Improvements relating to Collars for Draught Animals.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Feb, 1893
Complete Specification Left. 23rd Mar., 1893-Accepted, 29th Apr., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Collars for Draught Animals.
ARTHUR MACK White Hill Farm Camberley Surrey Farmer do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention is intended for the following purposes-viz.-In saving time &
trouble in harnessing a horse or other animal the hames being so attached to the
collar as to prevent shifting or riding the idea being to have a plate or hames on
the inner side of the collar with one or more draught brackets passing through a
slot or opening in the centre of the collar to which the trace is attached.
Dated this 23rd day of February 1893.
ARTHUR MACK.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Collars for Draught Animals.
I, ARTHUR MACK of White Hill Farm, Camberley, in the County of Surrey,
Farmer, 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 relates to collars for draught animals.
It is well known that in horse collars and the like as hitherto usually con-
structed the hames are not satisfactorily secured and there is no convenient.
provision for adjustment of the draught. In consequence of these defects it is a
common occurence for the hames to be drawn out of place, or for them to slip
down at inconvenient times, and to require readjustment which it is difficult to
effect properly in the dark, for instance or upon a restless animal.
The object of my invention is to construct improved collars in which the
ordinary hames can be dispensed with and in which improved means of great
simplicity are employed so that the draught can be readily altered at any time.
Moreover it is an important advantage that in the said improved collars there is
no possibility of any such accidental alteration of the draught as is hereinbefore
referred to.
In order that ny said invention may be clearly understood I will now proceed
to describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
Figures 1, 2 and 3 are perspective views of an improved collar constructed
according to my invention.
Figure 4 is a sectional plan of an alternative construction of collar according
to my invention.
Like reference letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
With reference first to Figure 1, A is a horse collar of the usual pattern. B is
the fore wale and C the after wale. D is the body of the collar. E is a
flexible wire or rod of steel or other suitable material adapted to lie snugly in
the depression existing on the inner side of the collar, between the front end of
the body and the fore wale. The said rod may be made to taper from its middle
towards its ends to increase its flexibility in order to facilitate its removal in the
manner hereinafter set forth.
Instead of being exposed to view it can be placed wholly or partially within the
body of the collar.
FF are slots or holes which pass through the body from points close to the
rod E to the outside of the rear wale as shown.

page_text: The upper ends of the rod E are passed through the upper slots F and have
eyes E formed thereon, to serve as substitutes for the ordinary turrets. GG are
arms which engage at one end with the rod E, and are provided at the opposite.
ends with eyes G¹ or the like, to which the trace is secured. The said arms are
shaped to fit closely to the exterior of the collar so as to keep close thereto when
subjected to the pull of the traces in order that the said pull may be properly
taken by the collar. The arms are passed through the slots F¹ and it is obviously
impossible for, them to be accidentally moved down or up or slacked back like a
hame.
The turrets may be made apart from the rod E, and passed through the slots F,
so as to engage the rod in a manner similar to the engagement of the arms G
therewith. Suitable pinching-screws or the like are employed to hold the said
turrets in place on the rod; in such a case the turrets can be adjusted as may be
desired. Or the turrets may be fixed by any suitable means to the wire or
wires F and employed to support the upper end of an ornamental outer hame or
plate.
The said arms G may be passed through any of the slots F' as may be most
convenient. To readjust the draught, all that is necessary is to push or pull the
arms through the slots in the opposite direction to that in which they tend to move
under the tensional pull of the traces, and then to push them from front to rear
through the other slots in which they are required.
The said arms may either be fixed to the rod E which is sufficiently flexible to
enable the hereinbefore described re-adjustment to be effected with ease, or may be
arranged to slide thereon by the provision of the eyes G2 or of hooks at the ends of
the arms which engage with the said rod.
H is a plate fixed upon the outer wall to guard the exterior of the same from
abrasion by the arms, and to prevent injury to the edges of the slots F F'. A
plate H' of suitable shape, for a similar purpose may be secured as in Fig. 2. in
the groove in which as aforesaid the rod F is received, or instead of being exposed
to view the said plate may be secured within the body of the collar and normally
concealed by the lining.
In the collar shown in Figure 2 such plates H' are shown in addition to the
plates H upon the exterior of the collar. In this figure four slots F and four
slots Fare provided; a short strap J provided with a cross piece J¹ at one end is
passed from front to rear through two of the holes F¹ and has the traces attached
thereto by any suitable means. The cross-pieces take a bearing upon the plates H¹
and transmit the pull from the straps J to the collar. Instead of the cross-pieces .J¹
the said straps J or the traces can be provided with eyes to pass through the collar
to engage with hooks provided upon the lower plates H' or otherwise secured to or
within the collar at or near the place at which the lower plates are situated.
The said straps may at any time be readily drawn out of the collar at the front
and passed through any of the holes F as may be convenient for varying the
draught. Either pair of the upper holes F, in the present example is used instead
of a turret as guides for the reins.
In the example illustrated in Figure 3 turrets K are placed upon the upper part
of the collar, which is provided with a rod E, similar to the rod E in Figure 1
except that it is not passed through the upper part of the collar.
Four pairs of slots F¹ are provided and two straps L are employed, at each side
of the collar; they engage with the rod E as shown and are connected to a link M
by which the pull of the trace is received. They are arranged to diverge from the
said link towards the collar, so as to distribute the stress thereon and to prevent
the collar from tilting backward and forward. The said straps may be easily re-
adjusted, to vary the draught by pulling the wire E out of the collar and out of
the eyes L' upon the straps, which may then be replaced in other positions in the
slots F and have the flexible rod E re-introduced to retain them in their new
positions.
In the collar illustrated in Figure 4 the fore wales B are open in front and are

page_text: channel-shaped in cross section. In this instance the rod F is received in the said
wales and the arms E are passed through slots F¹ provided in the rear portion of
the wall of the wale. The martingale may be secured to the collar by means
similar to those hereinbefore described with reference to the traces.
The number and disposition of the holes F F¹ may be varied as may be most
convenient, and other details of the said improvements may be altered as may be
desirable, without departing from the nature of the said invention.
Ordinary and ornamental hames can be attached to my said improved collars by
bolts passed through any of the slots F F¹.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
First. A collar for draught animals with one or more slots or holes in each side
thereof substantially as herein before described for the purpose specified.
Second. In the said collar the provision of a rod or of plates, hooks or other
retaining devices in combination with arms, straps or attachments adapted to pass
through the slots or holes and to engage with the rod or with the plates, hooks or
other retaining devices, substantially as, and for the purposes, specified.
Third. The provision of turrets on the said rod for the
purpose specified.
Fourth. The collar substantially as described with reference to any one of the
forms illustrated in the accompanying drawings for the purpose specified.
Dated this 23rd day of March 1893.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.