Patent Application
20140260124
Many different styles of horse bits are known. To guide a horse to turn its head, known bits apply inward pressure to the outside of a horse's cheek or mouth.
As used herein, the term “horse” is used broadly, to encompass not only horses but also other equids such as mules and donkeys. The term “inward” refers to a lateral direction from outside of a horse's mouth toward the inside of the horse's mouth, and the term “outward” refers to a lateral direction from inside a horse's mouth toward the outside of the horse's mouth.
In embodiments of the invention, protrusions on the mouthpiece of a bit fit against the inside corner of a horse's mouth, between (i) the inside of the muscles of the horse's cheek and (ii) the horse's teeth. Each protrusion guides the horse when it touches against the skin of the cheek inside the mouth, thereby exerting outward pressure on the inside of the cheek. The inventor has found that these protrusions achieve a remarkable effect on the behavior of the horse, causing the horse to respond quickly and with little or no resistance, even though only a small amount of pressure is exerted by the rider.
When carrying a rider, it is desirable that a horse's nose be positioned slightly inward, i.e., with the nostrils relatively closer to the horse's chest. It is undesirable for the horse's head to be flexed outward such that the nostrils are relatively far from the horse's chest. When a horse objects to the bit and/or actions of the rider, it sometimes shows its objection by tightening certain muscles in the head and neck, causing the head to flex forward and pushing its nose against the pressure of a bit. It is believed that the protrusions achieve their remarkable effect by causing a certain muscle in the horse's mouth structure, i.e., the zygomaticus muscle (which attaches to the orbicular muscle), to soften and relax.
These and other features and advantages are described in or will become apparent from the following detailed description.
Embodiments will be described with reference to the attached drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts, and in which:
In use, the bit 10 is positioned in the horse's mouth in such a manner that the protrusions 114 are placed outside the horse's teeth, but inside the horse's cheek. In other words, each protrusion 114 is between the horse's teeth and cheek. The protrusions in this embodiment are in the form of flanges that extend around the mouthpiece 100.
When a rider pulls the rein attached to the attachment member 200 at one side of the bit 10, the protrusion 114 on that side exerts outward pressure on the zygomaticus muscle on that side of the horse's mouth.
A distance between the protrusions 114 as measured along the mouthpiece 100 (referred to hereafter as simply the “distance between protrusions”) may be selected for an individual horse on which the bit 10 will be used, based on the width of the horse's mouth, and more particularly, the width of the mouth at the point at which the bit passes through. Alternatively, the distance between protrusions may be selected for a particular breed of horse. For example, some breeds of horses tend to have narrower mouths than other breeds.
In general, the distance between protrusions 114 should be in a range of from about 3 inches to about 5 inches. If the distance is shorter than 3 inches, the protrusions 114 may not fit outside the horse's teeth, and if the distance is longer than 5 inches, the protrusions 114 may not fit inside the horse's cheeks.
The length L of each protrusion 114, as measured from the mouthpiece to the tip of the protrusion 114, is preferably in a range of from about ½ inch to about 1½ inches, but any length is acceptable as long as the protrusions 114 achieve the desired effect, and fit within the space between the teeth and cheeks of a horse.
While the invention has been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments described above, these embodiments should be viewed as illustrative and not limiting. Various changes, substitutes, improvements or the like are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention.
For example, although protrusions of various shapes have been depicted, many other shapes are possible. Similarly, although specific styles and/or shapes of bits have been depicted, the invention is also applicable to any other shape and style of bit.
