Improvements in and relating to Elastic Tread or Cushioned Horse- shoes.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application; 27th June, 1893-Accepted, 29th July, 1899
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10
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Elastic Tread or Cushioned Horse-
shoes.
We, CAMDEN MEARS and FRANK WARREN MEARS, both of 270, Broadway, and
JULES AUGUST COLLET, of 435-437, Broadway, all in the Borough of Brooklyn
and City and State of New York, United States of America, (Manufacturers), do
hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the follow-
ing statement:-
This invention relates to improvements in elastic-tread or cushioned horse-
shoes, and in common with others of its kind has for its object primarily to pro-
vide a shoe equipped with one or more elastic pads adapted to prevent slipping
on wet asphalt and icy roads or streets, also to absorb vibration and thereby
prevent injury to the hoof and afford relief to horses having tender feet, in
traveling over hard roads and paved streets.
The particular objects of our invention are to provide a horse-shoe of this
character which is strong and durable and adapted by its peculiar construction
to give a satisfactory amount of wear; to provide a shoe of maximum strength
at the fore part and having pads at the heel extending under and affording a
direct elastic support between the frog of the hoof and the ground, whereby the
hoof is kept from contracting and the frog maintained in a healthy condition;
to further increase the frog action by the provision of a full solid bar cushion
extending transversely across the heel of the shoe; to provide a full bar
cushioned shoe which may be shaped cold to fit hoofs of different contour and to
compress the cushion to a greater degree of solidity to adapt it to better resist
wear; to provide a cover to prevent the accumulation of gravel and filth within
the sole of the hoof, obviate "balling" of snow therein, and retain a soft stuffing
or medicament in contact with a tender or diseased sole and, finally, to generally
simplify and improve the .construction and enhance the practical efficiency of
shoes of this kind.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the course of
the subjoined description.
In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification-
Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of our improved horse-shoe as
applied in use.
Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the complete shoe.
Figure 3 is a similar view of the metallic frame thereof.
Figure 4 is a transverse section through the cushioned heel of the shoe on
line 4 4 of Figure 2.
Figure 5 is a detail top perspective view of one of the heel portions of the
metallic frame.
Figure 6 is a bottom perspective view thereof.
Figure 7 is a top plan view of a modified form of shoe, showing the cover in
dotted lines.

page_text: Figure 8 is a plan view of the cover.
Referring now more particularly to the drawings, wherein like letters of
reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, A repre-
sents the frame of the shoe, which may be made of steel or some other suitable
metal. The fore part of this frame is provided, as usual, in each quarter with a
fullering or crease in its lower face in which the nail-holes are made, but, unlike
other shoes of this character, is not reduced and weakened by the addition of
recesses or a groove or channel to receive cushions. At the toe on the bottom
of a frame is a calk b, which is preferably rounded on its inner face, as shown,
to adapt it to freely enter and leave crevices between cobble stones and Belgian
blocks and turn freely therein without binding when the horse swings his foot
sidewise, and thus reduce strain and obviate all liability of the shoe being pulled
from the hoof.
The upper face of the frame is reduced or cut away at each side to form a
seat or recess C opening through the inner edge thereof and extending from the
heel to the quarter, leaving an outer retaining wall 1) which terminates at the
end of the heel. The rear portion of this part occupies nearly the entire width
of the heel, while the front portion thereof is relatively narrower, and is restricted
to the space between the nail holes and inner edge of the frame. The lower
face of the frame is also provided at each side near the heel with a seat or recess C¹
formed by an outer depending wall E projecting from the rear of the heel to a
point just in rear of the nail crease and a front wall F extending diagonally
across said side from the front end of said outer wall and terminating a short
distance in advance of the rear end of the crease. Secured in said seats or
recesses are cushions G of caoutchouc or some other suitable elastic material.
These cushions may be secured by vulcanizing or mechanical fastening means,
and the construction of the seats may be varied to adapt them for either mode
of fastening. Holes h are made in the seats in the present instance, to allow
the upper and lower parts of each cushion to be bound together by a connecting
portion of their material forced through the holes in the process of vulcanizing.
The cushions project inward a sufficient distance to bear upon and form sup-
ports for the frog of the hoof upon which the horse stands in an unshod state,
but not far enough to close the central crevice between the parts of the frog.
They are also somewhat thicker than the frame, so as to extend flush with or
cover the upper and lower faces of the frame and provide a resilient tread, and
the lower faces thereof are preferably corrugated or roughened to effectually pre-
vent slipping on wet or slippery asphalt and icy roads and paved streets. In
the preferred embodiment of our invention shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4, the
cushions are connected at the rear by a transverse bar or bridge piece I made
integral therewith, and adapted to serve as a support and elastic tread for the
bar of the hoof or frog to further increase the resiliency and promote the natural
action of the frog. This bar is not used in the modified form of shoe shown in
Figure 7, in which the cushions are independent and not connected. The former
construction is, however, preferred, as it provides a full or solid bar cushion,
which is stronger and more durable than the latter and forms a much more
desirable and effective elastic tread. The front edges of the cushion, in
Figures 1, 2 and 4, are preferably beveled, as shown, to allow any gravel or filth
which may be picked up to readily drop down upon the ground, and thus prevent
accumulation.
The shoe may be shaped cold to conform to hoofs of different shapes and is
secured by nails as usual. To attain better results, we may form the frame of
the shoe of malleable metal and make it a little wider than its given or graded
size, so that when contracted from the dotted to the full line position shown in
Figure 2 and nailed to the hoof, the cushion will be compressed into compact
form to better resist wear.. When the shoe is thus constructed, the toe calk b is
preferably recessed or otherwise formed to receive one or more hard metal plugs
or points b¹.

