IES81160B2 - Protective covering for a quadruped animal - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention concerns a protective covering for a quadruped animal, in particular a horse blanket, comprising a first component for covering the top and sides of the horse and a second component for covering at least the front chest area of the horse, the second component being securable to the first component.

Description

PROTECTIVE COVERING FOR A QUADRUPED ANIMAL This invention relates to a protective covering for a quadruped animal. In particular, it relates to a horse blanket.

Conventional horse blankets are generally formed from a substantially U-shaped piece of material having fastening means to hold the blanket in place. Some of the fastening means usually extend across the chest area of the horse and can cause discomfort to the animal and abrasion of the flesh in some cases.

It is an object of the invention to avoid or minimise the disadvantages of the prior art.

According to the present invention, there is provided a protective covering for a quadruped animal comprising a first component for covering the top and sides of the animal and a second component for covering at least the front chest area of the animal, the second component being securable to the first component.

The first component comprises a main body portion which is preferably substantially rectangular in plan having two side margins and two opposing ends, one of the ends having a central neck margin intermediate two front margins. The second component is preferably substantially U-shaped in plan having a substantially rectangular base portion and two side margins which abut, overlap or underlap the respective front margins of the first component in use.

S8 7160 The first and second components of the protective covering may be secured together by any suitable means, such as for example, a buckling, hook, zipper or hook and loop system or a combination thereof. The first and second components may be releasably secured together at both side margins of the second component. Alternatively, the first and second components may be releasably secured together at one pair of adjacent margins only and permanently secured at the other pair of adjacent margins. The securing means may be adjustable and/or may include elasticated elements .

T,he protective covering according to the invention is preferably a horse blanket. The horse blanket may be formed from any materials conventionally used in this art, including relatively inflexible materials.

The second component of the horse blanket may be made so as to extend around the front shoulder area also of the horse.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front view of a protective covering according to the invention; Figure 2 is a top plan view of the components of the protective covering of Figure 1, prior to cutting; and Figure 3 is a detailed front view of the components of the securing system used in Figure 1.

Referring to Figures l and 2, there is shown a protective covering in the form of a horse blanket 10 according to the invention. The horse blanket 10 comprises a first component 20 and a second component 30 which may be releasably secured to one another.

The first component 20 comprises a main body portion which is preferably substantially rectangular in plan having two side margins 21 and 22 and two opposing ends 23 and 24, the end 23 having a central neck margin 25 intermediate two front margins 26 and 27. The central neck margin 25 may have any suitable shape, but is conveniently in the form of a curved, centrally disposed extension of the end 23. The body portion 20 covers only the top and sides of the horse in use.

The second component 30 is preferably substantially U-shaped in plan having a substantially rectangular base portion 31 and two outer side margins 32 and 33. In use, after securement of the first and second components together, the end margin 32 will abut or overlap the front margin 26 and the end margin 33 will abut or overlap the front margin 27 of the main body portion 20, the second component 30 extending across the front chest area of the horse. The second component 30 may be cut so that it will also extend around, the front shoulder area of the horse.

When the second component 30 is secured to the main body portion 20, there is preferably an overlap of material between these components. This can be achieved by the manner in which the first and second components are cut or by the type of securing means used or a combination thereof.

The second component 30 may be secured to the main body portion 20 by any suitable means. Preferred securing means A, B and C,D are illustrated in Figures 1 and 3. Securing components A and B comprise mutually co-operating mating members 50 and 60 which can releasably engage with one another. The mating member 50 of the securing component A is secured to a substantially rectangular piece of webbing material 51 which is secured to a substantially rectangular piece of elasticated material 52, which is in turn secured to a substantially rectangular piece of webbing material 53 having a hook or loop material 54, such as Velcro (Trade Mark) disposed thereon. The mating member 60 of the securing component B is secured to a substantially rectangular piece of webbing material 61 which is secured to a substantially rectangular piece of elasticated material 62, which in turn is secured to a substantially rectangular piece of webbing material 63 having a hook or loop material 64, complementary to the material 54 of securing component A, disposed thereon. The webbing material 61 comprises a fold-line b and is folded along this line when the members 50 and 60 are in mating engagement with one another, so that the hook and loop materials 54 and 64 can releasably engage with one another.

