IMPROVEMENTS IN SADDLES
Year: 1874

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Clay at. the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 29th September
1874.
I, JOHN CLAY, of Yardley, in the County of Worcester, Saddler, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SADDLES," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is so to construct saddles as to make them
capable of adjustment to fit animals having backs of different sizes and
figures, the same saddle being capable of being adjusted at pleasure, and
made suitable either for full broad backed, medium backed, or narrow
backed animals. I effect this object by constructing and arranging the
parts of the saddle and saddle tree in the following manner :-I make
the front and back parts of the saddle tree of metal, Bessemer cast steel
being preferred. The said front and back parts are arch_shaped to
correspond with the contour of the animal's back, and each of the said
arched parts is made of three plates, a centre curved plate and two
outer curved plates, the said outer plates being capable of being fixed in
different positions on the centre plate. The lower ends of the outer or
adjustable plates are secured to wooden longitudinal bars which form the
bearings of the saddle. To the centre plates of the front and back parts
of the saddle tree the seat of the saddle is secured.

page_text: For convenience of description I will describe the construction of the
adjustable front part of the saddle tree. The centre plate of the said
front part consists of a curved angle plate, to the horizontal web of which
the seat of the saddle at that end is secured. Projecting from the front of
the vertical web of the angle plate are three screw bolts, one bolt being
fixed in the middle of the said plate and the other bolts on each side of
it. On the outer bolts the curved outer plates are placed, the said
plates turning on the said bolts as centres. The upper or inner
ends of the outer plates are recessed angularly. On the central bolt of
the centre plate a block or key piece is placed, the angles of the said
block or key piece corresponding with the angular recesses in the upper
or inner ends of the outer adjustable plates.
The back part of the saddle tree is constructed similarly to the front
part, excepting that the centre plate to which the seat is fixed is not
angular in cross section, the said centre plate having a curve of a greater
radius than that of the centre plate at the front part of the saddle tree.
A set of three or more angular key pieces is provided for each arched
part of the saddle tree, the several key pieces of cach set differing in
width. By the insertion of one or other of the said key pieces between
the inner angular ends of the outer curved plates of the front and back
parts of the saddle tree the distance between the ends of the said outer
curved plates is made greater or less. By the turning of the said curved
plates upon the screw bolts their lower ends which carry the wooden
bearing bars are brought nearer to or further from each other, and the
saddle is thereby adjusted to the required size. By fixing the central
key pieces by means of screw nuts and by screwing screw nuts on the
outer screw bolts the three plates of which each of the arched parts of
the saddle tree is composed are locked rigidly together.
The advantages obtained by this Invention are, first, several adjust-
ments of the saddle may be readily effected; second, the seat of the
saddle being fixed to immoveable plates is not changed by the adjust
ments described; and third, the metal parts of the saddle tree being made
by preference of Bessemer cast steel, they are very readily made and
require little or no dressing.