Improvements in Harness Saddles and Pack Saddles.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Nov., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 8th Aug., 1889-Accepted, 14th Sept., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Harness Saddles and Pack Saddles.
I HENRY REES-PHILIPPS of No. 13 Berkeley Street Piccadilly in the County of
Middlesex Manager of Inventors' Agency Limited do hereby declare the nature of
this Invention to be as follows:
My invention has for its object to permit of a harness or pack saddle accomodating itself
to horses of different sizes and thereby preventing the chafing of the horse which occurs
when a saddle of average size is put upon a horse above or below the ordinary
size. My invention further has for its object to prevent the saddle from pressing on
the spine of the horse.
In making a harness saddle or pack saddle according to my invention I construct
the saddle tree or foundation of the saddle of three essential parts namely a middle
and two side parts. The middle part consists of an arch and the side parts of flaps
pannels or rigid plates connected to the ends of the middle part. The said flaps or
pannels are connected to the middle piece by hinges one part of the hinge being fixed
to about the middle of the upper side of the flap and the other side of the hinge being
fixed on the end of the middle part. The said flaps or pannels by turning upon
their hinges can be brought into the same plane or they may be so inclined to one
another that their under faces make an angle of about ninety degrees. In the latter
position their inner ends bear against the underside of the middle or arched part by
which their motion is limited to the angle described. When the flaps are in the
position last described the foundation has the same general configuration as the saddle
tree of an ordinary harness or pack saddle excepting that the arched middle part is
higher than the middle part of an ordinary harness saddle and cannot come into
contact with the spine of the horse.
The undersides of the flaps are not flat their inner ends being slightly convex
and their outer ends slightly concave. This configuration is the counterpart of the
configuration of the parts of the horse on which the flaps bear when the saddle is in
use and as the said flaps can by turning on their hinges assume different degrees of
inclination to one another the saddle when placed upon a horse accomodates itself to
the size of the horse by the turning of the flaps on their hinges. The undersides of
the flaps or pannels may be provided with a padding or be covered with felt or other
soft material or may have a lining of metallic sheet zinc.
A harness saddle or pack saddle made according to my invention by the property
which it possesses of changing its form seats itself on the horse with a diffused gentle
pressure and is free from the chafing due to uneven beáring which is inseparable
from a rigid harness or pack saddle.
11 Olof Navamber 1888
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Harness Saddles and Pack Saddles.
I HENRY REES-PHILIPPS of No. 13 Berkeley Street Piccadilly in the County of
Middlesex Manager of Inventors' Agency Limited, 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 has for its object to permit of a harness or pack saddle accom-
modating itself to horses or beasts of burden of different sizes and thereby preventing

page_text: the chafing of the horse or beast of burden which occurs when a saddle of average
size is put upon a horse or beast of burden above or below the ordinary size. My
invention further has for its object to prevent the saddle from pressing on the spine of
the horse or beast of burden.
In making a harness saddle or pack saddle according to my invention I construct
the saddle tree or foundation of the saddle of three essential parts; namely a middle
and two side parts. The middle part consists of an arch and the side parts of flaps,
pannels or rigid plates connected to the ends of the middle part. The said flaps or
pannels are connected to the middle piece by hinges one part of the hinge being fixed
to about the middle of the upper side of the flap and the other side of the binge being fixed
on the end of the middle part. The said flaps or pannels by turning upon their
hinges can be brought into the same plane or they may be so inclined to one another
that their under surfaces make an angle of about ninety degrees. In the latter
position their inner ends bear against the underside of the middle or arched part by
which their motion is limited to the angle described. When the flaps are in the
position last described the foundation has the same general configuration as the saddle
tree of an ordinary harness or pack saddle excepting that the arched middle part is
higher than the middle part of an ordinary harness saddle and cannot come into contact
with the spine of the horse.
The undersides of the flaps are not flat their inner ends being slightly convex
and their outer ends slightly concave. This configuration is the counterpart of the
configuration of the parts of the horse on which the flaps bear when the saddlo
is in use and as the said flaps can by turning on their hinges assume different
degrees of inclination to one another the saddle when placed upon a horse accomodates
itself to the size of the horse by the turning of the flaps on their hinges the under-
sides of the flaps or pannels may be provided with a padding or be covered with
felt or other soft material or may have a lining of metallic sheet zinc or cork.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing represents partly in cross section and
partly in end elevation a harness saddle constructed according to my invention.