Securing components C and D comprise mutually co-operating mating members 70 and 80 which can releasably engage with one another. The mating member 70 of the securing component C is secured to a substantially rectangular piece of webbing material 71 which in turn is secured to a substantially rectangular piece of elasticated material 72. The elasticated material 72 is approximately 5.1 cm (2 inches) in width and is partially folded over at an angle of approximately 45° before being sewn to the second component 3 0 along the stitching line s. close to the side edge of the elasticated material 72 which is remote from the webbing material 71.

The mating member 80 of the securing component D is secured to a substantially rectangular piece of webbing material 81 having complementary pieces of hook and loop material 82 and 83, such as Velcro, disposed at opposing ends thereof. The webbing material 81 comprises a substantially central fold line d along which the material 81 is folded when the members 70 and 80 are in mating engagement, so that the hook and loop materials 82 and 83 can releasably engage with one another .

The securing components A are preferably disposed at an upper point of the side margins 32,33 in use. The mating components B are preferably disposed on the first component 20 so Chat the second component will be drawn upwardly on engagement of the components A and B giving an overlap of the first and second components 20,30. The securing components C are preferably disposed substantially centrally close to the side margins 32,33 of the second component 30. The use of the securing means A,B and C,D leads to a reduction in the pressure points on the animal when the protective covering is in place.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the components of the protective covering 10 according to the invention, prior to cutting. The front margins 26 and 27 of the first component 20 are preferably cut so that they are generally tapered throughout their length from the central neck margin 25. The same cutting line forms the side margins 32 and 33 of the second component, so that these side margins will be correspondingly tapered. Cutting the margins in such manner will lead to an overlap of the adjacent margins of the first and second components in use, thereby affording greater protection for the animal.

It can be seen from Figure 2 that there is virtually no wastage of material in the manufacture of the protective covering 10 according to the invention. Because of the substantially U-shape of the second component, it is also possible to cut out portions of material 90 which can be used as a separate cover for the animal's tail. The sizes of the first, second and tail portions of material may be varied as desired.

The protective covering of the invention has a number of advantages over prior coverings, including the following: (1) It provides a more tailored covering which is a better fit and provides better protection, and which at the same time eliminates pressure and rub points around the shoulder, upper front legs and chest area of the animal. (2) It offers greater flexibility in that it can fit a greater size range of animals, this being made possible by the use of different sizes of the second component and/or by the use of an adjustable and/or elasticated securing system. (3) The second component may be shaped so as to form a covering for the underside of the neck of a horse, for example, and through the use of conventional or elasticated strap connections to the neck area of the first component, can provide a covering which covers the neck of the horse in addition to the body. (4) It allows for greater freedom of movement of the front legs of the animal. (5) By mixing the sizes of the two component parts, it is possible to provide a number of different sizes using a small number of sizing cuts and with a significant reduction in waste material.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment described herein which may be modified or varied without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (5)

1. A protective covering for a quadruped animal comprising a first component for covering the top and sides of the animal and a second component for covering at least the front chest area of the animal, the second component being securable to the first component.

2. A protective covering according to claim 1, wherein the first component comprises a main body portion which is substantially rectangular in plan having two side margins and two opposing ends, one of the ends having a central neck margin intermediate two front margins; and the second component is substantially U-shaped in plan having a substantially rectangular base portion and two side margins which abut, overlap or underlap the respective front margins of the first component in use.

3. A protective covering according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first and second components are releasably secured together by a buckling, hook, zipper or hook and loop system or a combination thereof.

4. A protective covering according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second component also extends around the front shoulder area of the animal.

5. A protective covering for a quadruped animal substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. F.R. KELLY & CO.