IMPROVEMENTS IN SHOES OR BOOTS FOR HORSES
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Hirsiger, of Castle Street, Leicester Square, in the
County of Middlesex, Veterinary Surgeon and M.D., for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SHOES OR BOOTS FOR HORSES."
Scaled the 25th October 1878, and dated the 13th August 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Hirsiger at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 13th August 1878.
.
JOSEPH HIRSIGER, of Castle Street, Leicester Square, in the County of Middlesex,
Veterinary Surgeon and M.D. "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHOES OR BOOTS FOR HORSES."
The object of the Invention is to prevent horses from slipping and to dispense
with the nailing of shoes on the feet of horses.
The methods of accomplishing my said object is as follows:-
The shoe is made of iron or steel, and india-rubber, leather or other suitable
materials, and is so made that it opens or shuts mechanically.
The arrangement is such that the shoe can be mechanically removed at the time
of the horse entering or leaving the stable, or at any time whatever, whether the
horse be working or not, or in any position.
The india-rubber is placed between the shoe and the metallic plate, which is
rivetted or nailed together and is so made that there is a spring on the outside of
the shoe.
The shoe can by means of the spring or any other suitable mechanical contrivance
be taken off at once and can be put on at any time that may be required at a
moment's notice, and by that principle the foot of the horse is protected against
any rough material on the road and so prevents any injury to the horse's feet.
The inflamation caused by the nailing of the shoe to the horse's feet is thereby
prevented and the feet protected, and so prevents foundering, which takes place
frequently on stony roads.

page_text: '
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Joseph Hirsiger in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 13th February
1879.
JOSEPH HIRSIGER, of Castle Street, Leicester Square, in the County of Middlesex,
Veterinary Surgeon and M.D. "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHOES OR BOOTS FOR HORSES."
The object of the Invention is to prevent horses from slipping, and to dispense
with the nailing of shoes on the feet of horses.
The method of accomplishing my said object is as follows:-
The shoe is made of iron or steel, and india-rubber, leather, or other suitable
materials, and is so made that it opens or shuts mechanically.
The arrangement is such that the shoe can be mechanically removed at the time
of the horse entering or leaving the stable, or at any time whatever, whether the
horse be working or not, or in any position.
India-rubber is or may be placed between the shoe and the metallic plate which
is rivetted or nailed together, and is so made that there is a spring on the outside
of the shoe.
The shoe can by means of the spring or any other suitable mechanical contrivance
be taken off at once, and can be put on at any time that may be required at a
moment's notice, and by that principle the foot of the horse is protected against
any rough material on the road, and so prevents any injury to the horse's feet.
The inflammation caused by the nailing of the shoe to the horse's feet is thereby
prevented and the feet protected, and so prevents foundering, which takes place
frequently on stony roads.
And in order that my Invention may be clearly understood and readily carried
into practice, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereto annexed, which show
a plan and side view of a horse-shoe arranged and constructed in accordance with
my Invention.
a is the body of the shoe, which is of the ordinary shape to fit the under surface
of the hoof; a³, a', a¹x, are plates fitted and secured by screws, rivets, or otherwise
to the upper surface of the shoe, and a², a², are inclined projections on the plates
a, a¹, at an angle thereto, so as to overlap the front and sides of the hoof. One of
the plates ax with its projection a² moves outwards on a pin joint at a³, so as to
allow the shoe to be placed in position on the hoof. The hinged plate is then closed
and secured in position by the screw a which locks the shoe to the hoof, the shoe
being further secured by means of screws a³ passing through the projections a² into
the hoof.
In place of the projections a² a continuous rim may be employed to enclose the
edge of the hoof within the rim on the shoe.
A strong spring may be employed to secure the hinged plate in position if
desired.
India-rubber or other soft materials may if desired be introduced between the
hoof and the shoe, and in place of the projections a² flexible material may be
employed to enclose the hoof so as to serve as a boot. thereto, a side piece being
arranged to open to introduce the hoof.
"
Studs may be screwed into the shoes for roughing them when required.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner of performing
or carrying the same into practice, what I claim is, the improved arrangement and
construction of shoes or boots for borses, the shoe or boot being secured to the hoof
by the inclined projections a², or by a rim and a hinged or jointed part a³ or other

page_text: equivalent means, so as to dispense with the nailing of shoes to the feet of horses,
all substantially as and for the purposes herein-before described, and represented in
the Drawings hereto annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Hirsiger, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eleventh day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine.
DR. J. HIRSIGER. (LS.)