GB2284744A - Lockable storage rack for a saddle - Google Patents

Abstract

A lockable storage rack for an equestrian saddle comprises two parts pivotally attached together and capable of being locked in a position in which they enclose the saddle, eg by means of a padlock. The rack had one part 20, 16, 18 shaped to receive the saddle thereon and having attached thereto a depending tab 28 with a series of holes 30. The other part comprises a frame 32 which is pivotally attached to the first part at 34 and has a box like attachment 44 which is adjacent the tab 28 when the rack is closed, the padlock being fastened through holes 30 and resting inside the box 44. <IMAGE>

Description

"A Storage Rack for a Saddle" This invention relates to a storage rack for a saddle for a horse or the like.

Simple storage racks for supporting saddles when not in use are well-known and are usually adapted to be secured to a fixed wall of a tack-room or may be secured in a horse-box. Theft from these places is wide-spread, and is expensive for the owner or his insurance company because the cost of a saddle is at least several hundred pounds and can reach over a thousand pounds. One known form of security storage for a saddle comprises a storage cabinet or safe into which the saddle is inserted but such cabinets or safes are in themselves an expensive item to purchase and install in a tack-room particularly where a number of saddles are stored such as at a riding school or the like as known cabinets or safes are normally only designed to accommodate a single saddle in each cabinet or safe.Alternatively, electronic alarms can be fitted but are often not effective because tack-rooms are frequently in relatively isolated locations some way from the owner's residence.

The object of the present invention is to provide a saddle storage rack incorporating an effective security device.

According to the invent ion, a storage rack for a saddle comprises a supporting frame having means for securing it at one end to a fixed surface with said frame projecting therefrom, a clamping frame pivotally connected to either end of the supporting frame and adapted to be moved into a closed position in which a saddle located on the supporting frame is confined between the clamping frame and the supporting frame, and means for locking the clamping frame to the supporting frame to secure it in the closed position and thus prevent removal of the saddle from the storage rack.

The clamping frame preferably has at least one aperture through which a protruding part of the saddle projects.

Preferably, the clamping frame has two apertures through which the pommel and the seat of the saddle respectively project.

Preferably, also, the clamping frame has substantially parallel side members interconnected between their ends by a cross-member which forms a common boundary between the two apertures.

The clamping frame is preferably pivotally connected to the supporting frame at a plurality of spaced-apart points.

The clamping frame is preferably pivotally connected to said one end of the supporting frame.

Preferably, the clamping frame has means for holding it in the open position adjacent to the fixed surface.

Preferably, also, the locking means comprise holes at those ends of the supporting and clamping frames remote from the fixed surface which can be aligned when the clamping frame is in the closed position for the reception of a padlock.

Preferably, the clamping frame has an open-bottomed box which covers the padlock to impede its illicit removal.

Preferably, also, the sides of the box are parallel and inclined to facilitate legitimate unlocking of the padlock.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing which is a diagrammatic perspective view of a storage rack for a saddle with a clamping frame thereof in closed position.

Referring now to the drawings, a storage rack for a saddle includes a supporting frame which largely corresponds to the simple storage racks already known.

This frame is a welded steel structure having means for securing it at one end to a fixed vertical surface such as the wall of a tack-room or horse-box with said frame projecting therefrom, said means comprising members 10 and 12 provided with holes 14 for the reception of robust fasteners such as masonry bolts. A U-shaped bar 16 disposed in a horizontal plane is welded to the member 10, and a curved bar 18 is welded between the members 12 and the bar 16. Two inclined bars 20 are welded between an intermediate point on the bar 18 and the sides of the bar 16, and a strut 22 is welded between said intermediate point and the point of intersection of the members 10 and 12. That end of the strut 22 which is welded to said point of intersection is curled under to form a hook 23 on which a bridle can be hung.The structure formed by the parts 10 to 23 approximately simulates the back of a horse and is adapted to support a saddle (not shown) in known manner.

However, the supporting frame has additional novel parts consisting of two vertical members 24 welded to the member 10 and a horizontal member 26 welded to the upper ends of the member 12 and the members 24, and also consisting of a member 28 welded to and depending from the point of intersection of the bars 16 and 18. Several holes 30 are spaced along the member 28.

A clamping frame consisting of a welded structure of stellite, which is difficult to cut, includes two substantially parallel side members 32 which are pivotally connected at one end to the member 26 at two spaced-apart points 34 and which are bent vertically downwards near their other ends. A horizontal member 36 is welded between said other ends, and a curved cross-member 38 is welded between intermediate points on the members 32. The member 36 has a central hole 40 which can be aligned with one of the holes 30 when the clamping frame is in the closed position illustrated for the reception of a padlock (not shown).Welded to the member 36 is an open-bottomeå box indicated generally at 42 which covers the padlock to impede its illicit removal, for example by the use of bolt-cutters. The sides 44 of the box 42 are parallel and inclined in order to facilitate legitimate unlocking of the padlock Welded to the cross-member 38 is an eye 45 engageable by a hook (not shown) on the fixed vertical surface to hold the clamping frame in a raised open position adjacent to said surface when the rack is not supporting a saddle. The cross-member 38 forms a common boundary between two apertures 46 and 48, which are defined also by the side members 32 of the clamping frame.

Through said apertures the protruding pommel and the protruding seat, that is to say the foremost and rearmost parts, of a saddle can respectively project. Thus when a saddle is confined between the clamping and supporting frames and said fames are padlocked together, the projection of its protruding parts through the apertures 46 and 48 positively ensures that the saddle cannot be removed from the storage rack.

In a modification, the clamping frame is pivotally connected to that end of the supporting frame remote from the fixed surface, in which case the clamping frame hangs down from said end of the supporting frame when in the open position, the eye on the cross-member is not required, and the locking means must be re-positioned adjacent to said surface.

The storage rack is made in several sizes to accommodate saddles ranging in size from those for ponies to those for hunters.

Claims (1)

1. CLAIM

   A storage rack for a saddle comprises a supporting frame having means for securing it at one end to a fixed surface with said frame projecting there from, a clamping frame pivotally connected to either end of the supporting frame and adapted to be moved into a closed position in which a saddle located on the supporting frame is confined between the clamping frame and the supporting frame, and means for locking the clamping frame to the supporting frame to secure it in the closed position and thus prevent removal of the saddle from the saddle rack.

   The clamping frame preferably has at least one aperture through which a protruding part of the saddle projects.

   Preferably, the clamping frame has two apertures through the pommel and the seat of the saddle respectively project.