Improvement in Means for Controlling and Driving Horses without Bit or Curb.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Nov., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvement in Means for Controlling and Driving Horses without
Bit or Curb.
I, EDWIN ROBERT WETHERED, of 18 Church Terrace, Lee, London, S.E., do
hereby declare the nature of my invention for improvement in means for driving
horses without bit or curb to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is by mechanical means to construct a bridle and
rein in such manner that a horse may be kept under perfect control and guidance
simply by pressure on a strap around his nose, cominonly called a nose stran.'
place the straps of the bridle in a somewhat similar position to ordinary bridles.
I stiffen the two cheek straps, with metal or wood, from end to end, to prevent
their buckling up and to provide for fixing at the lower end of each, a pivoted
metal plate, having two or three arms, I divide the nose strap in two parts, and
secure each of the ends, to the two shortest arms at each side of the head, one
portion of the strap passes over the nose, the other under the jaw. I attach the
rein to the longest arm, or prolong one of the short ones for that
purposes. When
the rein is pulled, the pivoted plates rotate slightly, causing the nose straps to be
drawn tight, both above and below, by the leverage employed by the longest arm.
Instead of employing a metal plate to the end of cheek straps, I may exert the
requisite pressure on the nose strap, by means of pulley wheels, or rollers, fitted to
the ends of the cheek plates, to attain the required leverage to control a horse.
Should it be requisite to increase the leverage in either case; instead of fastening
the rein direct to the lever arm of plate, or in the case of leverage by pulleys or
rollers, I may fit schackles with rollers at the ends of the longer arms, or (in the
case of pulleys) at the end of the nose straps as they pass over the rollers on cheek
strap, and pass the rein through the shackles, over the rollers, and attach the ends
of rein to collar or other part of the harness.
Signed this 10th day of November 1896.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvement in Means for Controlling and Driving Horses without
Bit or Curb.
, EDWIN ROBERT WETHERED, of 18, Church Terrace, Lee, in the County of
London, Lieutenant Colonel, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
Price 8d

page_text: what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer
tained in and by the following statement:
This invention relates to improvement in menus for controlling and driving
horses without the employment of a bit or curb.
According to the invention I employ a bridle the straps of which are arranged
similarly to the straps of an ordinary bridle, but wherein the two cheek-straps.
are stiffened with wood or metal or in any other suitable manner so as to adapt
each to carry at its lower end a metal plate or lever pivoted thereto such lever
having one short arm or projection and one long arm which I term the leverage
arm. The nose-strap of the bridle is divided transversely and the two ends of
one half are secured to the ends of the short arms of the metal plates or levers on
each side of the horse's head and the two ends of the other half of the nose-strap
are secured to the two long arms of the two metal plates or levers respectively.
A pair of reins is secured to the long leverage arms of the plates or levers so that
when the said reins are pulled, the two halves of the nose-strap are pulled together
so as to tighten the nose-strap over the nose and jaw of the horse a second pair
being, when required, secured to the long arms of the levers close to the fulcrum.
In the accompanying drawing I have shewn in perspective a bridle having my
improvements applied thereto, the view also shewing the application of the bridle
to a horse. As above described the main straps of the bridle are similar to those
of an ordinary bridle and are similarly placed with respect to one another.
a, a are the two cheek-straps stiffened by metal or wood and b, b, b, are my
'two metal plates or levers pivoted at c to the lower ends of the said cheek-
straps a, a, b being the two short arms or projections of the metal plates and b
being the long or leverage arms, the said arms being provided with slots.
d, d' is the divided nose-strap, the part d passing over the nose of the horse
whilst the part d passes around its jaw. The ends of the part d of the nose-strap
are secured to the slots in the two long arms at 6, 61 of the two metal plates whilst
the ends of the part d' are secured to the slots & in the two short arms b, b of the
said metal plates. With this construction it will be obvious that by turning the
metal plates on their pivots e, e the two halves d, d' of the nose-strap will be
pulled towards one another so as to tighten the strap upon the nose and jaw of the
horse. This movement of the metal plates is effected by the two long leverage
arms b, b to the outer ends of which the reins e are attached so that by pulling
the reins the nose-strap is tightened as above described. e, el represent a second
pair of reins advantageously used in conjunction with the reins e, e for riding
purposes, but it will be obvious that they can be dispensed with.
It will be obvious that by reversing the position of the metal plates b, 6, that
is to say, so that the long arms are upwards and the short arms downwards the
parts d of the nose-strap will be brought lower down under the jaw and the part d
thereof higher up and free from the horse's nostrils.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. Improved means for controlling and driving horses, such means consisting
in pivoting to each stiffened cheek-strap of a bridle, a metal plate or lever having
a short arm or projection and a long leverage arm, in dividing the nose-strap
transversely and in securing the ends of the halves thereof respectively to the
short arms and long arms of the metal plates or levers and the reins to the ends
of the long arms, substantially as, and for the purpose, hereinbefore described.
2. A bridle having a nose-strap divided transversely, the two ends of each half
thereof being secured respectively to the short and long leverage arms of two metal
plates or levers pivoted to the lower ends of the cheek-straps (which are stiffened
'therefor) of the bridle, the reins being secured to the ends of the long leverage

page_text: arms of the plates or levers, substantially as, and for the purpose, herein before
described.
3. The combination and arrangement of parts forming the improved bridle,
hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
Dated this 9th day of August 1897.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.