Figure 2 represents a portion of the same in side elevation partly in section the
leather covering and stuffing being removed the sectional part of Figure 2 being
taken in a plane at right angles to that in which the section of Figure 1 is taken
and Figure 3 represents a plan of the saddle tree or foundation with the leather
covering and stuffing removed.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the
drawing.
The saddle tree or foundation of the harness saddle consists of three parts marked
respectively a, b and c; a being the middle part and b, c the two side parts. The said
middle part a consists of a tubular or trough shaped arch, the back band of the
harness passing through or lying in the tube or trough of the said arch. To the
arched part a the terrets d, d and bearing rein hook e are screwed or otherwise
connected. I prefer to make the arched tubular middle part a of the saddle tree
from a solid drawn tube of copper or steel but I do not limit myself to any particular
way of making the said middle piece. The two side parts 6, o consist of flaps, pannels,
or rigid plates having the curved form represented in Figure 1 or the form represented
in Figure 4. They may be made either of iron or of lignite or of hardened pulp or
fibre ware or of papier mâché or other strong and durable material. When the said
flaps, pannels, or plates are not covered with stuffing, I prefer to line them on their
under faces with sheet zinc or cork.
The said flaps pannels or plates b, c are connected at the upper sides of their middles
to the ends of the middle part a of the saddle tree by hinges as represented.
That is to say on the underside of each end of the arched middle part a an eye f
is made and on the upper side and near the middle of each of the side flaps or
pannels b, c end bearings or short pierced uprights 9, 9 are made.
By passing joint pins h, h through the eyes f, f and end bearings or uprights g, g
and fixing the said pins by screw nuts the side flaps or pannels b, c are hinged to
the middle arched piece a.

page_text: When the harness saddle is applied to a horse's back the flaps or pannels b, c
turn on their hinges and accomodate themselves to the horse's back and thus the
same harness saddle will fit horses of different sizes. That is to say by the turning
of the flaps or pannels on their hinges in one direction their outer ends separate
so as to increase the distance between them and thereby increase the width of the
harness saddle as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 1 and by the turning of the flaps
or pannels b, c in the other direction their outer ends approach one another so as
to diminish the width of the harness saddle. When the flaps or pannels are in the
position represented in Figure 1 their inner or upper ends are nearly in contact
with the underside of the arched middle piece a the saddle being in its most con-
tracted condition.
When the flaps or pannels have the positions represented in Figure 1 of the
Drawing, the saddle tree or foundation has the same general configuration as the
saddle tree of an ordinary harness saddle excepting that the arched middle part is
higher than the middle part of an ordinary harness saddle and cannot come into
contact with the spine of the horse.
To the hinged flaps or pannels b, c the ordinary stuffed leather flaps or sides i, i
may be connected.
For pack-saddles the flaps or pannels may be used without stuffing. In this
case I prefer to make them of wood with an inner covering of sheet zinc or cork
and give then the form represented in Figure 4: that is the underside of the
upper part of the flap is convex and the underside of the lower part is concave,
this configuration being the counterpart of the configuration of the parts of the horse
on which the flaps or pannels bear when the saddle is in use.
Flaps or pannels of the kind represented in Figure 4 may also be used in harness
saddles.
A harness saddle or pack saddle made according to my invention by the property
which it possesses of changing its form seats itself on the horse] or beast of burden
with a diffused gentle pressure and is free from the chafing due to uneven bearing
which is inseparable from a rigid barness or pack saddle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion and the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that I
claim as my invention:-
First. Making the saddle tree or foundation of harness saddies and pack saddles,
of a middle arched part and two side flaps, pannels or rigid plates hinged near their
middles to the ends of the said middle arched part, whereby the saddle made capable
of accomodating itself to horses or beasts of burden of different sizes and the saddle
is prevented from pressing on the spine of the horse or beast of burden the several
parts being constructed and combined and acting substantially as herein before
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
Secondly. Giving the underside of the hinged flaps pannels or plates of the saddle
the configuration hereinbefore described and illustrated in Figure 4 of the accom-
panying drawing.
Dated this Savanth dex of Avant 1880
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.