Patent Application
20110252751
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to training apparatuses for horses.
2. Description of Prior Art and Related Information
One of the challenges in training horses is trying to get a horse to obey the leading of a person walking the horse. Such difficulty is compounded when the person is generally small and light. Conventional halters do not provide any practical usefulness in training as horses will simply snap their heads in response to any attempts to yank such halters.
The present invention provides structures and methods which overcome the deficiencies in the prior art.
In one aspect, a horse halter apparatus is provided. The apparatus comprises an upper noseband portion, a left chin portion and a right chin portion. The noseband portion includes a curved rigid bar and a generally flexible noseband cover. The left chin portion includes a first rigid chin bar that is separate from the curved rigid bar and a generally flexible left chin cover. The right chin portion includes a second rigid chin bar that is separate from the curved rigid bar and the first chin bar.
The curved rigid bar is removable from the flexible noseband cover in one preferred embodiment. The first rigid chin bar is preferably from the left chin cover in one preferred embodiment. The second rigid chin bar is preferably removable from the right chin cover in one preferred embodiment. The curved rigid bar is preferably circular in cross-section. The first rigid chin bar is preferably circular in cross-section. The second rigid chin bar is preferably circular in cross-section. In another preferred embodiment, the curved rigid bar may be rectangular in cross-section while the first rigid chin bar and the second rigid chin bar may each be rectangular in cross-section. The left chin cover and the right chin cover may each be adjustable in length.
In another embodiment, the upper noseband portion comprises protrusions configured to apply pressure to a horse's nose. The first rigid chin bar may comprise a first protrusion configured to apply pressure to a horse's chin. The second rigid chin bar may comprise a second protrusion configured to apply pressure to the horse's chin.
In another aspect, a horse halter apparatus comprises an upper noseband portion including a curved rigid bar and a generally flexible noseband cover. The curved rigid bar is removable from the flexible noseband cover. A left chin portion includes a first rigid chin bar that is separate from the curved rigid bar and a generally flexible left chin cover. The first rigid chin bar is removable from the left chin cover. A right chin portion includes a second rigid chin bar that is separate from the curved rigid bar and the first chin bar. The second rigid chin bar is removable from the right chin cover.
The curved rigid bar may be circular or rectangular in cross-section. The first rigid chin bar may be circular or rectangular in cross-section. The second rigid chin bar may be circular or rectangular in cross-section. The left chin cover may be adjustable in length. The right chin cover may be adjustable in length.
The upper noseband portion may comprise protrusions configured to apply pressure to a horse's nose. The first rigid chin bar may comprise a first chin protrusion configured to apply pressure to a horse's chin. The second rigid chin bar may comprise a second chin protrusion configured to apply pressure to the horse's chin.
In a further aspect, a horse halter apparatus comprises an upper noseband portion including a curved rigid bar and a generally flexible noseband cover. A left chin portion includes a first rigid chin bar that is separate from the curved rigid bar and a generally flexible left chin cover. The left chin cover is adjustable in length. A right chin portion includes a second rigid chin bar that is separate from the curved rigid bar and the first chin bar. The right chin cover is adjustable in length.
The curved rigid bar may be circular or rectangular in cross-section. The first rigid chin bar may be circular or rectangular in cross-section. The second rigid chin bar may be circular or rectangular in cross-section. The upper noseband portion may comprise protrusions configured to apply pressure to a horse's nose. The first rigid chin bar may comprise a first chin protrusion configured to apply pressure to a horse's chin. The second rigid chin bar may comprise a second chin protrusion configured to apply pressure to the horse's chin.
In a further aspect, horse halter apparatus includes top nose portion with a curved rigid nose bar, a separate left chin portion with a first rigid chin bar, and a separate right chin portion with a second rigid chin bar. Soft, pliable covers enclose each rigid bar and hide the bars from view while protecting the horse's face from scratches or marks. A user holding a leash may apply pressure, via the rigid bars, in three different directions: downward, left and right. Each of the nose portion and chin portions may be adjustable in length. The rigid bars may be removable from the covers. The rigid bars may come in different configurations with varying profiles such as circular or rectangular, and may be formed with protuberances directed towards the horse's face.
In a further aspect, a method is provided for training a horse. The method comprises pulling downward on a halter to cause a first upper rigid member to apply pressure to a nose of the horse, pulling the halter towards the horse's left side to apply pressure to the horse's right chin with a second separate rigid member, and pulling the halter towards the horse's right side to apply pressure to the horse's right chin with a third separate rigid member.
The method further comprises enclosing each of the first, second and third rigid members with a soft material which does not scratch or mark the horse's face. The method further comprises removing each of the first, second and third rigid members from the corresponding soft material. The method further comprises enclosing the second rigid member with a first chin cover, adjusting a length of the first chin cover, enclosing the third rigid member with a third chin cover, and adjusting a length of the third chin cover.
The invention, now having been briefly summarized, may be better appreciated by the following detailed description.
The invention and its various embodiments can now be better understood by turning to the following detailed description wherein illustrated embodiments are described. It is to be expressly understood that the illustrated embodiments are set forth as examples and not by way of limitations on the invention as ultimately defined in the claims.
Throughout the specification, positional terms such as front, rear or back, left and right refer to the embodiments from the perspective of the horse.
In
As examples and not by way of limitation, each of the rigid bars 22, 31, 35 may be composed of metal, hard plastic, wood, glass, and other such generally rigid materials. In the preferred embodiment, the rigid bars 22, 31, 35 each comprise metal. The soft, pliable covers
The noseband portion 20 is coupled to separate left chin portion 26 and right chin portion 28 with fasteners 39. The left chin portion 26 is also coupled to the right chin portion 28 with a fastener. Accordingly, thus the three facial portions 20, 26, 28 are individually separate from each other, while being coupled to each other fasteners 39 so as to fit around a horse's face 14. As will be described later, this enables the user to apply each portion 20, 26, 28 to the horse's face as desired.
In
Referring to
By making each rigid bar 22, 31, 35 separate, the apparatus 10 facilitates the three directional ways of applying rigid pressure to the horse's face.
Furthermore, the enclosing each rigid bar 22, 31, 35 in a separate flexible cover 24, 33, 37, respectively, provides for adjustability in the overall size of the halter apparatus to accommodate each individual horses' face. The flexible, soft material of each cover not only hides the rigid bars from view, but also protects the horse's face 14 by preventing any marks that might otherwise result from direct contact with rigid bars, such as metal, for example.
Many alterations and modifications may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it must be understood that the illustrated embodiments have been set forth only for the purposes of examples and that they should not be taken as limiting the invention as defined by the following claims. For example, notwithstanding the fact that the elements of a claim are set forth below in a certain combination, it must be expressly understood that the invention includes other combinations of fewer, more or different elements, which are disclosed in above even when not initially claimed in such combinations.
The words used in this specification to describe the invention and its various embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings, but to include by special definition in this specification the generic structure, material or acts of which they represent a single species.
The definitions of the words or elements of the following claims are, therefore, defined in this specification to not only include the combination of elements which are literally set forth. In this sense it is therefore contemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements may be made for any one of the elements in the claims below or that a single element may be substituted for two or more elements in a claim. Although elements may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, it is to be expressly understood that one or more elements from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination and that the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.
Insubstantial changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art, now known or later devised, are expressly contemplated as being equivalently within the scope of the claims. Therefore, obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements.
The claims are thus to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptionally equivalent, what can be obviously substituted and also what incorporates the essential idea of the invention.
