IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SHOEING OF HORSES AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SHOES THEREFOR
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John William Learmouth, of Polmont, in the County of
A
Stirling, North Britain, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
SHOEING OF HORSES AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SHOES THEREFOR."
communication from abroad by John Keeping, of Hamilton, County of Dundas,
in the Colony of Victoria, Farrier.
Sealed the 2nd April 1880, and dated the 8th October 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John William Learmouth at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th October 1879.
JOHN WILLIAM LEARMOUTH, of Polmont, in the County of Stirling, North Britain,
Merchant. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SHOEING OF HORSES AND IN THE CONSTRUC-
TION OF SHOES THEREFOR." (A communication from abroad by John Keeping, of
Hamilton, County of Dundas, in the Colony of Victoria, Farrier.)
This said Invention consists in the construction and making of horse shoes of
strong tough compounds of vulcanized india-rubber instead of the metal shoes
heretofore in use. These compounds are formed of india rubber homogeneously
mixed with pulverised mineral, earthy matters, or vegetable or fibrous material,
such as used for paper, or the ground fibre of leather or other equivalent substances
heretofore used for the making of such strong compounds of india rubber as used
for carriage brakes and other purposes where wear and strength are required; or
the rubber compounds forming such shoes may be made, when desired, in layers of
a softer and non yielding consistency combined with layers of harder and tougher
consistency by methods well known to rubber manufacturers, so as to have the
harder layers next the horse's hoof for the more secure holding of the nails for
fastening the shoe to the hoof, or on the outer plantar surface, or both, with the
elastic layer between them for giving greater durability of wear and strength to the
lower surface of the shoes so made. Or said shoes may be made of the above named
materials in combination with layers of strong canvas, or wire cloth, or of cords of
wire interlaid between the layers of elastic india-rubber, which will cement the
whole into solid shoes. These shoes can be made in moulds as other vulcanized
india-rubber articles are, and for this end the material may be conveniently prepared
in sheets, from which pieces may be cut, combined, and moulded into the desired
shapes required for the shoes. These elastic or semi-elastic horse shoes so made are

page_text: fitted over the whole plantar surface of the horse's hoofs, preferably dressed all round
the frog for the purpose as they are at present for ordinary shoeing, and close up to
the frog part, fitted as water tight as possible, with a broad bearing part all round
the under side and outer edge for wear, very similar in shapo and character to that
of the ordinary iron shoes, but without heel or toe caulks, and very much thicker
or deeper (say from about a half inch to one inch or so), and having deep counter-
sunk holes formed round near the outer margin, preferably for screw nails, for
securing such horse shoes to the horse's hoofs; four or more of such screwed nails
will be required to secure each shoe of this construction. And the mode of fastening
the shoe with screws is considered another improvement of this Invention.
These nail holes and screws are preferred to be slightly angled outwards as a
security against passing inwards to prick or hurt the foot internally, and to insure
their holding in the hard tough crust of the hoof without passing through it to
break the crust outside, as is usual in the shoeing of borses with iron clenched
on the outside, which often injure and split up the lower holding part of the hoof
by frequent shoeing. Although compounds of vulcanized india-rubber only have
been named, it will be understood that these horse shoes might also be made wholly
of the like hard tough compounds of gutta-percha when desired or preferred. These
shoes are easily fixed, requiring a much shorter time to fix them than the ordinary
iron shoes. They can also be easily removed and refixed at any time without the
slightest injury to the foot. Any ordinary person can apply them, the only tools
required being an ordinary horse rasp and screw driver, the wall or plantar surface
of the foot to be first rasped level, with as little paring or dressing of the frog as
possible, with a knife or other such like cutting instrument. The shoe is thus
placed on the foot, when the frog will fit up in the cleft of the shoe, which always
helps to keep the shoc square and in its proper position. There is no need to pierce
the foot for the entrance of the screws; simply insert the first screw in the front hole,
then the two extreme back screws. By observing this mode it will be found that
the shoe may be easily and correctly adjusted, after which the remaining inter-
mediate screws are put in and the attachment of the shoe completed. Should there
now be a little to come of the edges of the hoof this may be rasped off, being always
careful never to rasp the sides or front surfaces of the hoof at all, so that the crust
or enamel, which by nature is intended to preserve the juices which nourish and
assist the growth of the foot, be not destroyed. These new or improved construc-
tions of horse shoes have the advantage of being firm, durable, and elastic, the
expansion and contraction of the shoe allowing the free growth of the hoofs, while
they protect the soles of the hoofs (by the web close over them) from injury by
stones or other hard substances.
This system of horse shoeing prevents all the evils and diseases of the horse's feet
and legs consequent upon the present system of shoeing with iron, for no matter
how scientifically the iron shoes are applied, they cause that binding and cramping
which occurs through the non elasticity of the iron shoes; and the way the ordinary
nails are driven into the hoof, drawn up, and clenched, caused the following disastrous
effects and results, viz., lameness and fever in the feet, followed by corns,
contractions, shin soreness, windgalls, stiff joints, and various other diseases.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John William Learmouth in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd April 1880.
