Nostril support device for horses and other animals

Description

This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 60/302,738, filed Jul. 3, 2001.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The field of the invention pertains to devices to assist horses, in particular, race horses to breathe with less effort.

On some horses the nostrils tend to constrict, especially during high exertion in a race. Constriction of the nostrils results in decreased air flow and loss of breathing efficiency. Moreover, the loss of breathing efficiency puts stress on the horses lungs which can result in lung injury such as Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhaging (EIPH).

Horses with collapsed nostrils or extra flesh over the false nostril may have blocked airways. The horses may close down and stop at the end of a mile, for example, due to lack of oxygen and stress. Horses expend tremendous energy and effort to breathe during racing and other events. Thus, anything that inhibits breathing will have a deleterious effect on a horse that is strenuously exercising.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,873 discloses a spring loaded strip attached over a horse's nasal passages and held in place by a special adhesive. The strip lifts or stints the vestibular walls of the nasal passages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The new nostril support device comprises a shaped body for insertion into the nostril and an integral clip that retains the body in position by pressing on the outside of the nostril. The shape of the body is generally convex toward the clip and concave away from the clip. In a direction substantially parallel to the clip the body is substantially straight at the bottom of the concavity. Overall the body tapers to a substantially parabolic edge to ease insertion into a nostril. Although the invention is not limited to the shape herein disclosed, this shape has been developed through extensive experimentation and testing to develop a shape comfortable for a horse thus leading to better and easier breathing by the horse during racing.

The nostril support is intended mainly for use on horses with collapsed nostrils or extra flesh over the false nostril that may block the airway and cause stress from a deprivation of oxygen. The nostril support spans the nostril cavity acting as a bridge which holds the nostril open. The false nostril is prevented from collapsing into the nasal passage and blocking the air flow. The nostril support allows the nostril to flair and contract normally without blocking or restricting air flow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective vew of the nostril support, and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the nostril support as used on a horse.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the nostril support comprises a shaped body 10 and an integral clip 12. The clip 12 has a hole 14 for a cord 16 knotted at 18 to retain the cord to the clip. The cord 16 extends to a metal clip 20. The metal clip 20 is attached as convenient to the race halter 22 of the horse 24 as best shown in FIG. 2. Thus, the cord 16 prevents loss of the nostril support in the event that it is expelled from the horse's nostril.

The nostril support shaped body 10 is convex on the outside 26 toward the integral clip 12 and concave on the opposite side 28. The edges 30 of the body 10 generally form a parabola toward the tip 32 and smoothly flow toward the opposite end 34 where the body abruptly ends 36 and is integrally joined 38 to the clip 12. The clip 12 in turn is curved 40 toward the body to assist in retaining the clip to the nostril. The integral clip 12 and shaped body 10 are preferably formed from substantially rigid plastic, but may be made of other materials.

In FIG. 2 the nostril support is shown as used on a horse 24. The shaped body 10 is essentially within the nostril as shown in dotted outline 42 with the integral clip 12 outside. The shaped body 10 has been found to effectively prevent the nostril outside flesh from collapsing into the nostril during hard breathing by the horse such as during a race. The particular shape as described above and shown has been found through extensive testing to be very comfortable for the horse. In general, a pair of the nostril supports are used on the horse.