AN IMPROVED SAFETY REIN OR BRIDLE
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Isaëe Daniel Fraétaniel, of Paris (France), Pro-
prietor, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED SAFETY REIN OR BRIDLE."
Sealed the 7th October 1856, and dated the 25th April 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Isaëe Daniel Fraétaniel at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th April 1856.
I, ISAEE DANIEL FRAÉTANIEL, of Paris (France), Proprietor, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED SAFETY REIN OR
BRIDLE," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to prevent a horse from becoming unruly,
and also from running away when left alone, whether harnessed to a carriage
or not. For this purpose there is a leathern socket sown to the martingale,
which socket contains a cylindrical cord of caoutchouc having a ring at its
lower extremity. Above the horse's knees are fastened two bands or garters,
each carrying a ring. A rein or bridle is fastened to one of these rings, and,
passing through the ring attached to the cord of caoutchouc, descends and
passes through the ring attached to the other garter, and thence to the hand
of the driver or rider. By pulling upon this rein the ring in the caoutchouc
cord is brought down to the level of the garters, and the horse's legs are
brought together, so as to prevent his moving. In order to show the tension

page_text: exerted upon the horse's legs, the end of the bridle which passes to the hands
of the driver may be graduated, and pass through a support attached to any
suitable part of the harness, and holes may be pierced in it to receive a
regulating stop.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Isače Daniel Fraétaniel in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 25th October 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ISAEE
DANIEL FRAETANIEL, of Paris (France), Proprietor, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Isaëe Daniel Fraétaniel, Her special licence that I, the said Isaëe
Daniel Fraétaniél, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Isaëe Daniel Fraétaniel, 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 "AN IMPROVED SAFETY REIN OR BRIDLE," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Isaëe Daniel Fraétaniel, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument 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 Isace Daniel Fraétaniel, do liereby
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, that is to say:-
This bridle is distinct from all other bridles which might at first sight seem
analogous with it; that is to say, that the strap, or rather rein, which acts on
the legs of the horse, by means of a bridle or extra rein only, acts gradually at
the will of the conductor, or, if necessary, at the will of the person in the
carriage, and without jolting or acting too sharply, whether used to subdue

page_text: .
a horse, or to moderate his speed, or for hindering him from running away, or
for stopping him when he does run away. It serves also to keep a horse
stationary, whether the said horse is harnessed or not. By the use of my
improved rein or bridle the horse's fore legs may be secured during the
absence of his master, as circumstances may require.
I will now explain by means of the annexed Drawing the mode of fixing
and using my improved rein or bridle, and I shall therefrom deduce the
principles on which my Invention rests, and point out different modes which
may be employed to effect the same object, or to modify it in certain points.
Figure 1 represents a horse to which the rein is applied, the said rein not
being in action. Nothing in this case prevents the horse walking, galloping,
or trotting as usual, for the rein, which is attached to his two legs by means
of garters, leaves him free liberty of motion. The caoutchouc spring from
which the rein is suspended at the ordinary martingale is at this time not
distended, as is herein-after explained.
Figure 2 represents the horse under the moderate action of the rein, for
example, to hinder him from galloping, his motion being only partially shackled,
and in a gentle manner, owing to the elasticity of the spring, which is only
stretched to about half its tension.
Figure 3 represents the horse under the full action of the rein, the two fore
legs being drawn close together, and their motion arrested; it is then that
the spring is stretched to the utmost. The rein is in this position when a
horse, harnessed or not harnessed, is left alone in the absence of his master.
Figure 4 represents on an enlarged scale part of the bridle in connection with
its moveable and graduated support. At AB the rein at rest agrees with the
state in which it is represented at Figure 1, and at AD it is shewn at its
greatest effect, as in Figure 8.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Note: The same letters indicate the same parts in the several Figures in
the Drawings.
A is a kind of sheath or leathern socket, formed upon the martingale B,
and in which is placed a small solid cylinder C of caoutchouc, the upper end
of which is strongly fixed at a, in the interior of the socket, to the lower
end of the said cylinder, which is turned up and sewn for the purpose. At d
is strongly attached the ring D, serving to support the rein E. This last.
composed of twisted or plaited leather, is fixed to the right leg by means of
a carter F. it passes through a ring a carried by the garter G on the left