JOHN WILLIAM LEARMOUTH, of Polmont, in the County of Stirling, North Britain,
Merchant. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SHOEING OF HORSES AND IN THE CONSTRUC-
TION OF SHOES THEREFOR.' A communication from abroad by John Keeping, of
Hamilton, County of Dundas, in the Colony of Victoria, Farrier.
"
This said Invention consists in the construction and making of horse shoes of
strong tough compounds of vulcanised india-rubber or rubber material instead of
the metal shoes heretofore in use. These compounds are formed of india-rubber
homogenously mixed with pulverised mineral earthy matters, such as finely pow-
dered emery, or vegetable or fibrous materials, such as are used for paper, or the
ground fibre of leather, or asbestos, or amianthus, or other equivalent substances
heretofore used for the making of such strong compounds of india-rubber as used
for carriage brakes and for other purposes where wear and strength are required;
or the rubber compounds forming such shoes may be made when desired in layers
of a softer and non yielding consistency combined with layers of harder and tougher
consistency by methods well known to rubber manufacturers, so as to have the
harder layers next to the horse's hoof, which would not be cut through by the nails
fastening the shoe to the hoof; or these harder layers may be formed on the outer
planter surface, or on both, with an elastic layer between them for giving greater
durability or wear and strength to the lower surface of the shoes so made; or these
shoes may be made of the last named materials in combination with layers of strong
canvas, or wire cloth, or of cords, or of fine iron or steel wire interlaid between the
layers of elastic india-rubber, which would cement the whole into solid shoes.
These shoes can be made in moulds, as other vulcanised india-rubber articles are,
and for this end the material may be conveniently prepared, as described, in sheets,
from which pieces may be cut, combined, and moulded into the desired shape
required for the shoes before being vulcanised, or vulcanised in sheets so prepared,
from which the shoes would be afterwards cut.
An inexpensive and durable compound which answers well for the manufacture
of these improved horse shoes, either in the moulded form ready for fixing to the
horse's hoof or in sheets from which the shoes are to be cut, consists of the following
ingredients mixed together into a homogeneous mass, namely:-One part by weight
of pure or waste rubber, two parts of asbestos, and four parts of emery, with a small
proportion of sulphur. The whole is intimately mixed and vulcanised, and an inner
and outer or intermediate layer or layers of rubber, cloth, or canvas may be com-
pressed into it if desired, the proportions of the ingredients being susceptible of
variation to obtain any desired degree of hardness of material.
And in order that the said Invention and the manner of performing the same may
be clearly understood, a Sheet of Drawings is hereunto appended showing the
application of the new or improved horse shoes to the animal's hoof, the same
reference letters being used in these Drawings to indicate the same or like parts
wherever they are shown.
Figure 1 on this Sheet of Drawings is a vertical section of one modification of the
improved horse shoe, showing also the hoof to which it is applied in dotted outline.
Figure 2 is an inverted plan of the shoe alone, and Figure 3 is a transverse
vertical section taken as at the line 1---1 in Figure 2; Figures 4 and 5 are
respectively a vertical section and inverted plan of a slightly modified form of this
shoe; and Figure 6 is a side elevation of another modification, in which the shoe is
made or built up in layers of different composition. Referring particularly to Figures
1, 2, and 3, the improved shoe is formed with an outer segmental broad bearing part
A all round the under side and outer edge for wear, very similar in shape to that of

page_text: an ordinary iron shoe, but without heel or toe calks or calkins, and thicker or deeper
at this bearing part; and a thinner arched and slightly curved web a, a¹, is moulded
or formed with this outer bearing part, and shaped to bear up against the hollow of
the hoof, but cut away at the rear end, where the web a is curved up at its inner
edges a³ to bear close against the frog and leave the frog projecting.
These elastic or semi-elastic horse shoes so made are fitted over the whole planter
surface of the horse's hoof B, preferably dressed all round the frog b for the purpose,
as they are at present for ordinary shoeing, and close up to the frog part b fitted as
water-tight as possible; and deep countersunk holes care formed round near the
outer margin A, preferably for screw nails c¹, for securing the shoe A, as shown, to
the horse's hoofs, with the head of the screws sunk beyond the depth which would
be left for wear.
Four or more such screws will usually be required to secure each
shoe of this construction, the screws c¹ passing into the solid part of the outer hoof
B from below. This mode of fastening the shoes to the hoof by means of screws is
considered another improvement of this Invention. These nail holes c and screws c¹
are preferred to be slightly angled outward as a security against passing in wards
to prick or hurt the foot internally, and to insure their entering and holding in the
hard tough crust of the hoof B from the under side without breaking the outer
wall of the hoof when ordinary care is taken in shoeing or passing through, as is
usual in the shoeing of horses with iron, having the ordinary nails clenched on the
outside, which often injure or split up the lower holding part of the hoof by
frequent shoeing.
