Improvements in Driving Bits for Horses and other Animals.
Year: 1895

page_text: [Communicated from abroad by WILLIAM E. SIMONDS, of Hartford, Connecticut,
United States of America, Attorney.]
Improvements in Driving Bits for Horses and other Animals.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained, in and by the following
statement:-
My said improvement is a device in the nature of a bit for driving a horse,
usable either with or without the ordinary bit; and its object and purpose is to
make guidance and stoppage of the horse easy and certain. It is specially useful
in controlling vicious horses and in breaking colts.
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 is a view of the head of a horse bearing the said improvements and
Figure 2 is a detail top view of the bail hereinafter described.
The ordinary reins such as are generally used in driving a horse, are denoted
(only one being visible in the drawing) by the letter a. My improved bit is used in
connection with, and is operated by means of these ordinary reins.
The essential new feature of my bit is the bail b so supported that it encompasses
the upper lip of the horse below the nostrils. This bail is by preference made of
steel and furnished, inside, with the pressure boss c for contact with, and pressure
upon the upper lip of the horse.
The location of the bail, below the nostrils, and so as to bear upon the upper
lip of the horse when the driver pulls backward upon the reins, is an essential
matter, for in this lip is located a most sensitive nerve or set of nerves, possibly
the most sensitive to be found in the organization of the horse. The letter d
denotes a strap suitably connected to the bridle or harness at its upper end and at
its lower front end, supporting the front of the bail b so that it lies across the lip
and below the nostrils; any support for the bail which will bring the front of the
bail in front of the upper lip of the horse and below the nostrils performs the
essential functions of this strap.
The rear end of the bail b may be connected directly to the ordinary reins a or
the ordinary bite may be interposed. The horse may be guided, stopped and
driven by the use of the bail and without the presence of the ordinary bit, or the
two devices may be used in conjunction. In either case, the bail is the more
effective instrument in guiding and stopping a horse that is vicious or that becomes
frightened. In using the two bits in conjunction it is practicable to so adjust the
two that the ordinary bit will come into action a little in advance of the bail.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination of the ordinary driving reins a, the bail b, encompassing
the upper lip of the horse, and a support for the bail locating it below the nostrils,
all substantially as described and for the purposes set forth.

page_text: 2. The combination of the ordinary driving reins a, the bail b provided with the
pressure boss c, and a support for the bail locating it below the nostrils, all sub-
stantially as described and for the purposes set forth.
3. The combination of the ordinary driving reins a, the ordinary bit e, the
bail b encompassing the upper lip of the horse, and a support for the bail
locating it below the nostrils, all substantially as described and for the purposes
set forth.
4. The combination of the ordinary driving reins a, the bail b, encompassing the
upper lip, and the strap d, supporting the bail below the nostrils, all substantially
as described and for the purposes set forth.
Dated this 7th day of June 1895
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.