Improvements in and connected with Horse-shoes.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Dec., 1890-Accepted, 31st Jan., 1891
UUDLE LEIN
[Communicated from abroad by EDWARD TABER COVELL, of No. 163, Cottage
Street, New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States of America, Gentleman.]
Improvements in and connected with Horse-shoes.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents
45 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, 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 following statement :-
The object of my invention is to provide means for fastening shoes to the hoofs
of horses without using nails, the said fastenings being easy to apply, of
nobjectionable appearance, and holding the shoe securely in place so that it cannot
be cast off.
The fastening consists essentially of a wire or band engaged with the heel end of
the shoe and passing diagonally up over the sides of the hoof with which it is
engaged, by a suitable seat or support adapted to have a firm frictional hold upon
the surface of the hoof, the said wire then extending forward and downward and
being connected with the toe end of the shoe and provided with a straining device
which may be drawn up tight so as to hold the shoe securely, and may be
subsequently relaxed if required to effect the removal of the shoe.
The said straining device is herein shown as consisting of a lever fulcrumed in a
projection formed at or connected with the toe end of the shoe in such manner that
by turning the lever on its fulcrum from one to the other position, it tightens
or slackens the wire, which is shown as passed through an eye or opening near
the free end of the lever.
When the lever has been turned to tighten the wire, the strain of the latter
retains the lever in this position until forcibly moved therefrom by a suitable tool.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a horse's hoof having a shoe applied thereto by
a fastening device embodying this invention.
Figure 2 a side elevation of the hoof.
Figure 3 a detail showing in side elevation on the lever engaging projection or
fulcrum piece at the fore end of the shoe.
Figure 4 a detail showing the tightening lever in front elevation enlarged.
Figure 5 a side elevation of one of the wire supporting seats, used at the side
of the hoof, and
Figure 6 a detail showing one of the rear ends of the shoe in end elevation.
The shoe a may be of usual shape and material being exactly like the
ordinary shoe except that it need not have the usual nail holes and is provided
at its rear ends with means for engaging the fastening wire being shown in this
instance as having holes bored longitudinally into it to receive the bent ends b
of the fastening wire b.
The fastening device consists mainly of a continuous piece of stout wire the
ends of which are engaged with the rear ends of the shoe, the said wire being
long enough to extend around the hoof from one rear end to the other rear end of
the shoe.
At each side of the hoof the said wire is engaged with a seat or support e shown
in this instance as a pronged stud provided with a passage through which the wire
is threaded the prongs of said stud making a frictional engagement with the side of
the hoof without penetrating the same to any great extent and preventing the
portion of the wire from slipping down along the sides of the hoof, the holding
power depending largely upon the natural inclination of the sides of the hoof as
shown in Figure 2, and increasing with the increased strain on the wire.

page_text: The forward end of the wire is connected with the fore part of the shoe,
through the intervention of a straining device which tightens the wire and thus
draws the shoe connected with it at forward and rear ends, up snugly against the
bottom of the hoof and holds it there securely.
The said connecting and straining device as shown in this instance consists of a
short lever d provided with a fulcrum pin that engages with a suitable fulcrum
projection e see Figure 3, at the forward end of the shoe, the said projection being
shown in this instance as a tongue extending up along the fore end of the hoof and
turned downward to make a hook-like seat for the fulcrum pin d².
The wire is shown in this instance as passing through an eye or opening formed
in the end of the lever d although it might be otherwise connected therewith if
preferred, as by a suitable notch or shoulder formed in the said lever to receive it.
In applying the shoe the fastening wire having the lever d and seat pieces c
threaded on it, is first carried around the hoof and engaged at its bent ends b² with
the rear ends of the shoe which is then placed in proper position against the bottom
of the hoof with the projection o against the front of the hoof.
