Protective Headgear for Horses

1. Field of the Invention

Horses being halter trained and those horses being trained for racing will sometimes rear back and fall. A horse which is in the starting gate can fall over, hit his head or damage his eyes on the starting gate.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Hoods and blinders for horses and cattle to be used in case of fire have been devised, such as Ferris, U.S. Pat. No. 69,199 and Sullivan, U.S. Pat. No. 382,668. The U.S. Pat. No. 1,102,570, to Callahan, recognizes that sick and weak horses lying on the stable floor will continually raise their head and then drop them on the floor severely damaging themselves, and Callahan has provided a cushion device for the horse to protect him in this circumstance.

The present invention relates to a device used when halter training horses and training horses coming out of starting gates. Many horses startle, rear up, fall over backwards at the staring gate and the protective headgear about to be described will prevent injury in this circumstance. The protective headgear will be comfortable for the horse to wear, will not interfere with the horse's riding and will effectively prevent damage to the horse.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

FIG. 1 is a view of the horse wearing the protective headgear.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of the device.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 2 looking upwardly.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4--4 of FIG. 2 and showing the reinforced eye rim and cup.

In FIG. 1 of the drawings, a face mask generally designated as 5 is shown, which extends in length from above the ears of the horse down to just above the nostrils tapering to conform to the configuration of the horse's head. The sidewise extent of the face mask 5 reaches from side to side to cover the upper face and side completely and is held in place by a series of jaw straps 7, 8 and 9, which are attached as by adjustable buckles 10 beneath the horse's head to secure it thereto. A second protective member 6 which protects the poll and neck of the horse is hinged to the face mask 5, as at 11. This hinging allows the animal the flexibility to change the position of its head. The hinge 11 must be smooth inside and out for comfort and safety, and lie in the plane of the elements it connects, namely, face mask 5 and protective member 6. The configuration of the latter is generally curved and has a greater lateral extent than longitudinal. Buckles and straps 13 provide a second means, beyond the hinge to attach protective member 6 to face mask 5. The spaced ear holes 12 have reinforced or beaded rims. Eye openings 15, one at each side of the helmet, also have a reinforced beaded edge, as clearly shown in FIG. 4. Blinkers 16 cup shaped are secured to the outer edge of the eye openings. The blinkers may be optionally of 1/4, 1/2 or 3/4 cup size. These form eye socket shields which extend one inch above the eye opening at its central point and taper down to nothing at the top and bottom of the eye opening.

The protective headgear may be made of a variety of materials, among them leather, fiberglass, Marbon Cycolac GSM or polyethylene plastic, perforated for ventilation, lined and padded at stress points with foam rubber or sheepskin. The outer surface is indicated by numeral 18 and the lining by numeral 19.

Snaps 20 are provided at each side beneath the eye openings so that a racing shadow roll may be installed. Further, a halter is built into the face helmet as shown at 22, and is made of lightweight nylon. In FIG. 1, a lightweight strap 23 is secured at each side of the bottom of the mask just above the mouth of the horse for the reception of bits and reins to eliminate the need for a head stall. The protective devices can be made in a range of sizes to accommodate one month old colts as well as older horses.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.