A New or Improved Apparatus for Preventing Horses Bolting.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Mar., 1893-Accepted, 8th Apr., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Apparatus for Preventing Horses Bolting.
I, NEWNHAM BROWNE, of 73, Cheapside, in the City of London, Chartered
Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention which has been com-
municated to me by Johann Hermann Franke, of Dresden, in the Kingdom of
Saxony Manufacturer and Land Owner, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
To prevent "bolting" of a horse that "shies" it is well known, nothing is so
effective as the limitation of the movements of the horse's head. The more
energetically this is done the more the horse is compelled to obey the rein.
The limitation of the movement of the horse's head is effected for horses
that readily shy, by pulling against the horse's head a specially contrived
check rein.
To maintain the pull on such check rein for any length of time is impossible
for the driver by reason of the considerable power required therefor.
If the
check rein be slackened, then, the horse being nervous, the danger of its bolting
arises.
Now the object of the present invention, illustrated in the annexed drawings is
to maintain the check rein tight for any length of time thereby with certainty
preventing the bolting of a shying horse.
a is a plate over which the check rein attached to the bridle passes as shown by
dotted line and passes to the hand of the driver in the direction of the arrow.
Upon an arm a', at right angles to the plate a, a lever is pivotted. A spring c
which is shown surrounding the pin of the joint in the drawings but may be
arranged in any convenient manner, so acts upon the lever that its end always
bears against the rein on the plate a.
A slot provided in the arm a', and a bridge piece a² on the plate a serve to guide
the rein.
The end of lever b, bearing against the rein, may either be serrated, as shown in
Figs. 1 and 2, or be wedge shaped, as in Fig. 1^. In the latter case an indenta-
tion a in the plate a faces the lever end.
If the lever end is serrated, the spring c, acting on the lever b, forces the teeth
slightly into the rein. In the other form the blunt, wedge-like end of the lever
presses the part of the rein below it into the indentation as of the plate a.
In either case the lever b can offer no resistance to the pulling of the rein (in
the direction of the arrow) by the driver. The more however the rein is pulled in
the other direction (by the head of the horse) the more firmly it will be clamped
between the lever and the plate a so that the rein can not become loose.
When this appliance is used the driver need only pull the check rein once in order
to prevent the bolting of the horse and the check rein will remain shortened
without further effort of the driver, being held by the device above described, and
so bolting of the horse is avoided with certainty.
For horses that are driven single, one such apparatus, or appliance, is fixed on
each side of the collar, or if shafts are used, upon the latter.
When horses are driven in pairs the appliance may be fixed on the collars or on
the pole. In any case however the arrangement is such that the lever b points
towards the driver.
If there is one of these apparatuses for each rein the reins are connected behind
the apparatus.
If however a single apparatus is used for several (as for instance when one such
apparatus is fixed on the pole between two horses) all the check rein straps are

page_text: united before they reach said appliance. In any case the driver need only hold a
single check rein, besides the driving reins.
In order to facilitate uniting the check rein with the driving rein in the driver's
hand the means shown in Figs. 3 and 4 are employed.
These consist of a cylindrical handle d the length of which is about double the
width of a man's hand. Near its ends it has slots d' for the reception of the
driving reins. The slots d' at the centre of the handle receive the check reins
some mark at one end of the handle say a double knob (there being only a single
one at the other end) as shown on the drawings marks the "off" side driving rein.
When by means of the handle d all the reins are pulled simultaneously, the head,
or heads, of the horse, or horses, is, or are, pulled backwards, and in this operation
the check reins pass backwards in the appliance above described and fixed on the
collars or the pole.
As the clamping device permanently retains the check reins in position (as above
stated) no further effort is required to keep the horse's head back as long as may
be desired.
When all danger of bolting is passed the check reins are loosened by slightly
raising the lever b.
The handle d always remains applicable for driving whether the check reins be
taut or loose. Driving by its means is easier and safer than directly by the hand
as, when such a handle is employed, the hand requires to make a slight movement
only.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :
For the prevention of the bolting of horses:
1. An appliance or apparatus Figs. 1, or 1 and 2, consisting of a plate a fixed
on the collar, shaft, or pole. Upon the arm a of which plate a lever is jointed
and is so acted upon by a spring c that the check rein between the said parts may
be pulled tight by the driver but can not move in the opposite direction so that
the horse, or horses, remain under the influence of the check rein when the latter
is pulled.
2. The appliance represented in Figs. 3 and 4 for facilitating combination of
driving reins and check reins in the drivers hand, characterised by a handle with
slots at either end for accommodating the driving reins and slots 2 in the centre
for receiving the check reins.
3. The apparatus for preventing horses bolting, substantially as hercinbefore
described and shown in the drawings.
Dated the 1st day of March 1893.
NEWNHAM BROWNE.