Patent Publication Number: US-6220003-B1

Title: Girth having breathable structure

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a girth, and more particularly to a girth having a breathable structure. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Typical girths for horses are made of cloth materials which may absorb the sweat of the horses and may slip relative to the abdominal portions of the horses such that the horses may feel uncomfortable. 
     The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional girths. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a girth including a breathable structure for air circulation purposes and for preventing the girth from absorbing the sweat of the horse, and including an anti-slip structure for preventing the girth from moving relative to the horse and from hurting or scrubbing the horse. 
     In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a girth for a horse comprising a cover device including a base member having a substantially open mesh structure characterized by a plurality of through openings, the openings having a cross-sectional area significantly larger than the diameter of horse hair, for permitting air circulation and moisture penetration while avoiding the gripping or wedging of horse hairs within the through-openings in the mesh, the base member including two ends, a fastener strap device secured to the cover device, the fastener strap device including two ends, and two buckles secured to the ends of the fastener strap device and engaged on the ends of the base member of the cover device. The ends of the base member of the cover device are provided between the horse and the buckles for separating the buckles from the horse and for preventing the buckles from hurting the horse. 
     The cover device further includes a cover member having two sides secured to the base member and having a length shorter than that of the base member for allowing the ends of the base member to be extended outward beyond the cover member, and a space is formed between the cover member and the base member for receiving the fastener strap device. 
     The fastener strap device includes an envelope having a chamber for receiving fiber materials and having two ends secured to the buckles. Two backing pads are secured to the ends of the fastener strap device and engaged between the buckles and the ends of the base member of the cover device. 
     The cover device includes a middle portion, the girth further includes a connecting strap engaged around and secured to the middle portion of the cover device and the fastener strap device, and at least one ring secured to the connecting strap. 
     Further objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a careful reading of a detailed description provided hereinbelow, with appropriate reference to accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an schematic view illustrating the attachment of a girth in accordance with the present invention to the abdominal portion of the horse; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the girth; 
     FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along lines  3 — 3  of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a partial exploded view of the girth; and 
     FIG. 5 is a partial exploded view of the fastener strap device of the girth. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the drawings, and initially to FIG. 1, a girth in accordance with the present invention is shown in solid lines in FIG.  1  and is provided for attaching onto the abdominal portion of the horse and for securing to the saddle  60  by fastener straps  61 ,  62 . 
     Referring next to FIGS. 2-5, the girth comprises a fastener strap device  10  secured to a cover device  40  for forming the girth. The fastener strap device  10  includes an open-mesh material  12  defining a plurality of through openings therein, the material  12  preferably having a coating thereon that smoothes the peripheral edges of the through openings so as to reduce the probability that horse hairs will become wedged or gripped within the openings. For this purposes, the cross-sectional area of the through openings is made to be greater than the cross-sectional area of horse hair so as to substantially reduce the possibility that horse hairs projecting into the through-openings will tend to become gripped or wedged therein. The structure of the fastener strap  10  further includes two opposite sides folded to the middle portion thereof preferably in abutting or opposing, but not overlapping, relationship for forming an elongate envelope which includes a chamber formed therein for receiving a fibrous material  11 , which may comprise yarn, cord, thread etc., having the capacity for “wicking” moisture through the structure of cover device  40  and away from the skin of a horse with which it is in contact. A middle band  13  is engaged onto the opposite sides or the superimposed opposed sides of the material  12  and is secured to the cloth material  12  by suitable means such as stitches. Two end bands  14  are folded and engaged onto and secured to the ends of the envelope that is formed by the folded cloth material  12 , by stitches or by welding, for example. Two buckles  21  are secured to the ends of the envelope that is formed by the folded cloth material  12 , by coupler straps  22 , for example, by such as stitch operations. Two backing pads  30  are secured to the ends of the envelope by suitable means such as stitching and engaged with the buckles  21  for separating and for additional separation from the horse. 
     The fiber materials  11 , the coated material  12 , the bands  13 ,  14 , the coupler straps  22 , and/or the backing pads  30  are preferably made of a synthetic material such as nylon which will not absorb water and sweat; and include a number of through-openings or orifices formed therein defining a breathable structure for air circulation purposes. The backing pads  30  are provided for engaging between the buckles  21  and the horse for preventing the buckles  21  from hurting the horse. 
     The cover device  40  includes a base member  41  and a cover member  42 , and a peripheral bead member  43  secured to the peripheral portion of the base member  41  and securing the side portions of the cover member  42  to the base member  41 . The base member  41  is longer than the cover member  42  and includes two ends  44  extended outward beyond the cover member  42  for defining and forming a space  46  between the base member  41  and the cover member  42 . The space  46  formed between the base member  41  and the cover member  42  of the cover device  40  serves to receive the fastener strap device  10  (FIGS. 2,  3 ). The fastener strap device  10  may further be secured to the cover device  40  by stitching operations, for example. The cover device  40 , particularly the base member  41  of the cover device  40  is preferably formed an open mesh cloth structure having a number of smooth edged through-openings therein and having pronounced anti-slip characteristics, for example, which provide an anti-slip characteristic. The backing pads  30  are preferably engaged with the base member  41  of the cover device  40  for further separating the buckles  21  from the horse. 
     It is to be noted that the base member  41  of the cover device  40  may be made of rubber materials which include an anti-slip characteristic such that the girth will not slip relative to the horse and such that the horse will not be scrubbed by the girth while it is in use. The fiber materials  11 , the cloth material  12 , the bands  13 ,  14 , the coupler straps  22 , and/or the backing pads  30  will not absorb water and sweat and includes a breathable structure for air circulation purposes. 
     A connecting strap  50  includes an elongate strap element  51  having two ends folded toward the middle portion thereof and folded to laterally engage around the middle portion of the cover device  40  and secured to the cover device  40  by stitching operations, for example. Two rings  52  are secured to the connecting strap  50  and secured to the sides of the cover device  40  for coupling to the fastener straps  62  (FIG. 1) and for securing the girth to the horse. 
     Accordingly, the girth in accordance with the present invention includes a breathable structure for air circulation purposes and for preventing the girth from absorbing the sweat of the horse, and includes an anti-slip structure for preventing the girth from moving relative to the horse and from hurting or scrubbing the horse. 
     Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure has been made by way of example only and that numerous changes in the detailed construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.