The form of this improved horse shoe with the arched web a, a', fitting close up
to the frog of the foot, gives great elasticity to the tread, and keeps the heel parts
or sides of the shoe well out in their proper place on the hoof, when they might
otherwise be forced in by the planting of the horses foot; but for the purpose of
more securely holding these heel parts in position when nails are not applied a
transverse bar piece A' may be formed on the shoe, as shown in Figures 4 and 5,
which would bear on the back hard part of the frog b as well as on the heel parts,
this shoe being otherwise similar to that shown in Figures 1 to 3. These shoes are
shown as if made of the same composition throughout, preferably however with a
hard upper surface where the nails hold the shoe, but in the modification shown in
Figure 6 three separate layers a³, as, as, of rubber compounds are shown as used,
the upper layer a being made hard where it bears on the hard outer edge or margin
of the hoof B, the intermediate layer a³ being preferably softer and more elastic or
yielding, and if desired connected to the central web part a, a', whilst the lowest
layer a is made of very hard and tough material to stand wear. These layers may
however be differently arranged, or made thinner and increased in number, or only
two may be used. And the toe part alone may in some cases (as for the shoes of
draught horses) be made hard; or of a comparatively soft rubber compound, with
which iron or steel wire, paper fibre, or other hard material is incorporated. These
layers (a, as, a) of different hardness may be formed on the shoe in the moulds,
or they may be separately moulded or cut from sheets of the different rubber
compounds and compressed in vulcanising moulds. The shoes may also be cut
from sheet rubber thus prepared in layers, or of the homogeneous nature and
mixtures herein before referred to, to any of the forms shown, or to the shape of
ordinary iron shoes, or covering the whole planter surface of the foot, and in any
case they may be secured to the hoof, either by screw nails as shown in Figures 1
to 5, or by the ordinary clenched horse shoe nails, as shewn in Figure 6 when
preferred.
Although compounds of vulcanised india-rubber only have been named, it will be
understood that these horse shoes might be made wholly of the like hard tough
compounds of gutta-percha when desired or preferred; and these might be also
formed or built up in layers of different hardness, or with alternate layers of rubber
componds, or only an outer wearing layer of hard rubber composition. These shoes
are easily fixed, requiring a much shorter time to fix them than the ordinary iron
shoes. They can also be easily removed and re-fixed at any time without the

page_text: slightest injury to the foot. Any ordinary person can apply them, the only tools
required being an ordinary horse rasp and screw driver or a hammer, depending on
whether screws or ordinary nails are used. The wall or planter surface of the foot
is first rasped level, with as little paring or dressing of the frog as possible, with a
knife or other such like cutting instrument. The shoe is then placed on the foot,
when the frog will fit up in the cleft of the shoe, which always helps to keep the
shoe square and in its proper position. There is no need to pierce the foot for the
entrance of the screws; the first screw is simply inserted in the front hole, then the
two extreme back screws. By observing this mode it will be found that the shoe
may be easily and correctly adjusted, after which the remaining intermediate screws
are put in, and the attachment of the screw completed. Should there now be a little
to come off the edges of the hoof, this may be rasped off, being always careful never
to rasp the sides or front surface of the hoof at all, so that the crust or enamel,
which by nature is intended to preserve the juices which nourish and assist the
growth of the foot, may not be destroyed. These new or improved constructions of
horse shoes have the advantage of being firm, durable, and elastic, the expansion
and contraction of the shoe admitting of the free growth of the hoof, and the inner
web a, when such is formed on the shoe, prevents injury by stones or other hard
substances. This system of horse shoeing prevents all the evils and diseases of the
horses feet and legs consequent upon the present system of shoeing with iron, for
no matter how scientifically the iron shoes are applied they cause that binding and
cramping which occurs through the non-elasticity of the iron shoes. The manner
in which the ordinary nails are driven into the hoof, and drawn up and clenchod,
cause the following disastrous effects and results, viz., lameness and fever in the
feet, followed by corns, contractions, shin soreness, windgalls, stiff joints, and various
other diseases, which are obviated or removed by the use of screw nails to secure
the shoes to the hoof.
Having thus particularly described the said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not restrict myself to the
precise details herein described or delineated, but what I believe to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in
part recited Letters Patent is,―
First. The construction and use of horse shoes of vulcanized rubber or rubber
material, moulded or cut from homogeneous compounds or made in layers of different
consistency with or without a central elastic web (a, a¹), and secured to the hoof
either by screws or by ordinary horse shoe nails, all substantially as and for the
purposes herein described in reference to and shown in the accompaning Drawings.
Second. The application and use of screw nails for fastening or securing rubber
shoes to the hoofs of horses, substantially as shown and described in reference to
Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying Drawings, and for the purposes herein set
forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John William Learmouth, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirty first day of March, in the year of our Lord
itness,
JOHN WILLIAM LEARMOUTH. (L.S.)
WALLACE FAIRWEATHER, C.E.,
Patent Agent,
96, Buchanan Street,
Glasgow.