Patent ID: 6848242

Claim:
An equestrian mouthpiece Comprising: a first member for insertion in the mouth of a horse, said first member having a first end; a second member for insertion in the mouth of a horse, said second member having a second end; and means for joining said first end and said second end to one another, said joining means including pivot means mounting said members for pivotal movement relative to each other in a first direction from a position in which said joining means and said ends lie substantially along a straight line, and said joining means further including stop means for preventing or limiting relative pivotal movement of said members from said position in a second direction opposite to said first direction, said stop means being designed so that relative angular displacement of said members from said position in said second direction is restricted to at most a minor fraction of the maximum possible relative angular displacement of said members from said position in said first direction, and said joining means including a ring-shaped first element which defines an opening and a ring-shaped second element which passes through said opening, said opening having a maximum width, and said second element comprising a first section which constitutes part of said pivot means and has a thickness smaller than said maximum width and a second section which constitutes part of said stop means and has a thickness greater than said maximum width.