IMPROVEMENTS IN BRIDLE BITS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry William Achgelis, of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BRIDLE
BITS."
Sealed the 3rd September 1867, and dated the 7th March 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry William Achgelis
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th March 1867.
I, HENRY WILLIAM ACHGELIS, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BRIDLE BITS," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in constructing bits in such a manner that the cheek
pieces are in the form of wheels or rings, having their centre or fulcrum ou
the mouth-piece, which is suspended by means of loose rings from the head
stall. From the upper part of the cheek pieces arms or loops project in an
oblique position backwards, and to their ends the curb chain or strap is
attached, passing first through the loose rings and then round the lower jaw of
the borse. From the lower part of the cheek pieces arms or loops project
forward, to the ends of which the curb rein is attached. The second rein is
to be attached directly to the cheek pieces, acting on the mouth-piece in a
direct line. From this arrangement it will be seen that a very powerful
action upon the mouth-piece is obtained by the reins attached to the lower

page_text: arms of the cheek pieces, the whole of the force being applied to the mouth
only, while in bits of ordinary construction there is always a considerable
amount of force lost through the pull acting upon the horse's head and nose
through the head strap and nose band. The compressive action of the curb
chain is by my improved arrangement completely liberated from all resistance
by being made to work through the loose rings, as described. In place of
having a projecting arm or loop on the ring of the cheek piece for the curb
chain to be attached to I sometimes form a loop on the inner circumference
of the ring to serve the same purpose. Also in place of using the upper
arms or loops only for the attachment of the curb chain I raise them and
connect the ends with a nose band, which after passing over the horse's nose
and through the head straps is crossed behind the horse's jaw, and each end
fastened to the opposite side, while a curb chain may still be attached to some
lower part of the arms, and work freely through the loose rings; by this.
means the horse's mouth is shut when the curb rein is pulled.
The mouth-piece is by preference not fixed rigidly to the centre of the
cheek pieces but is made capable of sliding up and down upon the middle bars
formed across the wheels or rings; this arrangement in connection with the
loose rings will tend to make and keep the horse's mouth pleasant.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry William Achgelis in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 4th September 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
WILLIAM ACHGELIS, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Henry William Achgelis, Her special licence that I, the said Henry William
Achgelis, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Henry William Aohgelis, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IM-

page_text: PROVEMENTS IN BRIDLE BITS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Henry William Achgelis, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should.
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry William Achgelis, do hereby.
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Draw-
ings, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
My Invention consists in constructing bits in such a manner that the check
pieces are in the form of wheels or rings having their centre or fulcrum on
the mouth-piece, which is suspended by means of loose rings from the bead
stall. From the upper part of the cheek pieces arms or loops project in an
oblique position backwards, and to their ends the curb chain or strap is
attached, passing first through the loose rings, and then round the lower jaw of
the horse. From the lower part of the check pieces arms or loops project
forward, to the ends of which the curb rein is attached. The second or driving
rein is to be attached directly to the cheek pieces acting on the mouth-piece
in a direct line. From this arrangement it will be seen that a very powerful
action upon the mouth-piece is obtained by the reins attached to the lower
arms of the cheek pieces, the whole of the force being applied to the mouth.
only, while in bits of ordinary construction there is always a considerable
amount of force lost through the pull acting upon the horse's head and noso
through the head strap and nose band. The compressive action of the curb
chain is by my improved arrangement completely liberated from all resistance
by being made to work through the loose rings as described. In place of
having a projecting arm or loop on the ring of the cheek piece for the curb
chain to be attached to I sometimes form a loop on the inner circumference
of the ring to serve the same purpose. Also in place of using the upper arms
or loops only for the attachment of the curb chain I raise them and connect
the ends with a nose band, which after passing over the horse's nose and.
through the head straps is crossed behind the horse's jaw, and each end fastened.
to the opposite side, while a curb chain may still be attached to some lower
part of the arms, and work freely through the loose rings. By this means the.
horse's mouth is shut when the curb rein is pulled.
The mouth-piece is by preference not fixed rigidly to the centre of the

page_text: cheek pieces, but is made capable of sliding up and down upon the middle
bars formed across the wheels or rings. This arrangement in connection with
the loose rings will tend to make and keep the horse's mouth pleasant.
Figures 1 to 3 on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings show various
modifications of my before-described improved bridle bits.
In the perspective elevation at Figure 1 the rings A, A, which act as the
'cheek pieces, are provided with upper and lower projecting arms B, C, of
which the lower ones C project forward, and have the curb rein D attached to
them, while the upper ones B project backward and serve to carry the curb
chain E. The rings A have, furthermore, a central bar G, upon which slides
the mouth-piece H, the bars G being formed of an elliptical cross section, and
fitting into correspondingly formed loops on the mouth-piece to prevent their
twisting. The mouth-piece is carried by the loose rings I, suspended from
the headstall, through which rings the curb chain is passed before being
connected to the arms :B; these arms may be shortened at pleasure to increase
the leverage of the curb rein, or for the sake of appearance and freedom of
play through the loose rings. The driving rein F is attached to the rings A,
and thus acts directly on the bit in the usual manner, while the rein D, acting
in connection with the arms B, C, and the chain or strap E, will act as a very
powerful curb.
By the above arrangement also the compressive action of the curb chain
is completely liberated from all resistance by working through the loose rings.
In the ordinary arrangement unless the curb chain is made tolerably tight in
the first instance it is of very little force, whereas in the present arrangement
a slack curb chain would not be inoperative, nor a tight one irksome to the
horse. The improved construction, furthermore, in affording more power will
consequently allow of the parts being made of a lighter form; it will also do
away with all separate bearing bits for barness horses, as the bearing rein may
simply be buckled to the loose rings.
Figure 2 shows the before-described arrangement with a self-tightening
nose band K attached to the upper arms B of the cheek pieces, which nose
band passes over the horse's nose, and by preference through loops in the
bead strap J (it is not shown so in the Drawing for the sake of clearness);
and the ends are then crossed behind the horse's jaw, and attached to the
opposite cheek pieces. By this arrangement the horse's mouth is closed by
the use of the curb rein. The curb chain E is in this case attached to the
loops L at any suitable point lower down on the arms B or at any spot on the
ring A to suit the leverage required, or for the sake of appearance.
In the modification shown at Figure 3 mere loops B, C, are substituted for

page_text: the arms in the previous arrangement, the upper loops B being formed either
outside the ring or inside, as shown in dotted lines.
My improved arrangement of cheek pieces may be applied to any form of
mouth-piece, provided the joints of broken ones act backwards and forwards
only.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, what I claim under the herein-before in part
recited Letters Patent is,-
First, constructing bridle bits with cheek pieces formed as rings A, having
their centre or fulcrum on the mouth-piece, and provided with lower and
upper diagonal arms or loops B, C, operating in combination with the curb
chain or strap E, substantially as and for the purposes berein-before set
forth.
Second, constructing the rings A with central bars G, upon which the ends
of the mouth-piece slide, substantially as herein-before described.
Third, the employment in combination with the said cheek pieces of a self-
tightening nose band K, arranged and operating substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry William Achgelis, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
WACHCELIS
HWACHELS (1.5.)