page_text: K is the bridle, which serves to work the rein to which it is joined near the
said ring h. This bridle carries a graduated scale L to indicate the action of
the bridle, and between each figure indicating the degree of this action are
holes L', in order to receive the book M to keep the rein at the desired length,
according to the effect determined by the driver of the horse. N is a guiding
support of the bridle, serving as a mark to the figures on the graduated scale
L, and which may be fixed at any place near the hand and eye of the driver,
as also the stopping hook M. This guide N (the end K' of the bridle
being suitably arranged) serves as a stop to the latter, i.e., to keep it in its
place and from falling, should it happen to be drawn out of bounds by a
struggle of the horse.
From the foregoing description it will be readily understood that the bases
--of the Invention consist mainly; firstly, in a rein or thong tied to the two legs
of the horse, and suspended from the breast by the martingale, by means of
a support which is elastic, and therefore moveable; secondly, in a regulator of
the action of the rein upon the horse, which rein acts according to the force
excrted by the bridle which is attached to it..
From theso two arrangements are obtained, firstly, the gradual action of
the rein by the moveable ring which supports it, and by rendering the supporter
of this ring elastic; secondly, the mere warning given to the horse of the
ultimate action of the rein in cases where that is sufficient, as where he has
been accustomed to this action or is very sensible, and that by merely pulling
the bridle attached to the rein without bringing the latter into action; thirdly,
the driver of the horse knows exactly by means of the indicator the extent to
which the rein is acting upon the horse's legs, and can modify it gradually
without jerk, and without the horse feeling it too sharply; fourthly, he needs
no care about the bridle of the rein when once hooked to the right place, in
'short, he will be under no fear of its falling from his hands or being drawn
out of them by an extraordinary effort of the horse, since in this last case it
will be stopped by its end.
I would further observe, firstly, that the point of support of the rein or the
centre of its action is partly on the ring, and not exclusively upon the legs of
the horse, so that the two legs feel the action of the rein nearly simultaneously;
secondly, that the elasticity of the support of the rein renders the moderate
action of the rein scarcely sensible to the horse, whilst it partially restrains his
strength; thirdly, that in certain cases, as for the breaking of horses or for
very sensitive animals, the reins themselves may be made more or less elastic;
fourthly, that although the martingale appears to be the most suitable place
to receive the ring or moveable support of the rein, the ring may be arranged

page_text: so as to admit of being placed elsewhere, or to be attached to or detached from
the martingale at pleasure (instead of being fixed thereto) by means of a
hook, a split ring, or any similar mode of attachment; fifthly, that the
garters as well as the martingale may be decorated and ornamented, so as to
correspond with a rich harness, and the suspension rings may be disguised,
although still serving as conductors or supports of the rein; sixthly, that the
graduated end of the bridle attached to the rein may be brought inside the
carriage, so as to be at the command of the person riding therein in the
absence of the coachman, or to help the latter in case of need; seventhly,
that amongst the various possible modes of constructing this rein or the
different parts thereof, and especially as regards the mobility of the support
of the rein, instead of springs (which may be metallic if found suitable) racks
or sliding rods may be employed, with springs and catches to cause the
supporting ring to ascend and descend, with a second bridle to bring back
the ring to its original position. I am aware that this latter mode would be
more complicated, and I only mention it here in order to shew by this example
that the mobility of the support of the rein constitutes a principle of the
Invention, in whatever manner obtained, as the employment of graduated
mechanical draft may be substituted for that of an elastic spring.
I shall conclude this description by saying, that this rein when applied to
two horses, separated by a pole, may be arranged for each horse separately, or
that the two reins may be connected to one bridle for two or more horses;
at length there may be a united rein for all the horses, or a separate rein to
each. These are merely accessary arrangements, which may be variously
carried out, and the same is the case when the rein is employed to prevent
one or more horses from starting when the driver is obliged to leave the
carriage.
Having thus described any Invention, and the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I declare that I do not limit myself to the details above described,
as they may be varied without departing from the principle of my Invention,
and also that the rein may be employed without the indicator and the stop
hook; but what I claim is,-
Firstly, the employment of a rein attached to the two legs of a horse, which
rein passes through a ring suspended from the martingale, and the end of the
rein passing to the hand of the driver.
Secondly, connecting the supporting ring to the martingale by a rod of
caoutchouc, or any other substance forming a spring, in order to allow the
ring to yield to the draught of the bridle during the movements of the horse.

page_text: Thirdly, the graduated indicator, shewing the action of the bridle or rein
upon the horse's legs.
In witness whereof, I, the said Isaëe Daniel Fraétaniel, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
FRAÉTANIEL. (L.S.)
Witness,
CH. REYNAUD.