page_text: "
For winter wear, or for horses having tender or diseased feet, where it is desired
balling'
to stuff or medicate the sole of the hoof, and to prevent the sole from "
in snow, we provide a cover J of leather or other suitable material which rests
upon the upper surface of the shoe and may be secured by the nails fastening
the shoe to the hoof. This cover may enclose the entire sole of the hoof, as
shown in Figure 1, or may be cut out to conform to the shape of the cushion
and metal frame of the shoe, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8.
From the above description, taken in connection with the accompanying
drawings, the construction and operation of our invention will be fully under-
stood, and it will be seen that it embodies important advantages due to its
peculiar construction alone. In addition to the features herein before described,
it will be noted that the fore part of the frame of the shoe is not weakened by
the formation of grooves therein for the reception of cushions, and that the use
As a horse strikes his toe first
of cushions is confined to the heel of the shoe.
and then solidly brings down the rest of the hoof, it is apparent that the greatest
amount of wear will fall upon the fore part of the shoe and the greatest amount
of concussion or vibration upon the heel thereof.
Under the ordinary method of shoeing, the vibration is transmitted to the
tenderest part of the sole, while the frog is liable to atrophy as it is not in action.
For this reason the shoe should be strong at the toe and tread and possess as
large an area of cushioned surface as possible at the heel.
Our invention provides a shoe that is strong and durable, capable of being
shaped to fit different forms of hoofs and adapted to afford ample ventilation.
By its use the horse is enabled to tread in a natural way, and the frog maintained
in a healthy and fully developed condition.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said in-
vention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. A horse-shoe having near the heel thereof elastic cushions extending in-
wardly and adapted to bear upon the frog of the foot and to project vertically
therefrom below the tread of the shoe to form a direct elastic support between the
frog and the ground, and a bar or bridge piece also projecting below the tread
and forming with said heel cushions a full bar cushion, and constituting a direct
elastic support between the ground and bar of the frog.
2. A horse-shoe comprising a metallic frame provided near the heel thereof
with cushions projecting inwardly and adapted to bear upon the frog of the hoof,
and a cushion bar or bridge-piece connecting the same and adapted to bear upon
the bar of the frog and hoof, the said cushions and bar being composed of a single
piece of resilient material secured by vulcanizing and extended vertically below
the plane of the tread of the frame to form a direct elastic support between the
ground and said frog and the bar thereof, substantially as described.
3. A horse-shoe comprising a metallic frame provided near the heel thereof
with cushions projecting inwardly and forming elastic supports for the frog of the
hoof, and a bar or bridge-piece connecting the cushions, the said cushions and bar
5 being composed of a single piece of resilient material beveled at the front edge
thereof to shed gravel and dirt and thereby prevent accumulation of the same
within the hoof, substantially as described.
4. A horse-shoe provided at the heel thereof with a transverse full bar cushion
adapted to bear upon the frog and bar of the foot, and to extend vertically to
50 approximately the plane of the tread of the shoe and form a direct elastic support
between both said frog and bar and the ground, substantially as described.
5. A horse-shoe comprising a metallic frame A provided in its upper and lower
faces at the heel with seats C, C¹, in communication through openings h, the
said seat being formed by an outer wall D and the seat C¹ by an outer wall E
55 and transverse wall F, and cushions G having their upper and lower parts seated
in said seats and bound by integral portions extending through, said openings

page_text: said cushions extending inwardly and forming elastic supports for the frog of
the hoof, substantially as described.
6. A horse-shoe comprising a malleable frame made somewhat larger than its
normal indicated size, so that it may be shaped cold and contracted at the heel and
quarters to fit hoofs of different contour, and provided at the heel thereof with a
full bar cushion adapted to be compressed when the frame is contracted to better
resist wear, said cushion' adapted to bear upon the bar and frog of the foot and
to extend vertically to approximately the plane of the tread of the shoe and
form a direct elastic support between said frog and bar and the ground, substan-
tially as described:
7. A horse shoe comprising a metallic frame A having a solid fore-part, non-
grooved or channelled except as to the nail crease and provided in its upper and
lower faces at the heel with seats: C, C¹ in communication through openings h,
the said seat C being formed by an outer wall D and the seat C¹ by an outer
wall E and transverse wall F, cushions having their upper and lower parts
scated in said seats and bound by integral portions extending through said open-
ings, said cushions extending inwardly and forming elastic supports for the frog
of the hoof, and a cover J adapted to be interposed between the shoe and the
hoof, substantially as described.
Dated this Twenty-seventh day of June 1899.
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.