IMPROVEMENTS IN SHOEING HORSES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Henry Ince; of the Westminster Palace
Hotel, Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, Barrister-at-Law, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHOEING HORSES."
Sealed the 12th January 1866, and dated the 19th July 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Henry Ince at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th July 1865.
I, THOMAS HENRY INCE, of the Westminster Palace Hotel, Westminster,
in the County of Middlesex; Barrister-at-Law, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHOSING HORSES," to be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in shoeing horses. In
shoeing borses as at present generally practised nails are used, which are
driven into the foot of a horse in a curved direction, the points being first
bent in such manner that the end or point of each nail may, after entering the
foot a certain distance, come out through the outer surface of the born or
hard crust of the foot, where the nails are clenched and filed off. In thus
driving the nails to fasten a shoe considerable skill is required in order that
the nails on the one hand may enter to the desired extent, and then that their
points or ends may pass out of the foot, and on the other hand, that this may
be done without touching or injuring the tender parts interior of the hard
crust or horn.

page_text: Now according to the present Invention screws are used for fixing shoes
on to horses' feet. The shoes are also formed and drilled suitably for the
reception of the screws, and so as to guide the screws into holes which are
first drilled in the horn or hard crust of the feet. This is done in such manner
that each screw may, when in the foot, be as nearly as may be parallel to the
outer surface of the foot, the points of the screws not being allowed to pass
out from the hard crust or horn of the foot. The screws employed have
threads formed on them, similar to "wood screws," that is, the threads or
worms are of considerable depth as compared with the diameter of the shafts
of the screws. It is preferred that the shaft of each screw should be cylin-
drical from end to end beyond where it joins its nicked head; but this is not
essential as the shafts of each screw may be somewhat tapered. It is desirable
that the diameter of the thread or worm of a screw should be somewhat less
at the point or end than at the head, so that the succeeding turns of the
thread or worm as it enters the foot are slightly larger than the preceding
ones. The holes drilled in the foot are to be as large in diameter as the shafts
of the screws used in order that the hard part of the crust of the foot may not
be pressed outwards or inwards by the shafts of the screws as they pass into
the holes drilled in the foot. The holes drilled into the shoes are countersunk
to receive the heads of the screws, and, as before mentioned, the directions in
which the holes are formed through a shoe correspond with those formed in
the foot, and this direction is such that each screw may be parallel, or nearly
so, with the outer surface, and not so inclined thereto as to cause the point
thereof to pass out. In some cases the surfaces of the heads of. the screws,
in place of being at right angles to the central line of the shafts, are inclined
thereto, so that when the screws have been screwed into the foot the heads of
the screws may come more nearly parallel with the under surfaces of the feet
than they would do if the heads were formed at right angles to their shafts.
By thus using screws and shoes suitable for receiving screws the putting on
of horse shoes, after the feet have been properly pared and prepared to receive
shoes, and the drilling of the feet may be performed by persons having com-
paratively little skill as compared with that necessary in fixing shoes by nails,
as now practised. The shoes will also be more securely held, and may be
readily removed from the feet, as it will only be necessary to withdraw
the screws. In the event of the heads of the screws being so much worn as
to require fresh nicks they may be readily produced by a cutter, so as to
admit of the screws being turned back and withdrawn.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Henry Ince in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th January 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
HENRY INCE, of the Westminster Palace Hotel, Westminster, in the County
of Middlesex, Barrister-at-Law, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Thomas Henry, Ince, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas
Henry Ince, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Thomas Henry Ince, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SHOEING HORSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Thomas Henry Ince, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in
the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Henry Ince, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in shoeing horses. In
shoeing horses as at present generally practised nails are used, which are
driven into the foot of a horse in a curved direction, the points being first
bent in such manner that the end or point of each nail may, after entering the
'foot a certain distance, come out through the outer surface of the horn or
hard crust of the foot, where the nails are clenched and filed off. In thus
5 driving the nails to fasten a shoe considerable skill is required in order that
the nails on the one hand may enter to the desired extent, and then that their
points or ends may pass out of the foot, and on the other hand, that this may

