GB2421168A - Saddle and saddle panel mounting plate - Google Patents

Abstract

The saddle comprises a saddle tree 20 and a plurality of saddle panels 5 each having a saddle panel mounting plate 200. Each panel is mountable upon the tree by means of the saddle panel mounting plate which is releasably attached to the tree via a fastener secured in holes 201 and 204. In use the plate passes through an elongate slot (203, fig 6) in the panel. The mounting plate has a generally elongate body with a fan-shaped head extending therefrom.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO SADDLES The present invention relates to improvements in or relating to saddles, particularly the affixing of panels to an English saddle tree, particularly for horses, and to saddles and saddle trees thereby obtained. The panels of a saddle are those padded parts of the saddle that are moulded to conform with the shape of the horse's back to ensure good fit and stability. The tree of a saddle (hereafter referred to as the tree) is the structure or frame on which the component parts of the saddle are affixed. It is the foundation of the saddle and is therefore dictates the final look and fit of the finished saddle. The tree performs many different functions. As viewed from above, most trees are shaped like a pear, this shape being substantially defining the seat area of the tree. The traditional method of manufacture of a tree requires material only around the outline of this shape, the centre being a void, creating a frame-type structure. This type of tree is normally made of laminated plywood reinforced with metal. It is well documented how present day saddles are constructed. To aid understanding of the present invention we draw attention to how the panels, those padded parts of the saddle which from a moulded cushion between the horse's back and the saddle tree itself, are affixed to the rest of the saddle. Moreover we are concerned with the rear most attachment of the panels of the saddle to the saddle-tree/seat. The seat of the saddle is built on the frame or plate by the formation of a seat substantially of foam with leather or a synthetic material stretched over the top to provide a hard-wearing cover. The seat material is stretched around the edges of the tree and fixed in place usually with staples to the underside of the tree where they will not be visible in the finished saddle. Traditionally, the method for affixing the panels is by stitching the panel into place. The stitch line starts at the back of the flap. Traditionally the first stitch goes through the rear most edge of the flap against the tree and extending all the way around the back of the saddle's cantle to finish in the same place on the opposite side. It requires skill on the part of the saddler to achieve the desired straightness and symmetry. It is also very time consuming. In the event that the panel requires maintenance, such as for reflocking, the whole panel has to be unstitched and then re-stitched. The art of affixing a panel is to hold the panel tight against the tree in a fixed orientation with minimal movement. The affect should look neat with no gaps so the panel and tree look as one but above all it should be placed symmetrically. To overcome this time consuming and troublesome method of fixing, saddle manufacturers have devised various methods of hold a panel to the saddle-tree. Georg Kieffer Sattlerwarenfabrik GmbH has disclosed the use of a hook on the tree mounted so it pokes out laterally from the tree and the panel has a corresponding "D" ring which firmly locates over the hook. This requires the top of the panel to be stiff because the "D" ring and hook arrangement pull only in one place. With a single point of fixing, the panel will want to sag away from the tree therefore the holding force is transferred to the stiff plate on the top of the panel to prevent this. This arrangement is difficult to assemble without experience and a special tool to help overcome the force required to lever the "D" ring over the hook. This method is commercial available and has been known to fail as the plate on top of the panel can crack through fatigue. John Harold Hamilton describes in GB 2 317 550 a method which is a simple progression from the prior art of the fan and burr on a military saddle. Instead of the panel protruding past the cantle of the saddle and affix to the saddle via a pocket on the top of the panel into which the burr of the saddle inserts, the burr is a "D" shaped plate under the saddle. However, this arrangement does not fix the panel tightly to the tree and allows the panel to pull easily away from the tree leaving unsightly gaps. Apparently this method is available commercially but mostly with panels that are filled with a moulded foam insert and are therefore much stiffer and resilient to twisting and bending. Traditional panels are normally filled with wool, are softer and more flexible. Accordingly, the arrangement of GB 2317550 is not considered to be appropriate to more conventional constructions of saddle. EP 1 352 876 of Bates describes an ingenious method of fixing both panels to the tree using a wire and double screw arrangement. However, this method is not quick or easy to achieve as the tension has to be maintained on the wire whilst trying to screw in the screw. This method is awkward and the fixing point can become worn with too much use of the screw hole as there is only room for a small wood screw. With the advent of the use of plastics, many manufacturers have turned away from making trees in the form above and have adopted plastic injection moulding techniques. Dependent on the properties of the plastics used and their final thickness it is sometime still necessary to reinforce the tree with metal. In the majority of cases, plastics trees have the void in the seat area filled so the tree resembles a pear shaped plate on which the seat of the saddle can be built. Because the centreline of the saddle, front to back, is solid, this form of tree is well-suited to the present invention as it avoids extreme modification of design. The present invention is particularly applicable to trees which are manufactured without a central aperture or at least have an aperture which allows addition or inclusion of material in the centre region of the seat area for affixing the present invention. For example, it is possible to manufacture a saddle-tree from plywood in the traditional method and then to provide an additional flange or bar which provides a point of fixing for the system of the present invention. The saddle of the present invention is able to have an outward appearance of a tradition saddle construction and so does not detract in anyway from those saddles currently sold. In one aspect, the present invention provides a saddle as claimed in claim 1. In a second aspect, the present invention provides a saddle panel mounting plate as claimed in claim 7. The dependent claims set out certain preferred embodiments of the present invention. The above and other aspects of the present invention will now be illustrated in further detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures in which: Figure 1 illustrates a conventional English style saddle in a side view; Figure 2 illustrates a conventional English saddle in exploded view; Figure 3 illustrates an English Saddle tree complete; Figure 4 illustrates an embodiment of a plate in accordance with the present invention before deformation; Figure 5 illustrates an embodiment of a plate in accordance with the present invention after deformation for strengthening purposes;Figure 6 illustrates a panel (whippy type) with slot for insertion of the plate of Figure 5 with the panel shown with top uppermost; and Figure 7 illustrates the underside of the tree with the left hand a panel top fixed in place and the right of fixing points on the tree for the present invention. To illustrate the present invention, it is convenient to outline the construction of a conventional saddle trees with reference to Figures 1-4. Note that whilst a wooden tree 20 is illustrated, the general shape and design of the tree does not differ significantly when in plastic, all the same component parts and construction remain required to attain rigidity. If a moulded tree does not have a void 24 in the centre of the tree 20, the use of reinforcement bars 26 & 27 is avoided. However, this creates a solid tree, which is likely to be heavier than a conventional tree. For purpose of explanation it shall be assumed that the tree to be used is a plastic type having no void 24. However, it will be apparent that addition of a bar or bridge running laterally across the widest part of the void 24 of a tree having such a void facilitates the use of the plate of the present invention. The present invention requires that there is a strong and rigid section of tree located roughly in the centre of the void 24 between reinforcement bars 27 for the purpose of permanently mounting a threaded metal insert 204. The only modification required to the tree is to drill two holes and mount two threaded bushes into these holes prior to preparing the seat for assembly. The bushes may include a back plate or other means of ensuring that the bushes are firmly affixed to the tree. With reference to Figure 6, the panel 5 is constructed like an envelope or closing pocket. The opening for this pocket is along the straightest edge, along the gullet or channel of the saddle. An elongate slot 203 is cut into the top of the panel for the insertion of the steel plate 200. Plate 200 has a generally elongate body with a generally fan-shaped head extended therefrom. It is suitably cut from a sheet of 1.5mm mild steel. It has a minimum of two holes 201,202 formed in it, the first 201 of which is for affixing the panel to the tree and the second 202 is to allow a rivet to be used as required to hold the plate in place on the panel. It may be desired to fix the plate in two places to avoid any rotation of the plate on a single rivet. If the slot 203 is cut accurately and is tight on the plate 200 there should, however, be no requirement for such additional fixing points. With special reference to Figure 5, the plate 200 is pressed or otherwise deformed to provide strengthening and resistance to bending. The plate 200 follows the outer rear portion of the panel 5 that is normally stitched to the tree 20. In this region of the plate 200 the edge of the plate 200 is angled upwardly to form a ridge 205 around the edge of the tree, to hold the panel in place and give the necessary tight and neat appearance required in this region of the saddle. The ridge 205 and hole 201 placement achieve a small mechanical levering advantage as the bolt is tightened in to the fixing hole 204 on the underside of the tree. Typically, a bolt of around M6 size (6mm) with a head of around 12mm in diameter will be suitable. The fixing point 204 is visible in the centre of the saddle and does not require manipulation to get the bolt and hole lined up for securing. Hole 206 represents where an additional wood screw will hold the panel at the very rear. This form of attachment is known and well used in the industry. It should be noted that whilst we have concerned ourselves with affixing the panel at the rear it is standard practice in some designs of saddle to bolt the front of the panel to the saddle through the front of the tree to provide three fixing points. This provides substantial stabilisation of the panel. Using the present invention in conjunction with this form of front fixing it is now possible to remove and replace the panel as quickly as one can unscrew the fixing at the front, the bolt in fixing 204 and the wood screw in hole 206. The present invention seeks to address problems in the prior art, in particular: 1. Difficulty in affixing the panel to the saddle-tree by providing a single bolt to be tightened. 2. The problems of accessing fixing points as the bolt fixing is easily accessible in the gullet (the channel running between the panels front to back that give clearance for the spine of the horse) of the saddle. 3. The requirement for special saddlery tools as just a conventional screw driver can be used. 4. The problem of the panel pulling away from the saddle-tree and allowing gaps to appear or that the fixing is not strong enough to resist being pulled from the tree and therefore appearing loose. 5. Asymmetric alignment of panels when affixing them to the tree.

