. The air bags 4 are arranged sequentially in a fore-aft direction within the panel 2. There may be just two such air bags forming front and rear air bags collectively extending the length of the panel 2 or there may be three or possibly more such air bags consisting of a front, a rear, and one or more intermediate air bags collectively extending the length of the panel 2. The respective air bags 4 are sealed and as a result air will not flow between the bags. It is to be noted that if only a single air bag were to be used extending the length of the panel substantial air movement would occur from the front to the back of the panel when the air bag is under pressure during use and this could result in the formation of pressure points. Although with the arrangement now proposed air movement will occur within each individual bag when under load, the extent of air movement is inherently restricted by the length of the bag. With reference to Figure 2, each air bag 4 is formed by upper and lower sheets 8, 10 of impervious material such as PVC sealed together around the periphery 12 with each bag having a filling 14 consisting of a layer of an open cell resiliently compressible foam. The air bags 4 are not inflated with air at above atmospheric pressure but, rather, contain air at atmospheric pressure which is sealed within the bag during manufacture, with the open cell foam filling 14 occupying substantially the entirety of the interior of the bag. The resulting air bag is substantially flat and of substantially even thickness throughout. The two or more air bags 4 are fitted into the panel 2 and then the wool or other appropriate packing 6 is placed above the air bags where required. Advantageously, the two or more bags 4 are formed into an air bag unit by attaching a layer 16 of flexible lining material to the upper surface of the air bags 4, for example by glueing. The lining 16 will prevent the air bags 4 from being punctured while the wool or other packing 6 is being inserted and also serves to consolidate the two or more bags 4 into a single unit to facilitate assembly. The lining 16 may consist of a felt or a suitable plastics material such as PVC. Figure 4 shows an air bag unit consisting of front and rear air bags 4a, 4b and Figure 5 shows an air bag unit consisting of front, intermediate, and rear air bags 4a, 4c, 4b. The packing 6 will normally be added in the part of the panel 2 which guides the knee of the rider, and at the rear of the panel 2 where extra depth is required. Very little packing is likely to be required in the middle part of the panel 2 although it can be added if required. The effect of the air bag arrangement is that, in use, air will move within each separate bag and an even pressure will be applied over the entire surface of each air bag at the front or back of the saddle thereby eliminating individual pressure points on the back of the horse, in contrast to conventional saddles where significant pressure variation on the horse's back can arise within a relatively small area. The application of the even pressure over the surface of the bag is expected to substantially remove possibility for muscle damage and it is expected that this will result in a much freer and more comfortable movement of the horse in use. A significant advantage of using the air bag arrangement in combination with appropriate packing is that it is possible for saddlers to re-adjust the fit of the saddle to optimise the effects of the air bag arrangement at any time throughout its life thereby providing substantial flexibility in use. The re-adjustment, which is accomplished by adjusting the position of the packing or by re-packing, is a straightforward task for a saddler and the presence of the lining above the air bags will ensure the integrity of the air bags during this process. It will be understood that although a number of different plastics materials will have substantial impermeability to passage of air and will form suitable materials for the air bags, absolute impermeability might not always be achieved with the result that minor amounts of air might displace through the bag wall when the bag is under heavy loading during prolonged use resulting in minor deflation which does not, however, adversely affect the performance of the bag, but under normal usage this should not occur. However should minor deflation occur under the circumstances discussed above, when the saddle is removed from the horse and the air bag is no longer under load, it has been determined that the expansion of the open cell foam filling within the bag from its previously compressed state does, over a period of time (such as several weeks), cause air to be drawn back into the interior of the bag to establish pressure equilibrium across the wall of the bag. However it is envisaged that if air loss through the bag wall during use does present a problem, laminates can be used which will totally eliminate air loss although these laminates can be relatively expensive and will therefore lead to increased costs. Throughout this specification and claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

Claims: A saddle for equestrian use, the saddle having panels (2), each panel containing a plurality of sealed air bags (4) and, externally of the air bags (4) in relation to the horse, a packing (6), a separate said air bag (4) being at least in a forward part and a rearward part of the panel and each bag (4) in use serving to apply a relatively even pressure to the back of the horse, characterised in that each air bag (4) is substantially flat and is substantially filled within its interior with a resiliently compressible open cell foam (14), and the packing (6) is capable of adjustment after insertion of the air bags (4) into the panel. A saddle according to claim 1, wherein the bags (4) within each panel are formed into a single unit for insertion into the panel. A saddle according to claim 2, wherein said unit comprises separate air bags (4) attached to a layer (16) of flexible lining material, said flexible layer (16) lying between the bags (4) and the packing (6) and serving also to prevent puncturing of the bags (4) during insertion of the packing (6) into the panel. A saddle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each said bag (4) comprises opposed layers of sheet material (8,10) sealed together at adjacent edges such that air at atmospheric pressure is enclosed within the bag (4). A saddle according to claim 4, wherein the bags (4) are constructed of sheet material (8,10) which is substantially impervious to a passage of air therethrough but which is, under exposure to prolonged loading during use of the saddle, susceptible to minor leakage of air through the bag (4) resulting in deflation of the bag (4) from its non-loaded configuration, the arrangement being such that upon removal of the loading, consequent expansion of the bag (4) to its non-loaded configuration by re-expansion of the foam filling (14) will cause atmospheric air to be drawn back into the interior of the bag (4) over a substantial period of time. A saddle according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the bags (4) are positioned in said panel to provide a forward, intermediate, and rear air bag (4a, 4b, 4c) in end-to-end relation. A saddle according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the bags (4) are arranged in the panel to provide a forward and rear air bag (4a, 4b) in end-to-end relation. A method of producing a saddle according to claim 1 comprising inserting into each of the panels the plurality of sealed air bags (4), said bags (4) lying adjacent a part of the panel which contacts the back of the horse whereby the bags (4) provide a padding effect to distribute to the back of the horse the loading arising in use of the saddle, providing a lining layer (16) to shield the air bags (4), inserting into the panels packing material (6), said packing material (6) contacting the lining layer (16), and adjusting the packing material (6) within the panel. A method according to claim 8, comprising inserting the air bags (4) and lining layer (16) as a single unit into the panel.

Inventors: RONALD GORDON BATES
Applicants: HAMMERSMITH NOMINEES PTY LTD
Application year: 2001
Main classification: B68C1
IPC codes: B68C1