IMPROVEMENTS IN HORSE-SHOES
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
"
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN HORSE-SHOES." A communication from abroad by John
Nicholson Navin, of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th October 1880.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent
Agents, Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN HORSE-SHOES."
A communication from abroad by John Nicholson Navin, of Indianapolis,
Indiana, United States of America.
The objects of my improvements are, first, to provide a shoe for horses, which
shoe may be so fastened to the foot as to allow free play to the natural elasticity
of the walls of the hoof, and thus prevent disease of the foot; second, to afford
means for curing or relieving the disease known as "contracted hoof," by spreading
the walls of the hoof and retaining them in the desired position after the shoe has
been placed on the foot; third, to provide convenient means for securing pads or
other appliances to the underside of the foot.
I attain these objects by the use of the shoe illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing, in which,―
Figure 1 is a plan.
Figure 2, a side elevation, and
Figure 3, a rear elevation.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
a is a horse-shoe of the usual form, in whose upper side is formed a dovetailed
recess b, into which is nicely fitted a separate removable piece c, thus completing
the contour of an ordinary horse-shoe.
The removable piece c and also the other side or arm of the shoe are provided
with nail-holes in the usual manner; d, d, are upwardly projecting lugs formed
upon the upper surface of the shoe at the heel, and are designed to fit loosely the
space between the walls of the hoof when the shoe is first secured to the foot.
A portion of the shoe is cut away from the toe on the inner edge at e for the
purpose of making the shoe weaker at this point than elsewhere, so that when force
[Price 4d1
Figure 3, a rear elevation.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
a is a horse-shoe of the usual form, in whose upper side is formed a dovetailed
ecess b, into which is nicely fitted a separate removable piece c, thus completing
he contour of an ordinary horse-shoe.
The removable piece c and also the other side or arm of the shoe are provided
with nail-holes in the usual manner; d, d, are upwardly projecting lugs formed
pon the upper surface of the shoe at the heel, and are designed to fit loosely the
space between the walls of the hoof when the shoe is first secured to the foot.
A portion of the shoe is cut away from the toe on the inner edge at e for the
purpose of making the shoe weaker at this point than elsewhere, so that when force
[Price 4d1

page_text: is applied between the lugs d, d, to spread or extend this portion of the shoe it
will bend at the point e and not at any intermediate point, the object of this
construction being to prevent any cramping or binding of the removable piece c in
its recess, and also to secure an equable or proper spreading of the hoof in case of
disease, as hereinafter more fully explained.
For the purpose of securing to the underside of the foot india-rubber pads or
other appliances used in the treatment of diseased feet, the lugs d, d, are provided
with holes f; by passing a small rod or wire through these lugs and the pad or
other appliance before the shoe is secured to the foot, the pad when applied to the
foot is securely held in place.
The shoe being fitted to the foot in the ordinary manner the position of the
removable piece c is marked upon the hoof; it is then removed from its recess and
nailed to the foot in its proper position; the shoe is then slipped upon and over
the piece c, the dovetailed form of which retains the adjacent side of the shoe in
When the horse rests
place, and the other side is then nailed in the usual manner.
upon the foot or strikes a violent blow therewith, as in running, the piece c being
free to slide outward in its dovetailed recess allows the natural elasticity of the
hoof to operate, thus preventing disease.
If the foot is already in a diseased condition, produced by a stiff unyielding shoe,
and has become "contracted," I apply a suitable lever between the lugs d, d, and
thus bend the shoe at e to cause the same to hold the walls of the hoof apart,
mostly at the heel, and equably between the heel and toe. This operation being
performed with care and good judgment leaves the softer portions of the foot free
to regain their normal condition, and relieves the disease.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it under-
stood that I claim,―
First. A horseshoe provided with the removable dovetailed piece fitting in the
recess, and adapted to be separately secured to the animal's foot to retain the shoe
upon the same, while allowing a sliding motion of the shoe thereon, as and for the
purpose set forth.
Second, A horseshoe consisting of the portion a and the removable piece c, and
provided with the lugs d, d, and weakened portion e, all combined and arranged in
the manner and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.