page_text: be done without touching or injuring the tender parts interior of the hard
crust or horn.
Now, according to the present Invention, screws are used for fixing shoes
on to horses' feet. The shoes are also formed and drilled. suitably for the
reception of the screws, and so as to guide the screws into holes which are
first drilled in the horn or hard crust of the feet. This is done in such manner
that each screw may, when in the foot, be as nearly as may be parallel to the
outer surface of the foot, the points of the screws not being allowed to pass
out from the hard crust or horn of the foot. The screws employed have
threads formed on them, similar to "wood" screws, that is, the threads or
worms are of considerable depth as compared with the diameter of the shafts
of the screws. It is preferred that the shaft of each screw should be cylin-
drical from end to e end beyond where it joins its nicked head, but this is not
essential as the shaft of each screw may be somewhat tapered. It is desirable
that the diameter of the thread or worm of a screw should be somewhat less
at the point or end than at the head, so that the succeeding turns of the
thread or worm as it enters the foot are slightly larger than the preceding
ones. The holes drilled in the foot are to be as large in diameter as the shafts
of the screws used in order that the hard part of the crust of the foot may not
be pressed outwards or inwards by the shafts of the screws as they pass into
the holes drilled in the foot. The holes drilled into the shoes are countersunk
to receive the heads of the screws, and, as before mentioned, the directions in
which the holes are formed through a shoe correspond with those formed in
the foot, and this direction is such that each screw may be parallel or nearly
so with the outer surface, and not so inclined thereto as to cause the point
thereof to pass out.
In some cases the surfaces of the heads of the screws,
in place of being at right angles to the central line of the shafts, are inclined
thereto, so that when the screws have been screwed into the foot the heads of
the screws may come more nearly parallel with the under surfaces of the feet
than they would do if the heads were formed at right angles to their shafts.
By thus using screws and shoes suitable for receiving screws the putting on
of horse shoes, after the feet have been properly pared and prepared to receive
shoes, and the drilling of the feet may be performed by persons having com-
paratively little skill as compared with that necessary in fixing shoes by nails,
as now practised. The shoes will also be more securely held and may be
readily removed from the feet, as it will only be necessary to withdraw the
screws. In the event of the heads of the screws being so much worn as to
require fresh nicks they may be readily produced by a cutter, so as to admit
of the screws being turned back and withdrawn.

page_text: Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, I will proceed, with the
aid of the Drawings hereunto annexed, more fully to describe the manner of:
performing the same.
Figure 1 is a vertical section of the hoof and shoe of a horse, the: shoe:
being applied according to my Invention; Figure 2 shows the..under side of:
the foot with the shoe; and Figure 3 is a side view of the same.
.
*:::
A horse's foot is to be first evenly pared or prepared as usual. The shoe is
to be of the usual shape, with the following modifications:-Instead of a
scratch, crease, or fullering usually made in the shoe, and instead of the nail
holes as ordinarily made, a sufficient number of round holes of such a size as
to receive the screws is to be made in the shoe. The holes are to be well
countersunk, so as to protect the heads of the screws from wear. The holes
are to be formed in directions as nearly as possible in a line with the outer
crust or wall of the hoof at the place where the screw is intended to enter the
hoof. It is preferred that the screws used should have hardened heads. The
screws may be nicked so as to be driven' and, withdrawn by a screw driver, or
they may have square or angular heads, driven and withdrawn by a key or
nippers. The shaft of each screw may be either cylindrical or tapering, and
the thread should be deep and tapering slightly from the head to the point, and
continued up so near the head as to prevent any unthreaded portion of a screw
entering the hoof. When the shoe is made to fit the hoof accurately a hole
for each screw is to be bored in the hoof with a suitable drill or other boring
instrument, which is to make a hole of the diameter of the shaft of the screw
to be used. Each hole in the hoof is to be as nearly as may be parallel to
the outer surface of the wall or crust; but it is not desirable to bring the
point of the screw out through the wall of the hoof unless the foot is in a bad
or flat condition, or the operator should deem it expedient to allow the screws
to come through the outer wall. But as in most horses' feet the walls of the
hoofs are firmer and tougher on the outside than on the inside, it is obvious
that the holes through the shoe and into the hoof should be in such places
and in such directions as to pass the screws into the most dense and tough
parts of the horn. It will be evident that the strength, length, and size of
the screw must be regulated to suit each horse, according to its size, the work
to be performed, and the weight of the shoe worn. The number of screws
used for fixing a shoe must also be regulated by the same rule. In replacing
shoes the same holes in the foot should be used as far as practicable, but of
course new holes may be made, according to the judgment of the operator.
The depth of each hole should
It is desirable. to oil the screws before using.
correspond exactly with the length of the part of the screw to be received.

page_text: The holes in the shoe may be countersunk to such distance as to leave only
sufficient metal between the screw heads and the hoof to hold on the shoe,.
and the heads of the screws being bevilled the holes may be so much counter-
sunk as to admit of the shoe being worn down to the head of the screw before
removing, if desirable. Should the heads of the screws become worn down
and the nicks, obliterated new nicks can be made. Whenever grooved shoes,
or shoes with intercepted caulks, or any other formation of shoe by which the
heads of the screws would be protected, are used, the holes in the shoe to
receive the screws may or may not be countersunk, according to the judgment
of. the operator. The best kind of screws preferred to be used are similar to
the ordinary wood screw with the thread running to the heads, but with deeper
threads than the ordinary wood screw. It is found desirable, after a horse has
been shod a few hours, and when the hoof has become closely compressed to
and has accommodated itself to the shoes, that the screws should be tightened,
and when found necessary the screws may be again tightened.
i
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Henry Ince, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventh day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
T. HENRY INCE. (L.S.)