Claims (13)

CLAIMS:

1. A saddle comprising a saddle tree and a plurality of saddle panels each comprising a saddle panel mounting plate; wherein each panel is mountable upon the tree by means of the saddle panel mounting plate.

2. A saddle as claimed in claim 1 wherein each panel is mountable on the tree by means of a mounting plate fixing element formed or cooperable with the saddle panel mounting plate and a saddle tree mounting element cooperable with the plate fixing element.

3. A saddle as claimed in claim 2 wherein the mounting plate fixing element is in the form of a screw or a bolt and wherein the saddle tree mounting element is in the form of a threaded insert mounted on or in the saddle tree.

4. A saddle as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the saddle tree mounting plate includes a generally elongate body with a generally fan-shaped head extending longitudinally therefrom.

5. A saddle as claimed in claim 4 wherein each mounting plate is held in its respective saddle panel by means of engagement of the fan-shaped head of the plate with an elongate aperture formed in the panel.

6. A saddle as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the tree is formed from a plastics material.

7. A saddle as claimed in claim 6 wherein the saddle tree has a substantially void-less seat area.

8. A saddle as claimed in claim 7 wherein each panel is mountable on the tree in the area of the substantially void-less seat area.

9. A saddle substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10. A saddle panel mounting plate for mounting a saddle panel to a saddle, the plate having a generally elongate body with a generally fan-shaped head extending longitudinally therefrom.

11. A saddle mounting plate as claimed in claim 10 further including an upturned peripheral rim.

12. A saddle mounting plate as claimed in claim 10 or claim 11 further comprising bend-resisting formation.

13. A saddle mounting plate substantially as herein described with reference to accompanying Figures 4 and 5.