IMPROVEMENTS IN SHOES FOR HORSES AND OTHER ANIMALS, AND IN FASTENINGS FOR THE SAME
Year: 1872

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Frederic George Marchant at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 2nd November 1872.
I, FREDERIC GEORGE MARCHANT, of North Street, Wandsworth, in
the County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHOES FOR HORSES AND OTHER ANIMALS, AND IN
FASTENINGS FOR THE SAME, to be as follows:-
:-
"
My said Invention relates to the construction of shoes for horses
and other animals, and to simple contrivances for fastening them
with great security to the animal's feet without nails, and in such a
manner that they can be put on and removed very quickly without
requiring the services of a farrier or other skilled operative, while
at the same time the said shoes are not encumbered with unsightly or
clumsy appendages whereby the weight of the shoes would be increased
or the free action of the foot impeded.
My improved shoes and fastenings are susceptible of various modi-
fications in their construction and arrangement, but they are all based
upon one principle,, namely, the adaptation and application of jointed

page_text: plates, pieces, or flanges, which project up from the shoe and chip the
foot of the animal whereon they are secured by a metal rod, band, or
hoop, which surrounds or partially surrounds the hoof, and is made fast
by a screw or other contrivance, whereby the said jointed or spring
plates, pieces, or flanges, may be tightened after being placed on the
foot.
In one form of my said Invention, I weld, screw, or otherwise fix
on the shoe three, five, or any other suitable number of small hinged
pieces which project about an inch, or slightly more, above the bottom
of the hoof, the joint of the hinge being just level or slightly above the
top of the shoe. These pieces may have their upper end enlarged and
curved to suit the contour of the hoof, and they may be lined with
vulcanized india-rubber or other soft material. The said pieces also
have at their upper ends at the back or outer side notches or recesses
which form hooks, for the reception of a band or hoop formed of iron
wire or other suitable material which is inserted into the hooks of all
the said hinged pieces. One end of the said band is secured to a flange
or lug projecting upward at one side of the back of the shoe, and its
other end is passed through a similar lug at the other side of the back of
the shoe and secured thereto by screw nuts or other fastenings, which
will allow the said band to be drawn tight around the hoof.
Instead of using the aforesaid hinged pieces I may fix clastic tongues
or strips of steel or other suitable metal on the shoe, and form them with
hooks, and secure them on the hoof by a metal band or wire as above
described. And instead of making the said jointed or elastic pieces
with hooks I may form them with holes through which the said wire
or band is passed. These hinged or elastic pieces may rest on the
outside of the hoof, or the latter may be slightly recessed for the
reception of the said pieces. If desired I may place a thin strip of
leather or india-rubber between the shoe and the foot.
In another modification of my Invention I use a flanged foot plate,
which is interposed between the shoe and the foot. The said piece
is preferably composed of two pieces pivotted to the shoe at the front
of the same, or the shoe itself may be formed of two pieces jointed
together at the front. The said foot plate is formed of angle or L
shaped pieces of iron or other suitable metal, the base of which is flat
and rests on the top of the shoe, to which it is secured by the aforesaid

page_text: pivots, and by screws or rivets passed through countersunk slots in the
plate. The flange or rim of the said plate may project up to any
desired extent, but I prefer to make it about one half inch in height.
At the back of the shoe the said plate is formed with hooks or holes
through which I pass a metal rod or wire. This rod or wire is provided
may be caused to draw the
with screw nuts or other devices whereby it
two parts of the plate or shoe together, and thereby make them tight
on the animal's foot. I sometimes place between the aforesaid plate
and the shoe a strip of leather, india-rubber, or other suitably soft
material; and I may place a strip of the same material around the
inside of the flange. To prevent the slipping forward of the shoe and
foot plate I provide the latter with studs, which project into the hoof
or behind the heel. I may also form the shoe with dovetailed recesses
for the reception of steel pins or toothed pieces, to prevent slipping on
the road in frosty weather.