Improvements in the Design and Construction of Horse Shoes, and the Mode of Fixing them to the Foot of a Horse.
Year: 1885

page_text: Improvements in the Design and Construction of Horse Shoes,
and the Mode of Fixing them to the Foot of a Horse.
:
I, WILLIAM HEMPSON DENHAM, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of
London, and Licentiate in Medicine, residing at No. 1, St. Mark's Crescent, Regent's
Park London, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF HORSE SHOES to be as follows:-
Instead of making the Shoes in the ordinary way they are prepared in
accordance with the anatomical arrangement of the foot of the Horse.
Dissection of the Foot of a Horse shows that the foot is composed of several
parts united by extensible ligamentous structures.
As they possess motor power nature of course intended it to be utilised.
But man surrounds the hoof of the horse with a ring of unyielding iron.
It is therefore evident the hoof cannot dilate in any direction. Thus the soft
inner parts of the foot are deprived of their natural action, the foot becomes
contracted, corns are produced, and. lameness follows.
Years of experience with horses confirms this view.
The remedy is obvious. The shoe must be so constructed that it will yield to
the movement of the foot. I therefore construct the shoe in sections instead of in
one, unyielding piece.
The number of sections may vary, and be in two, three, four, or more sections in
each shoe.
'
The sections fit properly to each other, and being securely fastened are likely to
last as long as the ordinary shoe. As the foot dilates each section of the shoe
moves too.
Possibly the use of nails to fasten the shoe will be discarded altogether. . .

page_text: Improvements in the Design and Construction of Horse Shoes,
and the Mode of Fixing them to the Foot of a Horse.
I, WILLIAM HEMPSON DENHAM, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, and
Licentiate in Medicine London, late of St. Marks Crescent, Regents Park, now of
12 Batoum Gardens West Kensington Park, do hereby declare the nature of my
invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF HORSE SHOES,
THE MODE OF FIXING THEM TO THE FOOT OF A HORSE and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:―
The foot of a Horse is composed of several parts inside the hoof. These parts
are united to each other by extensible structure. They therefore possess the power
of motion or dilatation. This is obviously and of necessity lateral. This is natures
law. But when the Hoof. of a Horse is encased in an ordinary shoe which is
practically a ring of unyielding iron it is certain that dilatation or expansion is
prevented, and that contraction of the foot must more or less result. This forcible
contraction induces congestion of the blood vessels of the foot. Inflammation more
or less acute, follows. Corns are produced, and the Horse becomes lame. Many a
fine horse in all other respects sound has been discarded as unfit for a gentleman's
stable because inflammation of the feet from bad shoes and shoeing has been
unrecognised. I prevent these evils by giving to the shoe the same power of
expansion that the foot naturally possesses. To do this I construct the shoe in-
sections of two, three, or more parts, but preferably in three parts because by that
mode each part is, more securely fixed to the hoof, expansion is certain and each
section remains fixed to the hoof a longer time.
3
Shoes thus made can if required be put on in the stable by a groom of ordinary
capacity, and if necessary in the hunting field or road, for the shoes do not require
to be heated, hammered, or nailed. The shoes being made in three sections there
will be a central toe piece and two lateral pieces See plates 1 and 2. The toe piece
will extend from the centre of the hoof at the toe to or about halfway to the heel.
In the centre of the toe piece there is a clink or turn to give, in addition to other
means, secure hold of the hoof See plate 2. The two lateral sections extend from
the end of each toe piece to the heel, and on the outside of each side piece there is
also a clink or turn in the edge of the metal to make the hold more secure
Plate 2. The side sections are also joined to the toe piece by a dovetailed joint
formed by a finger-like end to be received into a corresponding cavity or hollow in
the part to which it will be united on both sides See plate 3. This joint allows the
necessary motion, and gives at the same time secure hold to the foot. It is
unfortunately a well-known fact that numberless horses are lamed every year in
shoeing, and in the majority of instances by being pricked by the nails whilst the
shoes are being put on. I therefore desire and am able to abolish nails altogether
as being both unnecessary and dangerous, and fasten the shoes to the hoof by
screws prepared for the purpose, the beads of which are counter sunk in the
furrows of the shoe, and the holes to receive the screws made obliquely through

page_text: and towards the outside of the hoof by a suitable bradawl or gimlet to avoid the
soft parts of the foot. Each section of the shoe is fastened by four screws in
addition to the dovetailed joint and clinks, so that the security of hold to the foot
is certain.
About an inch from the centre of the toe piece on each side, and about the same
distance from the end of each lateral section, a round, triangular, square, or oblong
slit or hole is made, into which is inserted, in frosty or other weather, as required,
a Pin, Point, Knob, Screw or Holdfast, to secure the horse from slipping, see
various plates, and obviate the ordinary mode of roughing, which cannot be done
without removing the shoe, whilst the method recommended above renders removal
of the shoe unnecessary. These Pins, Points, Knobs Screws or Holdfasts, or what-
ever other name they may be called by, can be inserted, taken out, and replaced, as
often as wished, wherever the horse may be, without removing the shoe or any
part thereof, by a groom or other person.
In the drawings A shows the various sections.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my Invention
for Improvements in the Design and Construction of Horse Shoes, I declare that
what I claim is
The construction of the shoes in sections—the mode of fixing them to the foot—
discarding nails, if I wish, as unnecessary and dangerous-the use of screws or
Pins of metal, Wood, Leather, or other material-the substitute for ordinary
roughing without detaching the shoe and the facility with which the shoes can be
replaced wholly or in part, as required, in the stable, hunting field, or road.