GB1561869A - Cavaletti for horse show-pumping - Google Patents

Description

t54) CAVALETTI FOR HORSE SHOW-JUMPING (71) I, WOLFGANG MAUS, of German nationality, of Gut Horst, 5060 Bergisch Gladbach 4, Federal Republic of Germany, do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to cavaletti for horses, the cavaletti each consisting of a transverse member the ends of which are attached to side supports.

Cavaletti of this kind are used in dressage and jumping training and in competitions. A set of cavaletti can be stacked in many ways to form jumping obstacles of different heights.

Conventional cavaletti consist of two wooden crosses as side supports, the ends of the transverse member each being attached to a one fork of a respective one of the wooden crosses. As the transverse member rests only in linear contact against the forks of the wooden crosses, the joint of the transverse member and the wooden crosses is not very stable. When the cavaletti are stacked only the ends of the wooden crosses lie one upon the other.

The slightest touch by the horse causes the cavaletti to be displaced and the stack collapses because of the small contact surface of the cavaletti.

The transverse member being suitably attached to the crosses, this kind of cavaletto resting on the ground can be placed in three positions of different heights just by turning it.

Besides this construction another kind of cavaletto is known, the side supports of which consist of horizontal planks. On the upper side of these planks there is a semicircular recess to which the ends of the transverse member are attached. At the bottom pedestals are fixed to the planks, the height of which corresponds at least to the radius of the transverse so that the cavaletti can be stacked.

These cavaletti are not very high and this is a disadvantage in that a larger number of cavaletti, in general more than two, are necessary to form a stack. If a jumping obstacle consists of many of these cavaletti the danger of collapsing through being knocked is even greater and the efforts needed for rebuilding the stack is considerable. In particular it is a disadvantage that the jumping course is blocked for excessively long time.

This type of cavaletti has the further disadvantage that it can only be placed in two positions of different heights (the first being with the transverse member on the top, and the second being with the transverse member on the ground).

It is an object of the invention to provide a cavaletto which can be stacked easily and quickly. Only a few of these cavaletti should need to be stacked to form a jumping obstacle of adequate height and, if so desired, width, the stack being of an improved stability which, however, gives way in case of too strong an impact by the horse in order to avoid injury to the horse.

According to the invention there is provided a cavaletto for use as a jump for horses or for use in conjunction with at least one other such cavaletto to form a jump, the cavaletto comprising a transverse member, the ends of which are attached to laterally aligned side supports, each of which is in the form of a rectangular plate having a recess in the middle of each of its four circumferential sides, the end portions of the transverse member each being secured in a recess in a respective one of the side supports with half of the cross-section of the transverse member received in the recess and half of the cross-section protruding therefrom, those recesses in which no transverse member is secured being such that when the cavaletto is used with another such cavaletto half of the crossection of the transverse member of the said other cavaletto can be received therein.

When the cavaletti according to the invention are stacked they have a larger contact area than do known cavaletti, and hence better stability, as a result of the matching transverse members and recesses.

Besides this the fitting of the transverse member in the matching recess of the side supports of the respective cavaletto can be of a more solid kind (for example by screwing or mortising). The cavaletti according to the invention also have the advantage that they can be stacked in such a way that the transverse member lies either on the top or on the side, so that intermediate heights of half-inch cavaletti can be realized. Thus it is possible to build up an ascending obstacle which is slightly ascending in the direction of the jumping course without extending too much. Of course, it is also possible to place the cavaletto with the transverse member at the bottom.

This is for example necessary in dressage training as it allows the horse to pass the cavaletto walking and trotting. The degree of difficulty can be increased by turning the cavaletti as they can all be placed in two further positions of different heights.

The cavaletti according to the invention can thus be stacked in a wide variety of different ways as a result of their modular construction.

The cavaletti according to the invention are preferably made of wood but can also consist of a plastics material which is preferably fibre-reinforced -or has other reinforcements.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 shows one cavaletto in side elevation; and Figure 2 shows three cavaletti as a stack in a perspective view.

In Figure 1 the cavaletto 1 comprises a transverse member 2 and two square plates 3 as side supports, the second plate being hidden behind the one in front. The four circumferential sides 4 each have a semicircular recess 5. In one recess of each plate one end of the transverse member 2 is attached by screws 7.

