An Improved Apparatus for Dressing, Combing, and Trimming the Manes and Tails of Horses and other Animals.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Apr., 1899-Accepted, 24th Mar., 1900
An Improved Apparatus for Dressing, Combing, and Trimming the
Manes and Tails of Horses and other Animals.
I, ARTIIUR WILLIAM READ, of No. 1, Weald Lane, Brentwood, in the County of
Essex, Coachman, 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 invention consists of an improved apparatus for dressing combing and
trimming the manes and tails of horses and other animals which is so arranged
that the mane or tail of a horse or other animal may be combed dressed and
trimmed and the superfluous hairs extracted with one and the same instrument
and practically at one and the same time.
My improved apparatus consists of a comb and trimmer made of bone, metal,
vulcanite or other suitable material or of two or more of such materials in com-
bination. The comb is similar to an ordinary mane comb and the trimmer forms
a projection therefrom suitably shaped so that any superfluous hair requiring to.
be removed may be twisted or wrapped round such trimmer and plucked out.
The form of apparatus I find most useful in practice is one made of vulcanite
with its back preferably somewhat thicker and stronger than in ordinary mane
combs and this back is prolonged for about 2 inches or more to form the trimmer
such prolongation being preferably rounded and somewhat thicker and stronger
than the back of the toothed portion of the comb a diameter or thickness of.about
3/ths or one half of an inch being a convenient thickness. The trimmer has a
knob or cap at the end slightly larger than the prolongation itself to prevent the
hair slipping off. It is more convenient if commencing from this knob or cap
the trimmer is tapered slightly for about 2 or 3 of an inch downwards towards
the toothed portion of the comb by gradually diminishing the diameter or thick-
ness and then tapered upwards by gradually increasing such diameter or thick-
ness towards the toothed portion thus leaving a small valley or depression into
which the bulk of the hairs to be extracted will collect themselves. The section
of the trimmer at right angles to its axis may be round oval oblong square or
any other convenient shape but the sharp corners are better taken off to prevent
breakage of the hairs.
Another useful form of my apparatus has the back of the comb prolonged at
each end in a similar manner to the above or instead of or in addition to being
prolonged at both or either ends or end the back of the toothed portion of the
comb may have the trimmer fixed either in its centre or in any other convenient
part thereof and at right angles or at any other angle thereto the trimmer pro-
jecting in the centre and on the opposite side of the back to and in line with the
central tooth or teeth being the more convenient.
It is not necessary although more convenient that the trimmer should be in
one piece with the back of the comb as same may be attached to an ordinary mane
comb by screws or rivets or in any other suitable manner or same may be in such
a form that the back or other portion of an ordinary mane comb can be fitted

page_text: and fixed into it. The trimmer may also be made of sufficient length to have a
slot with slightly bevilled walls into which an ordinary mane comb can be in-
serted such combs being usually slightly bevilled from the back towards the
teeth the comb would on being pressed into the slot become tightly wedged therein
the slot being sufficiently wide to allow the teeth of the comb or a sufficient length
of same to pass through and project below the slot and if through desirable the
comb might be secured in position by means of a pin screw or other suitable
means. Another form of trimmer suitable to fit different sized combs might have
one side of the slot hinged on to the other so as to be capable of being opened
out and of being closed and secured preferably at the end furthest from the
hinge by means of a wedge screw slip link catch or other suitable means capable
of reducing the width of the slot as required or the same result might be obtained
by making the slot somewhat longer and of a slightly elastic material such as the
materials above mentioned and dispensing with the hinge one side of the slot
being disconnected preferably at one end by a gap of suitable width (about
th of an inch being a convenient width) from the other side of the slot and
the comb being secured in position by some of the means above mentioned.
I now proceed to describe my invention with reference to the drawings of which
Figure 1 shews a comb with the trimmer at one end Figure 2 shews a comb with
trimmers at both ends and Figure 3 shews a comb with the trimmer at the back.
A is the comb B the trimmer and the knob or cap. The same letters refer to
the same parts of the apparatus in each of the drawings.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of my invention and the
manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
An improved apparatus for dressing combing and trimming the manes and
tails of horses and other animals substantially as above described.
Toted this Savanth day of Anvil 1809