Abstract:
A halter having a continuous headstall strap that fits over the poll of the horse&#39;s head and includes a lead attachment ring at the bottom of the headstall strap.

Description:
PRIORITY/CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the priority date of the provisional application entitled HORSE HALTER filed by Byron Grant on Sep. 19, 2008 with application Ser. No. 61/098,272, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention generally relates to an apparatus for haltering horses, and more particularly to halters made of webbing or leather straps. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Halters for horses are common in the art and have been for well over a century. Various halter types have been made over those years to address the needs of training, leading and tying horses. Common features of the halters found in the prior art include a nose band that encircles the nose of the horse and some sort of a poll strap or crown strap that fits over the back of the horse&#39;s head behind the ears. The problem with common halter designs is the strength of the halter is compromised due to the numerous fittings included in the halter to allow it to be mounted on or fit on the horse and removed from the horse. 
     The art includes examples of halters that are designed to break away easily if the horse becomes entangled in a feature in the environment or potentially entangled with its own feet. An example of this is U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,384 to Pacini titled Breakaway Halter. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention addresses this weakness in available halter designs by including a headstall strap permanently formed and fastened into a continuous loop that fits over the poll of the horse and includes a lead attachment ring at the bottom of the headstall strap. This strap and the connection made to form the continuous loop are made of materials of adequate strength to control the horse and prevent the halter from breaking when the horse pulls back or jerks against the halter. This saves the owner of the horse the expense of replacing broken halters and protects the horse from harm or injury that may result if the horse becomes untied and free to run unsupervised in an area of unknown hazards. 
     The purpose of the Abstract of the Disclosure is to enable the public, and especially the scientists, engineers, and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection, the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The Abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way. 
     Still other features and advantages of the claimed invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description describing preferred embodiments of the invention, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated by carrying out my invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modification in various obvious respects all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description of the preferred embodiments are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive in nature. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows one embodiment of a horse halter fitted on a horse. 
         FIG. 2  shows a second embodiment of a horse halter not fitted on a horse. 
         FIG. 3  shows a front view of the halter in  FIG. 1  not fitted on a horse. 
         FIG. 4  shows a side view of the halter of  FIG. 1  not fitted on a horse. 
         FIG. 5  shows a third embodiment of the horse halter fitted on a horse. 
         FIG. 6  shows a fourth embodiment of the horse halter fitted on a horse. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed, but, on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims. 
     In the following description and in the figures, like elements are identified with like reference numerals. The use of “e.g.,” “etc,” and “or” indicates non-exclusive alternatives without limitation unless otherwise noted. The use of “including” means “including, but not limited to,” unless otherwise noted. 
     Disclosed is a halter apparatus (“halter”)  10  for a horse.  FIG. 1  shows the halter  10  placed on a horse  2  and illustrates the general features of the halter including the continuous headstall strap  20 , and a guide ring  26  that encompasses both sides of the headstall above the lead ring  28 . The continuous headstall strap  20  passes through the lead ring  28 . The continuous headstall strap is formed of leather, webbing or other suitable material and is formed into a continuous loop with a permanent, fixed high strength connection. 
     There is a brow band  30  which includes a headstall loop  32  fitted to slide on the headstall strap snug enough to retain its position unless it is moved by the owner and in a like manner a throat latch loop  34  that is also slidable on the throat latch strap  40 . The brow band is preferably symmetrical and includes a headstall loop  32  and a throat latch loop  34  on each side of the halter. The throat latch  40  includes a buckle  42  and a number of adjustment holes  44  to allow adjustment for a proper fit when the halter is placed on a horse. 
     A nose band  60  is nonadjustable and sized to fit the horse. The nose band is attached to the headstall strap  20  on each side with headstall loops  62  that have a snug sliding fit on the headstall strap  20 . The nose band position is adjusted by the hanger straps  50 , one hanger strap is attached to each side of the halter each hanger strap includes an upper strap  52  that is fixed to the headstall strap  20  and has a number of holes  58  therethrough to allow adjustment. 
     A lower strap  54  that is fixed to the nose band  60 , this attachment may be accomplished by sewing the lower strap to the nose band or alternatively it may be riveted or attachment may be made using a ring or a halter square of the three position type. The lower strap  54  has a buckle  56  attached at its top end to engage holes  58  in the upper strap  56  to allow nose band  60  position adjustment for a proper fit on the horse. This halter would typically be made of nylon webbing or strap in the alternative it may be made of leather or any other suitable material that will not chafe the horse. Material used to make the halter must possess adequate strength to control the horse without breaking or damaging the halter. 