In Figure 2 the three cavaletti 1 form a jumping obstacle. They are arranged in such a way that the transverse members 2 ascend in the direction of the jumping course. The cavaletto on the right and the one on top are arranged with the transverse member 2 in the direction of the jumping course whereas the lefthand cavaletto at the bottom has its transverse member on the top. The circumferential sides 4 of the cavaletti 1 lying side by side have sufficiently large contact surfaces. At the same time the respective recesses 5 clasp the ends 6 of the transverse members 2 of the cavaletti and so contribute to the stability of the stack.

WHAT I CLAIM IS: 1. A cavaletto for use as a jump for horses or for use in conjunction with at least one other such cavaletto to form a jump, the cavaletto comprising a transverse member, the ends of which are attached to laterally aligned side supports, each of which is in the form of a rectangular plate having a recess in the middle of each of its four circumferential sides, the end portions of the transverse member each being secured in a recess in a respective one of the sup ports with half of the cross-section of the transverse member received in the recess and half of the cross-section protruding therefrom, those recesses in which no transverse member is secured being such that when the cavaletto is used with another such cavaletto half of the cross-section of the transverse member of the said other cavaletto can be received therein.

2. A cavaletto according to Claim 1 of wood or plastics material.

3. A cavaletto according to Claim 2 wherein the plastics material is reinforced.

4. A cavaletto according to any preceding claim, wherein the recesses are each in the shape of a semi-circle.

5. A cavaletto substantially as herein described and shown in the drawings.

To7 7rTw To s To 7 > 7TSTs

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (5)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. member in the matching recess of the side supports of the respective cavaletto can be of a more solid kind (for example by screwing or mortising). The cavaletti according to the invention also have the advantage that they can be stacked in such a way that the transverse member lies either on the top or on the side, so that intermediate heights of half-inch cavaletti can be realized. Thus it is possible to build up an ascending obstacle which is slightly ascending in the direction of the jumping course without extending too much. Of course, it is also possible to place the cavaletto with the transverse member at the bottom. This is for example necessary in dressage training as it allows the horse to pass the cavaletto walking and trotting. The degree of difficulty can be increased by turning the cavaletti as they can all be placed in two further positions of different heights. The cavaletti according to the invention can thus be stacked in a wide variety of different ways as a result of their modular construction. The cavaletti according to the invention are preferably made of wood but can also consist of a plastics material which is preferably fibre-reinforced -or has other reinforcements. In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 shows one cavaletto in side elevation; and Figure 2 shows three cavaletti as a stack in a perspective view. In Figure 1 the cavaletto 1 comprises a transverse member 2 and two square plates 3 as side supports, the second plate being hidden behind the one in front. The four circumferential sides 4 each have a semicircular recess 5. In one recess of each plate one end of the transverse member 2 is attached by screws 7. In Figure 2 the three cavaletti 1 form a jumping obstacle. They are arranged in such a way that the transverse members 2 ascend in the direction of the jumping course. The cavaletto on the right and the one on top are arranged with the transverse member 2 in the direction of the jumping course whereas the lefthand cavaletto at the bottom has its transverse member on the top. The circumferential sides 4 of the cavaletti 1 lying side by side have sufficiently large contact surfaces. At the same time the respective recesses 5 clasp the ends 6 of the transverse members 2 of the cavaletti and so contribute to the stability of the stack. WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. A cavaletto for use as a jump for horses or for use in conjunction with at least one other such cavaletto to form a jump, the cavaletto comprising a transverse member, the ends of which are attached to laterally aligned side supports, each of which is in the form of a rectangular plate having a recess in the middle of each of its four circumferential sides, the end portions of the transverse member each being secured in a recess in a respective one of the sup ports with half of the cross-section of the transverse member received in the recess and half of the cross-section protruding therefrom, those recesses in which no transverse member is secured being such that when the cavaletto is used with another such cavaletto half of the cross-section of the transverse member of the said other cavaletto can be received therein.

2. A cavaletto according to Claim 1 of wood or plastics material.

3. A cavaletto according to Claim 2 wherein the plastics material is reinforced.

4. A cavaletto according to any preceding claim, wherein the recesses are each in the shape of a semi-circle.

5. A cavaletto substantially as herein described and shown in the drawings.

To7 7rTw To s To 7 > 7TSTs