Improvements in Horse Shoes.
Year: 1887

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Horse Shoes.
I, JOHN DOUGLAS BILLINGS, Attorney at Law, residing in the City of New York,
County of New York, and State of New York, one of the United States of America,
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN HORSE SHOES and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:—
Heretofore in the so called calked horse shoes, the calks have generally been put on
at the extreme ends of the heels and on and across the extreme end of the toe, and
when this style has been varied, it has been by placing calks intermediate between
the said toe and heel calks, or by a continuous calk, or a serrated one, or calks at the
heels and none at the toe, or a calk at the toe and the ends of the shoe at the heels
thickened or swedged up. These descriptions of horse shoes, with the various
positions of their calks, have been found objectionable in use especially for the front
feet, and for these reasons; 1st. there is too much strain upon the extreme point of
the toe and extreme ends of the heels; 2nd. the natural movement of the front feet
when touching and leaving the ground is a rocking motion, hence when the calks are
put on at the extreme ends of the toe and heels, the natural rocking movement of the
foot is hindered, or restrained and an undue strain is brought on the joint of the foot.
3rd. the calk at the toe receives nearly twice the friction or wear that is received
upon the calks at the heels, hence the animal must first wear down these unnatural
projections into a particular shape or contour, before he is able to make a natural step
or obtain a natural foothold, and in accomplishing this desired result the normal easy
movement of the foot is changed into an artificial and impeding movement; 4th. the
calks at the extreme outside end of the heels, or heels-bars, of the foot, when worn
upon stone pavements and hard road beds are generally the sole cause of sore and
bruised heels, and on account of the concussion caused by those calks coming down
with great force upon the stones with nothing to relieve the blow or the full force of
the concussion upon the extreme ends of the hoof-heels; 5th. shoes with continuous
calks or plain or serrated, do not change the principle, and are therefore objectionable
for the same reasons.
The object of my invention is to provide a horse shoe with calks shaped and placed

page_text: on the shoo at such points of the wearing surface of the same, as will assist nature and
not block, impede, and hinder the natural movement or motion of the animal's feet,
which will relieve strain on the joint, and prevent soreness, slipping and other
damaging results to the foot of the animal, and thus allow him to travel with more
speed and comfort over stone-pavements and hard, rough and icy streets. These shoes
are to be used more particularly upon the front feet.
My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1, is a
plan view of a calked horse shoe; Fig. 2, is a side view of the same; Fig. 3, a
longitudinal sectional view; Fig. 4, is a side view of the horse's foot shown in
position during the step while its toe is engaged and provided with my improved
shoe Fig. 5, is a similar view of the same, but showing the position of the foot
during the step while the heel is engaged.
In the drawing A indicates the top surface of the body of the shoe. The bar of
which the shoe is made is of any desired length or weight, and from one half inch to
one and one quarter inches square.
The surface A is formed with a flat outside bearing portion B, and inner sloping
portion Fas shown, the latter terminating short of the heels, leaving the heel bearing
portion H perfectly level.
All around the outer side of the shoe under the foot rest is formed a grooved nail
rim I, in which nail holes are provided to secure the shoe to the horse's foot, and it is
made of sufficient width, depth and thickness to properly sustain the nails and to
protect the head of the nails from coming in contact with the pavement, whereby the
shoe is prevented from loosening and dropping from the feet.
C is the underside of the shoe upon which the calks are set. Its sides from the
toe to the heel calks, slope towards the rim, and the inner walls of the rim slope
slightly in the opposite direction to afford sufficient space to permit the nails to be
driven without the use of a punch. D D are toe calks, and E E are heel calks rolled,
set, or welded on the portion C.
The toe calks D are arranged on either side and to the rear of the exact center of
the toe, with a portion d between them from one-half inch to two inches. This open
portion is made to allow the foot of the horse to rock or roll naturally, and thus to
pass over the dead center of the toe point. The heel calks E are placed at least from
one-half inch to two inches forward from the extreme ends of the heel points for the
purpose herein described. As shown the calks D join the surface C with a base equal
to the width of that surface. They are tapered and terminate with a flat bearing
surface J.
The base of the heel calks E, have a width equal to the width of the supporting
portion C, and taper and terminate with a sharp longitudinal edge K, so that the
ground surface of the toe calks shall be at least twice the thickness of the ground
surface of the heel calks to meet the double friction and wear on the toe as above set
forth. While preserving this relative thickness the calks may be sharper or more
blunt as may be required on smooth or icy road ways.
The four toe and heel calks must be made to occupy the same relative positions to
the toe and heel as shown in the drawings in order to obtain the advantages of my
invention as above set forth.
The heel calks E being arranged as thus described, forward of the heels, the foot is
permitted to yield in that direction with a rolling natural motion, thereby avoiding
great strain on the ankle joint, and inflammation and soreness of the heel and joint.
The portion d, between the toe calks is made deeper than the portions between the
toe calk and the extreme ends of the heels of the shoe, so that when the toe rolls over
the calk and when the calks wear away the said projecting surface will still afford and
maintain a rocking bearing for the toe.
My invention involves a radical departure in the construction of the calked horse
shoe and principle of operation of the shoe when worn on the feet of the horse, and
especially upon the front feet, the invention consisting broadly in horse shoe with
calks which are arranged to receive the full weight and allow a proper and natural
bearing, and giving a firm foot hold and grip without blocking, hindering, impeding,

page_text: or in any way disturbing the natural movement of the horse's feet and preventing
straining and contracting of the muscles of the heels.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what
I claim is
1. As a new article of manufacture, a rolled horse shoe consisting of an upper foot
bearing surface having a flat and level outer portion, and a sloping inner portion, both
portions terminating in a level surface at the heels, a raised under portion C, the toe
calks D, arranged on either side of the center of the toe, and at an equal distance
therefrom, the projecting portion, d, between said toe calks, the heel calks E arranged
on either side of the heel points and at an equal distance therefrom, the ground surface
of the toe calks being at least twice as thick as the ground surface of the heel calks,
and the grooved nail rim with the inner walls of the rim and the calk bearing
portion bevelled towards the said groove, substantially as described.
2. In a rolled horse shoe the upper foot bearing surface having a flat and level
outer portion and a sloping inner portion both terminating in a level surface at the
heels, the grooved nail rim, the under calk supporting portion with its sides between
the toe calks and the heels made sloping towards said rim, and the four toe and heel
calks occupying the same relative positions and distances from the toe and heel points,
as shown and described.
3. The rolled horse shoe herein described provided with the calks and upper and
lower surfaces and outer and inner portions for the purposes mentioned.
Dated this 17th day of November A.D. 1887.