AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR SUBDUING OR DPING
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexandre Louis Lévèque, of Paris, France, Gentle-
man, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR SUBDUING OR
D
Sealed the 28th June 1859, and dated the 1st January 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexandre Louis Lévèque
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 1st January 1859.
I, ALEXANDRE LOUIS LEVEQUE, of Paris, France, Gentleman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
SUBDUING OR STOPPING RUNAWAY OR RESTIVE HORSES," to be as follows:-
This apparatus for subduing or stopping horses consists in applying to the
head stall of a bridle two winkers, which the driver can, when required, draw
over the eyes of the horse, in such manner as to leave at the top of each
winker, either in a vertical or slanting direction a small aperture, by which
the horse may see its way, when bending his head downward, in which
latter position the driver is allowed to act with full efficiency with the reins on
the bit of the bridle in order to stop the horse. The winkers are provided

page_text: with an additional rein for allowing the driver to close them over the eye of
the horse when required. This method allows either of stopping horses, or
causing them to turn round.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alexandre Louis Lévèque in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 1st July 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDRE
LOUIS LEVEQUE, of Paris, France, Gentleman, send greeting.
.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Alexandre Louis Lévèque, Her special licence that I, the said Alexandre
Louis Lévèque, my exccutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Alexandre Louis Lévèque, 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 APPARATUS FOR SUBDUING OR STOPPING RUNAWAY OR RESTIVE
HORSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alexandre Louis
Lévèque, 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 Alexandre Louis Lévèque, 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 :-
My apparatuses for subduing or stopping horses are based essentially on a
method of acting on the horse's sight, so as to compel a runaway horse, or
one intending to run away, by portant le nez ou vent, to observe instinctively,
for self-preservation, the track he has to pass over. The horse moderates,

page_text: and is brought to a collected pace, and putting his head in a favorable position
for the due working of the bridle, allows the driver or horseman to make the
bit act efficaciously on the bars of the horse's mouth. The various arrange-
ments of winkers or sight guides I intend to apply are constructed according
to a physiological observation, the principle of which is based essentially on a
special mode of acting on the sight of a horse, that portant le nez ou vent,
allows him to look before him, and observe the track on which he will have to
put his feet for pursuing his course. In order to do this the horse is compelled
to hold his head downwards, and bring it nearer to his neck and shoulders, in
which position the bit exercises an efficacious action.
In the annexed Drawings, the Figs. 1, 2, and 3, represents under various
views the arrangements I prefer to make use of for mastering draught horses,
whereas Fig. 4 shows that which I apply to saddle horses.
Fig. 1 represents an elevation and a plan view of the internal surface of a
winker (for a draught horse) provided with my arrangement folded up against
the winker, in order to offer nothing apparent to sight, and consequently shows
the winker in its normal position; Fig. 2 represents the winker with the
apparatus in its unfolded state, viz., in the position for allowing the driver to
stop a horse actually running away, or tending to do so; Fig. 3 shows a front
view of a horse's head divided in two parts by the line A, B; on the side C of
this line A, B, is shown in blue lines the position of the winker provided with
the sight guides out of action, whereas on the side D is shown in black lines
the winker provided with the apparatus in working condition. As may be
observed, from the Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the winker is concave on the inside, that
is to say, similar to the form usually given them; but my apparatus or sight
guide may be applied to any existing winkers.
My apparatus consists of a wire bent into a frame f, corresponding in form
with that of the winker c, but rather smaller than this latter; one of the four
sides of this frame f is provided with or forms a spiral spring 9, which serves
as a pivot, and tends to open the frame; at its opposite extremity a small
catch h, fixed at any suitable point of the winker, serves for keeping the
frame f against this latter, or allows the escapement thereof, and thus permits
to put the same in operation by pulling a small special rein i.
As is represented in the various views of the Drawing, between the winker
and the frame f is interposed a piece j, of any suitable tissue, arranged after
the manner of the side or flap of a portemonnaie, so as to be concealed from
sight when the frame is out of action, and to be developed when operating.
Fig. 3 shows sufficiently that the piece of tissue j is stopped nearly at the

page_text: height of the eye, some little more or less, so as to force the horse to look
upwards when trying to find his way, by which the driver is allowed to bring
the horse's head in the normal position without pain.
Having thus described the arrangement I prefer making use of for draught
horses, I will now describe that which I apply for saddle horses. Fig. 4
represents the head of a saddle horse without a bridle, in order so much the
better to show the action of the apparatus. A band of metal k, bent into the
form of a fork or elastic clasp, is put round the head of the horse under the
headstall of the bridle, so as to be kept out of sight by this headstall. Each
end of the metal band k is provided with a small pivot or axis l, the centre
and direction of which is represented in blue, round which axis turn the sight
guides or vanes m and m', for the purpose of acting on the sight of the horse
when turned upwards, whereas on being lowered they do not produce any
action; each of these vanes is formed of a small frame of wirework, covered
with a tissue corresponding in color with that of the horse, in order not to
produce any unpleasant effect to the sight. The exterior configuration of the
vanes m, m', must be arranged according to the natural form of the horse's
head, so as to be as much as possible invisible when out of action. The axis
round which the vanes m, m', turn, is further provided with a small lever
arm n for actuating the vanes, to the free end of which lever arm is fixed a
string or special rein o, the other end of which is held by the horseman,
allowing this latter to actuate the veins m, m³. It will be understood from
what has been described above, that the form and size of my sight guides may
vary according to circumstances, the principle of my Invention consisting in
providing horses' heads with an apparatus allowing a runaway horse, or one
intending to do so, to see only in one direction, while preventing him to see in
any other. The size and position of the opening left for vision must be
calculated according to the sight and sensitiveness of the horse, his training,
character, and, above all, his conformation.
Having thus described and particularly ascertained the nature and modes of
acting of my apparatus, I would observe in conclusion that I do not confine
or restrict myself to the precise details or arrangements hereabove described,
as many variations may be made therefrom without deviating from the
principles or main features of the said Invention; but what I consider to be
novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me is, for
the
purpose of subduing or stopping runaway or restive horses, or preventing
from running away horses intending to do so; providing the headstall or other
parts of horses' bridles with an apparatus to be actuated by the driver or

page_text: horseman, and by means of which suitable parts of the horse's sight may be
covered, for the purpose of inducing this latter to put his head in the required
position for the due acting of the bit.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexandre Louis Lévèque, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of June, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
DREYFOUS,
Eng. Civil.
A. LÉVÈQUE. (L.S.)