AU2015252079B2 - Equine veil - Google Patents

Abstract

An equine veil assembly. The assembly comprises a mesh adapted to extend over the horses eyes and face, the mesh including lined edges. A top strap and a bottom strap adapted to attach the mesh to the horses head. Three darts extend towards each of the horses eyes and by extending outwardly and diverging at the same time lift the mesh away from the eyes and the eye lashes. $1> 22 FiO Fig (5

Description

Equine veil

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates generally to a veil for use on horses to protect it against the environment and adapted in to ensure that the veil does not irritate the eyes of the horse.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] For large animals, horses tend to be very sensitive and have unique veterinary problems. Horses have a relatively thin skin and can have a wide variety of skin problems. The horse's skin must protect it from many environmental conditions, including trauma, parasites, insects and ultraviolet (UV) light.

[0003] One useful method for protecting such animals from the environmental hazards is to stable them for most of the day. Horses have however evolved as gregarious and free ranging animals to spend perhaps 60% of their time grazing and continually moving over their home range together in close knit herds. Stabled horses are restricted to one or two hours exercise per day, have restricted social interaction and restricted mealtimes, quickly eating the concentrated rations provided. In these conditions stabled horses can develop emotional problems manifesting into repetitive, invariant and apparently purposeless activities such as licking, crib biting, weaving, box walking and pawing. Whilst these activities apparently are mechanisms for coping with the prolonged periods of boredom and frustration they have been shown to significantly increase corticosteroid blood levels damaging to long-term health.

[0004] Accordingly horses need to spend most of their time outdoors and in a warm climate are often bothered by flies and insects, particularly around their eye area. Whilst some protection is offered by covering their face with a mesh type fabric that they are able to see through, it can lead to eye irritation with the mesh coming into contact with the eyes and/or eye lashes and also constraining the horse's vision.

2015252079 04 Nov 2015 [0005] Solutions to overcome this have included pop eyes but these are ineffective since being of a large circle design they dent in on horse's eyes and usually do not pop out, therefore sitting on the horse's eye. Veils with soft loose fabric around the eye area are also known. They however fall and sit on or close to the eye, stopping the eyes from fully opening and closing by obstructing eyelashes or pressing on the top eyelid preventing full movement of the eye. This can lead to duct blockage and eye irritations because the eye is not operating as it was intended to and can also lead to ulcers.

[0006] Furthermore any soft fabric around the horse eye area has the possibility to collapse and inhibit eye movement. Given that horses rub their heads often, current veils do not stand up to this type of wear and do not remain clear and away from the eyes, pressing on the top eyelid or eyelashes preventing full eye movement.

[0007] Accordingly whilst current veils achieve their goal of protecting the eyes from flies and insects at the same time they can lead to irritation of the eyes and eye infections.

[0008] It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above mentioned problems or at least provide the public with a useful alternative.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0009] Therefore in one form of the invention there is proposed an equine veil assembly for a horse having a head with ears and eyes, the assembly comprising: a mesh adapted to extend over the horses eyes and face, the mesh including lined edges; a top strap adapted to attach the mesh to the horses head and extend over the ears; a bottom strap adapted to extend underneath the horses head, the top and the bottom of the strap being adjustable to ensure that the edges of the mesh are in contact with the skin; central darts extending downwardly and outwardly towards each eye from the top of the mesh; two darts diverging outwardly from each central

2015252079 04 Nov 2015 dart from the top of the mesh; whereby the darts cause the mesh to be lifted away from the eyes and eye lashes of the horse.

[0010]	In preference the bottom strap is elastic.
[0011]	In preference the mesh is made from a nylon fabric.
[0012]	In preference the veil further includes covering for the ears.
[0013]	In preference the veil further includes a nose cover.
[0014]	In preference the covering for the ears and the nose cover is

impregnated with an insect repellant.

[0015]	In preference the lining on the edges is a fleece material.
[0016]	In preference the darts are stitched to the mesh.
[0017]	In preference there are more than three darts associated with each

eye.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018]

Preferred features, embodiments and variations of the invention may

be discerned from the following Detailed Description which provides sufficient information for those skilled in the art to perform the invention. The Detailed Description is not to be regarded as limiting the scope of the preceding Summary of the Invention in any way. The Detailed Description will make reference to a number of drawings as follows.

[0019]

Figure 1 illustrates a side view of a fly veil according to a first

embodiment of the present invention;

[0020]	Figure 2 is the veil as in Figure 1 when attached to a horse;
[0021]	Figure 3 is a front view of the veil;
[0022]	Figure 4 is a front view of a veil mounted on a horse and including ear

protectors;

2015252079 04 Nov 2015 [0023] Figure 5 is a front view of a veil mounted on a horse and including a nose guard; and [0024] Figure 6 is the front view of the veil of Figure 5.

