Improvement in Bridle Bits.
Year: 1890

page_text: עשע UII
Improvement in Bridle Bits.
I, GEORGE MEYER, a resident of Ocean Parkway Street, in the Town of
Gravesend, County of Kings, and State of New York, Manufacturer of Harness,
in the United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for IMPROVEMENT IN BRIDLE BITS, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The object of this invention is to protect the lips of horses at the ends of the
mouth piece from injury by the joint of the mouth piece with the cheeks, when the
latter are movable in the heads of the mouth piece.
When the cheek piece is pivoted directly upon the end of the mouth piece it has
been common to connect the cheek piece with the end of the mouth piece by inserting
the joints of the cheek in a head which is small enough to readily crowd between
the horse's lips, by which means the joint of the mouth piece and cheek are con-
stantly exposed to the saliva and to the frictional rubbing of the joints.
The resulting corrosion, as well as the sharp edges worn upon the head around
the cheek pivots, operates to make the horse's lips sore, and sometimes operates to
catch and pinch the horse's lips so as to make him run away, or suddenly start,
from the resulting pain.
By pivoting the cheeks at the upper and lower ends of a T head longer than the
space which is liable to exist between the horse's lips, the joint of the pivoted cheeks
is wholly removed from contact with the lips, and all injury to the lips from such
moving joint is prevented.
In the drawing the T head is shown applied to a jointed mouth piece and also to
a solid mouth piece,
Fig. 1 showing a jointed mouth piece provided with my improvements;
Fig. 2 a solid mouth piece with the improvement; and Fig. 3 a plan of the
mouth piece with the cheek rings removed.
Fig. 4 represents the invention applied to a curb bit with sliding cheeks.
In Fig. 1, the mouth piece a is formed with a joint in the middle, and each end
is provided with the T head c projected upward and downward from the mouth
piece and having the plain cheek ring d fitted to its upper and lower ends upon
fixed pivots g.
The joint e of the head and pivot is thus considerably removed from the mouth
piece and is also removed from constant contact with the horse's lips.
The T head may be projected farthest in a downward direction, as shown in
Fig. 2, where the heads are shown formed upon the solid mouth piece a, for the
reason that the horse's lower lip is movable much farther from the mouth piece than
the upper one.
In Fig. 1, the cheek ring d is shown with eyes fitted to the pivots g formed
upon the ends of the T head; but in Fig. 2 the pivot of the ring extends all the
way through the T head, as is often done by forging or casting the head upon the
pivot.
In the curb bit shown in Fig. 4, cheeks are formed of straight bars h fitted to
rotate in the T heads c, and to also slide up and down for a distance limited by the
collars i.
The upper ends of the cheek bars are connected by the curb chain j, and the
lower ends are provided with the rings for the bridle reins. It is obvious that
the T heads perform the same function in this construction, as they prevent the
horse's lips from being caught between the collars i and the ends of the T heads,
and protect the lips from abrasion, or from rust generated in the sliding and turning
joint of the cheek bar and T heads.

page_text: The head is shown in the drawing of nearly cylindrical form which adapts it to
perform its function of guarding the horse's lips from the joints e, better than any
other shape. The head may, however, be ornamented in any suitable manner,
especially upon its outer side where it is removed from contact with the lips.
My improvement is adapted to chain mouth pieces and those covered with india-
rubber, provided the cheek pieces are pivoted to the head of the mouth piece at its
opposite ends.
In Fig. 1, which is one third the natural size, the heads c are shown about four
and a half inches long, and a greater length may be used with benefit in certain
cases.
a
In Fig. 2, drawn to the same scale, the heads are projected upward from the
mouth piece about one inch, and downward about an inch and a half; and I find in
practice that the T head should be projected above and below the mouth piece
distance equal at least to the diameter of the mouth piece itself, to afford any
efficient protection to the horse's lips.
The T heads may with advantage be projected upward and downward to a much
greater extent, the degree of projection, beyond the amount stated, depending upon
the style of bridle with which the bit is used.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1st. The mouth piece a provided with the T heads e having the check pieces
pivoted at the ends of the heads, as and for the purpose set forth.
2nd. The mouth piece a provided with the T heads c extended unequally from
the upper and lower sides of the mouth piece, and having the cheek pieces pivoted
to turn at the ends of the heads, as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 30th day of December 1890.
ABEL & IMKAI,
Agents for the Applicant.