     The halter  110  of  FIG. 2  differs from  FIG. 1  in that the headstall strap  120  is stitched together at  124  above the lead ring  128  instead of having a guide ring installed. Otherwise the halter  110  of  FIG. 2  is identical to the halter shown in  FIG. 1  and simply represents an alternative method of construction. 
       FIG. 3  shows the halter of  FIG. 1  without the horse to more clearly illustrate the location of the parts of the halter. The location of the hanger straps on both sides of the halter are clearly shown at  50  and  50 ′ and it is shown that the various parts of the upper and lower straps  52  and  54  on the left side are mirrored by  52 ′ and  54 ′ on the right side of the halter. Buckles  56  and  56 ′ are shown on the left and right sides as they would fit to the left and right sides of the halter. 
       FIG. 4  shows a side view of the halter of  FIG. 1 , without the horse, and illustrates the continuous nature of the headstall strap  20  and also provides a clear illustration of the throat latch loop or strap  40 . 
       FIG. 5  shows the preferred embodiment of the halter  210  fitted on a horse. The halter  210  includes a continuous headstall strap  220 , a lead ring  228 , a guide ring  230  that encircles both sides of the headstall strap and will slide easily over the headstall strap  220  but will not pass over the lead ring  228 . The continuous headstall strap is formed of leather, webbing or other suitable material and is formed into a continuous loop with a permanent, fixed, high strength connection. 
     Cheek rings  226  are attached to each side of the headstall strap near the top. A throat latch is made of three pieces: a left throat latch strap  242 , a right throat latch strap  244 , and a throat latch buckle  246 . The left throat latch strap  242  is attached to the left cheek ring and is provided with a number of adjustment holes  248 . The buckle  246  is fitted to one end of the right throat latch strap the end of the right throat latch strap  244 . The right throat latch strap end opposite buckle  246  is secured to the right cheek ring. In use the throat latch buckle  246  engages a hole  248  on the left throat latch strap  242  as selected the user. 
     The four piece nose band  260  includes a front nose band  262 , a rear nose band  264 , and two halter squares  266 , namely one halter square on each side of the halter. The second halter square is not visible in this Figure. Loops  268  are formed on each side of the rear nose band  264  and are sized to slide on the headstall strap  220 . The nose band position is regulated by hanger straps  250  located one on each side of the halter. 
     In this figure, hanger strap  250  on the left side of the halter is visible and the right hanger strap is not visible. Each hanger strap  250  is comprised of three parts: an upper hanger strap  252 , a lower hanger strap  254 , and a hanger strap buckle  256 . One end of the lower hanger strap  254  is fitted into the top position of the halter square  266 , however, as an alternative it could be sewed directly to the nose band if it was desirable to eliminate the halter square. Hanger strap buckle  256  is fitted to the end of the lower hanger strap  254  opposite the halter square and is preferably secured by stitching as is common in the art. 
     One upper hanger strap  252  is secured to each cheek ring  226  by stitching or other suitable connecting method. The upper hanger strap is fitted with a series of holes  258 . Hanger strap buckles  256  on each side of the halter engage holes  258  to support the nose band  260  at the desired position. It is understood that hanger strap  250  and its parts (the upper hanger strap  252 , lower hanger strap  254 , hanger strap buckle  256 , and the hanger strap adjustment holes  258 ) are mirrored on the right side of the halter. The halter of  FIG. 5  is preferably manufactured from nylon webbing and metal rings however it may be manufactured without the rings, so that buckles are the only metal parts. Leather straps or any other materials that will not chafe the horse and that provide adequate strength may be substituted for nylon webbing. The great benefit of this halter is the strength of the headstall strap as it is formed into a continuous permanent loop without detachable connecting means such as buckles. As a result of this permanently formed continuous loop the headstall strap has adequate strength that a horse cannot pull back and break the halter, thereby solving a common problem with halters available in the market today. 
       FIG. 6  shows another embodiment of the halter  210  fitted on a horse. The halter of  FIG. 6  differs from the halter of  FIG. 5  having a fixed length hanger straps  250 . Only the left side of the halter is visible in  FIG. 6  and the fixed length right hanger strap is not visible. The position of nose band  260  is not adjustable. The non-adjustable halter shown in  FIG. 6  does not include a brow band. 
     While there is shown and described the present preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be distinctly understood that this invention is not limited thereto but may be variously embodied to practice within the scope of the following claims. From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. 
     Examples of various embodiments within the spirit and scope of the invention include the option of making the halter with or without a brow band. Another example of an optional feature is the use of adjustable hanger straps or fixed hangers straps.