A Safety Device for Automatically Disengaging the Stirrups whenever a Rider Falls or is Thrown Off his Horse.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Nov., 1896-Accepted, 19th Dec., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Safety Device for Automatically Disengaging the Stirrups
whenever a Rider Falls or is Thrown Off his Horse.
I, PAUL WAGEMANN, Naval Officer, on board the s.s. Virginia at Stettin,
Germany, 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 :-
This invention relates to a safety contrivance the object of which is to disengage
or disconnect the stirrups whenever a rider falls or is thrown off his horse and
thereby prevent his body being dragged along the road in consequence of his feet
remaining fixed in the stirrups.
The arrangement is so devised, that, just as the rider is beginning to fall, both
stirrups as well as their leathers are automatically released and the rider is forthwith
disentangled from the same.
And in order that my said invention may be properly understood I have hereunto
appended an explanatory sheet of drawings, whereon,
Fig. 1 is a view of a saddle with the stirrup detaching device fitted thereto.
Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the device shown open.
Fig. 3 is another view of the device shown in the locked position.
Fig. 4 is an underside view of the device.
Fig. 5 is a cross section of the device and looking from below.
Fig. 6 is a view looking towards the right hand of Fig. 3, and
Fig. 7 is a view looking towards the left hand of Fig. 3.
On the drawings the same reference letters wherever repeated indicate the
same parts.
As clearly shown on the drawings the device consists of a frame A made with
the horizontal bar a and the side bars b, c. A rod d is hinged to the lower
extremity of the bar b whilst the locking bar e is pivotted in a recess formed at
the meeting angle of the bars a and c. The locking bare has a tail piece e' at
one end and an eye 2 and a jaw e3 at the other end. The locking bar is retained
in either its closed or open position by means of a spring f which bears upon the
tail piece e¹. The side bar c which is slightly hollowed at its lower end serves as
a support and bearing for the rod d when turned up to the locked position as
shown at Fig. 3. When the locking bar e is moved downwards to the position
shown at Fig. 3 its eye e passes over the point d' of the rod d and the recessed
jaw e presses tightly against the outer end of the point d'. The parts when locked
together constitute an enclosed frame as shown at Fig. 3.
The space g between the jaw e3 and the eye e² on the one hand and the end of
the rod d on the other hand serves for the reception of an eyelet h¹ or ring secured
to the end of a leather strap, chain, or such like h.
As clearly shown at Fig. 1 the frame A is permanently secured to the stirrup
leather buckle i whilst the stirrup leather it is, with its stirrup, suspended from the
rod d. The strap or cord his passed, along the saddle lining, over rollers or
through rings and is led to the front of the saddle as far as the pommel and is
there passed through a fixed eye l behind which it is jointed to a second cord o
by means of a ring m which rests against the eye 1. The cord o is secured to the
ring m by means of a spring clip n. The cord o is attached to a belt p to be
fastened to the rider's waist.

page_text: A safety device A and a cord is fitted at each side of the saddle and the two
cords are attached to the ring m and the belt p, so that when the rider falls he
disengages both stirrups.
The safety device operates in the following manner;
When the rider is on horse-back and desires to make use of the safety device he
buckles the belt p round his waist and fixes the clip n of the cord o in the ring m
whence the cords h, h, lead to the locking bars e, e. Should the rider be thrown
off his horse the cord o will be pulled as he loses his balance and will pull the
cords h, h, to such an extent as to suddenly open the locking bars e, e, against the
action of the springs thereby releasing the bars d together with the stirrup
leathers and the stirrups. The small eyes h¹ of the cords h will at the same time
slip off the jaws e aud, as a consequence, the cords h, being now free, will, as the
rider falls, be pulled through the eyes and free of the saddle.
l
The action is the same whether the rider remains suspended to one stirrup or
both thereby avoiding the risk of the rider being caught by one foot.
The stirrup leathers and the cords can easily be replaced in position after
the accident.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inveu-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I consider novel and desire to claim is :-
1. A contrivance for automatically disengaging stirrups characterized by the
stirrup-leathers and stirrups being removably secured to the saddle in such a
manner that the locking device, which is connected by cords to the rider's waist,
is automatically opened or unlocked as soon as the rider loses his position in
the act of falling or being thrown off his horse, substantially as hereinbefore
set forth.
2. The contrivance for automatically disengaging stirrups consisting of a
frame A secured to the saddle having a binged bar d from which the stirrup is
suspended and a locking bar e provided with a projection el acted on by a spring
the whole being arranged in such manner that when the locking bar is locked
it forms a closed frame which can be opened by means of a cord attached to
the rider's waist, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the
drawings annexed.
Dated this 11th day of November 1896
H. D. FITZPATRICK,
70 Wellington Street, Glasgow, Agent.