DRAWING LABELS [0025] The drawings include items labeled as follows:

veil mesh head strap horse stretchable locking strap fleece edges darts ear covers sides front nose guard clearing nostrils

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0026] The following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same and like parts. As used herein, any usage of terms that suggest an absolute orientation (e.g. top, bottom, front, back, horizontal, etc.) are for illustrative convenience and refer to the orientation shown in a particular figure. However, such terms are not to be construed in a limiting

2015252079 04 Nov 2015 sense as it is contemplated that various components may in practice be utilized in orientations that are the same as, or different than those, described or shown. Dimensions of certain parts shown in the drawings may have been modified and/or exaggerated for the purposes of clarity or illustration.

[0027] Turning now to the drawings in detail there is illustrated a horse veil 10 including a nylon type mesh fabric 12 adapted to extend over the horses head and cover most of their face including the eyes. An adjustable head strap extends over the head of horse 16. A stretchable locking strap 18 allows for movement and comfort of the horses jaw. The strap may be locked by many known techniques including snap fit or well-known Velcro®. The mesh edges are covered with a fleece (usually soft) material to provide a good seal and comfort to the horse. The veil can be made of other suitable material and the weave used ensures that the horse enjoys good visibility.

[0028] Extending from the top of the mesh downwardly and diverging outwardly are darts 22. In this embodiment there is a central dart that is directed to the centre of the horse's eye but does not extend over it and two side darts that diverge outwardly and away from the central dart. The darts are manufactured from resilient material that ensures that the mesh keeps its shape and is lifted from the horses face and especially the eyes and the eye lashes. The darts are stitched to the mesh but may equally be attached by other means. Although shown as being straight the darts can curve upwardly to assist in maintaining the shape of the dome. This can be described as a flick up of the darts that assists in creating a dome shape. The degree of curvature may vary according to the size of the veil or the material that is used.

[0029] Various versions of the veil may be made including a second version illustrated in Figure 4 where there are ear covers 24 and a third version including a nose guard 30 made typically from cotton fabric. Another version, although not shown, may include both ear covers and a nose guard in the one veil. The nose guard typically provides protection against sunburn.

2015252079 04 Nov 2015 [0030] To further assist in protecting the horse's ears and the nose the ear covers and the nose guard may be impregnated with a suitable insect control product such as Permethrin.

[0031] The darts 22 and the structure of the veil ensure that the veil is in minimal contact with the horses' skin and thus the veil includes sides 26 and front 28 that are spaced apart from the skin.

[0032] The skilled addressee will now appreciate that the present invention will protect horses from insects and flies without causing irritation or damage to their eyes. This is achieved by a combination of various features including:

(a) Special lining on the darts to hold the darts in place and also to secure any loose threads.

(b) The use of at least three darts to create around the eye area that can fit various horse breed types and is not limited to some breeds only.

(c) Three or more darts that can spring back out when pushed on by the horse or other horses in the paddock.

(d) Dome shape offering unobstructed/non collapsible vision at front and both sides of the horses eye (e) Fleece at the edges of the mesh for a better insect seal and more comfort for the animal.

(f) The design of the nose guard that still allows full clearance for breathing without inhibiting the horses sense of smell [0033] The darts prevent the collapse of the veil onto the eyes and provide sufficient clearance for the eye and eye lashes. Furthermore the design allows clearance on the side and front so as to minimize contact with the skin.

[0034] It is to be understood that whilst reference has been made to three darts more could be used in the veil. In addition whilst reference has been made primarily to horses is could also be used on other domesticated animals such as cattle.

2015252079 04 Nov 2015 [0035] Further advantages and improvements may very well be made to the present invention without deviating from its scope. Although the invention has been shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope and spirit of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus. Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in this field.

[0036] In the present specification and claims (if any), the word comprising and its derivatives including comprises and comprise include each of the stated integers but does not exclude the inclusion of one or more further integers.

Claims (9)

1. An equine veil assembly for a horse having a head with ears and eyes, the assembly comprising:

a mesh adapted to extend over the horse’s eyes and face, the mesh including lined edges;

a top strap adapted to attach the mesh to the horse’s head and extend over the ears;

a bottom strap adapted to extend underneath the horse’s head, the top and the bottom of the strap being adjustable to ensure that the edges of the mesh are in contact with theskin;

three darts extending downwardly and outwardly towards each eye from the top of the mesh;

whereby the darts cause the mesh to be lifted away from the eyes and eye lashes of the horse.

2. An equine veil as in claim 1 wherein the bottom strap is elastic.

3. An equine veil as in any one of the above claims wherein the mesh is made from a nylon fabric.

4. An equine veil as in any one of the above claims further including covering for the ears.

5. An equine veil as in any one of the above claims further including a nose cover.

6. An equine veil as in claim 4 or claim 5 wherein the covering for the ears and the nose cover have been impregnated with an insect repellant.

2015252079 23 Jul 2019

7. An equine veil as in any one of the above claims where the lining onthe edges is a fleece material.

8. An equine veil as in any one of the above claims where the darts are stitched to the mesh.

9. An equine veil as in any one of the above claims where there are more than three darts extending downwardly and outwardly towards each eye from the top of the mesh.