The lever d when in dotted line position Figure 1 is then engaged with a fulcrum
piece e as shown, the wire being somewhat slack in this position, and the seat
pieces e are engaged with the sides of the hoof at some distance above the direct
line from the heel ends ⁄2 to the fastening lever d the slackness of the wire
permitting them to be carried up to a sufficient height to give the desired tightness
and holding power when the wire is subsequently tightened.
The tightening is effected by turning the lever in its fulerum from the dotted
to the full line position which as will be readily seen, tightens the wire and at the
same time brings the strain of the wire on the lever below the fulcrum tending to
hold the said lever tightly in place against the front side of the fulcrum projection,
so that it cannot be accidentally dislodged.
The position of the end of the lever d with relation to the end of the hole
is such that it cannot strike on any stone or projection in the use of the shoe,
in such way as to turn the lever back so as to loosen the fastening.
A slight space is left between the under face of the lever d and the outer
face of the projection e at the end of the lever to receive a tool such as a screw
driver or the handle of a pair of pliers, by which the said lever can be turned
back when it is necessary to unfasten and remove the shoe, and as it is desirable
that the wire should be strained very tightly the lever is usually turned into
position by the employment of a pair of pliers or a suitable shaped wrench that
gives the operator sufficient leverage to turn the same.
The herein described fastening holds the shoe firmly and securely to the hoof
and can be quickly applied and removed without requiring especial skill or the
use of special tools and is thus a great convenience when it is desired to change
shoes, as in icy weather, and it also has a great advantage as a permanent
fastening, it being impossible to injure the foot of the horse in applying the same,
and the fastening being of light weight and neat appearance when applied.
By having a band which is connected with the heel end of the shoe at one
side of the hoof, extends diagonally upward therefrom, and is engaged with the
side of the hoof, at some distance above the shoe, and extends diagonally down-
ward from said point of engagement and is connected with the toe end of the
shoe, such arrangement being used at each side of the shoe and hoof, the effect
of applying tensile strain to such band is to draw the shoe directly up against the
bottom of the hoof, the weight of the shoe being borne from the point of engage-
ment at the sides of the hoof, substantially the same as when the shoe is fastened
by nails, but if the band were merely passed from the heel end of the shoe forward
and upward around the hoof, the strain on said band would tend to slide the shoe
forward on the hoof instead of to draw it directly against the hoof, as is the case
with a band applied as herein described.
The invention is not limited to the specific construction shown of the means of
comecting the wire with the heel and toe ends of the shoe, and for engaging the

page_text: same with the sides of the hoof, above the shoe, and straining the wire, as the
construction of these parts can be varied without materially changing the nature
and mode of operation of the fastening.
The fulcrum-piece e may be formed with the shoe or may be formed as a
separate piece having a dove-tailed foot to enter a dove-tailed socket in the
shoe, or it may be riveted or otherwise fastened thereto, in any suitable manner.
The lever is shown as provided with a small socket which serves to receive
a stud or projection formed on the jaw of the pinchers by which the lever is
turned down.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
First. A fastening for a horse shoe comprising a wire or band connected with
the heel end of the shoe at each side thereof extending upward therefrom, and
engaged with the sides of the hoof above the shoe, and extended down from
said points of engagement with the hoof, and connected with the toe end of the
shoe combined with a straining device for tightening said band whereby the
shoe is drawn tightly up against the bottom of the hoof, substantially as described.
Second. The combination with a horse shoe provided with a fulcrum piece at its
fore end, of a fastening wire engaged with said horse shoe at the rear end; seats
for supporting the said wire upon the sides of the hoof, and a straining lever
engaged with said wire and with the fulcrum-piece, at the fore end of the shoe,
substantially as and for the purpose described.
.
Third. The combination with the band adapted to be connected with a horse
shoe at the heel and toe ends, with seats for engaging the said band provided
with projections to make frictional connection with the sides of the hoof, substan-
tially as described.
Fourth. The combination with a horse shoe of a fastening band, and a straining
lever having its fulcrum on the shoe and being engaged with the said band
for tightening the same in engagement with the shoe and hoof, substantially as
described.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.