A Pneumatic Horse Shoe Pad.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Nov., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 7th Aug., 1891-Accepted, 3rd Oct.. 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Pneumatic Horse Shoe Pad.
0
CHARLES SHEATHER, Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons,
Veterinary Surgeon do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
A casting or moulding in india rubber or other suitable material somewhat in the
shape of a bowl of a spoon, with a flange round it; the flange being strengthened
by the addition of fibre of some sort. The flange is horse shoe shaped and is gripped
between the shoe and the foot, the convexity of the bowl meets the ground the
concavity towards the horse's foot. The ground side or convexity may be grooved
or arranged in any design, and projects above the level of the shoe's wearing
surface; the hollow or concave side together with the arch of the foot form an air
cavity or space.
Dated this 7th day of November 1890.
CHARLES SHEATHER, F.R.C.V.S.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Pneumatic Horse Shoe Pad.
I, CHARLES SHEATHER, Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons,
Veterinary Surgeon, of 50 York Terrace, Regent's Park, London, 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 this invention is to provide a means for neutralizing the tendency
which horses have to slip on smooth or frozen surfaces, while at the same time
the jar caused to their limbs and feet by striking upon hard ground is relieved.
These results I attain by the use of what term a pneumatic pad, which con-
stitutes with the hollow in the horse's foot an air cushion, and which, by reason of
its shape and position, will take a hold of the ground before the metal shoe strikes
upon the road.
In the accompanying drawing, I have shewn my invention under three forms, but
it will be obvious that it admits of other modifications.
Fig. 1 is a plan view of the inner face of the pneumatic pad.
Fig. 2 is a face view of the same, shewing it as underlying the ordinary shoe.
Fig. 3 is a section, taken in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 2, and
Fig. 4 shews the back end of the pad.
This pad is made by preference of moulded vulcanized rubber.
On its inner face it is made hollow, as at a, taking somewhat the shape of the
inner face of the bowl of a spoon.
Surrounding this hollow part is a flange b, to which toughness or rigidity is
imparted by the application thereto, while the rubber is in the green state, of two
or more plies of canvas, or other material, which are embedded in the plastic
material.
ccc are three wedge-shaped projections on the inner face of the pad, serving to
ill up cavities in the heel, the central one entering the interstice in the frog, and
he side ones the clefts of the heel. The hollow or raised part of the pad stands
out beyond the face of the shoe, as shown at Fig. 3, so that the horse, in putting
lown his foot, will strike the ground first with the elastic pad.

page_text: In order to give him a firmer foot-hold, I prefer to groove the raised part of the
pad, as indicated by shading lines in Fig. 2, so that as the weight of the foot
depresses the most prominent part of the pad, other portions will come into contact
with the ground, and secure for the horse a firm foothold before the metal shoe
comes into full contact therewith.
The further to increase this security, I give to the heel of the pad a bowed shape,
which, under compression, will, like the hollow raised part of the pad, give an
increasing contact surface as the pressure of the foot increases.
As the toughened flange of the pad receives the metal shoe, the nails applied to
the shoe will pass through the flange, and secure the pad tightly in place.
When thus fitted to the foot, the air imprisoned between the foot and the pad
will have but a contracted opening through which to escape, and hence the elastic
pad will be sustained against the pressure of the foot by the cushion of air, which
slowly escaping under pressure, will be replenished by the elastic action of the pad,
so soon as the pressure is removed therefrom.
When adapting my invention to a half shoe or tip, I modify somewhat the form
of the pneumatic pad. This is shown in Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, Fig. 5 being a plan view
of the inner face of the pad; Fig. 6 a face view of the same, with the half shoe in
place; Fig. 7 a side view of the pad and half shoe; and Figure 8 the back end of
the pad.
In this arrangement, the ends of the half shoe abut against shoulders formed on
the elastic pad, and constituting lateral extensions of the elastic heel.
The hollow projecting part of the pad is in this case represented as grooved
transversely instead of longitudinally, as in Figure 2, the result being substantially
the same in both.
Other forms of indentation may be provided, as thought desirable, care being
taken that the hold on the ground shall increase with the pressure applied to
the pad.
I will now describe the mode of applying my invention when a leather sole is
used to receive the metal shoe. This is illustrated at Figures 9 and 10, Figure 9
being a face view of the leather sole with the pneumatic pad applied thereto, and
Figure 10 an edge view of the same. In this example, the elastic pad takes some-
what the form of the frog of the horse's foot, and terminates, like the pad of
Figure 2, in a solid heel.
This frog pad is formed with a flange to provide for its being secured by stitching
to the leather sole. In adapting the frog pad to the sole, the middle portion of the
latter is cut out, which allows of the frog pad protruding through and beyond it, so
that, as in the former examples, it may reach the ground (on the depression of the
horse's foot) before the metal shoe comes in contact therewith.
In this example, the pad, it will be seen, carries no projections on its inner face,
like those shown at Figures 1 and 5, and indeed I may dispense with these
projections altogether, substituting therefor, wedges of felt or other suitable
material.
As the interstices to be filled vary both in size and position, it is desirable, when
moulding the projecting pieces, to form them of such thickness as to provide for
their being trimmed to suit varying circumstances.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
The manufacture and application of pneumatic horse shoe pads as and for the
purpose above set forth.