IMPROVE MENTS IN HORSE-SHOES FOR FROSTY OR SNOWY WEATHER."
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Stewart Robertson, of Glasgow, in the
County of Lanark, North Britain, for the Invention of "IMPROVE
MENTS IN HORSE-SHOES FOR FROSTY OR SNOWY WEATHER."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Stewart Robertson.
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,.
on the 8th December 1869..
I, JOHN STEWART ROBERTSON, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,.
North Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN HORSE-SHOES FOR FROSTY OR SNOWY WEATHER," to be as
follows, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object the providing of appliances by means.
of which horses may in a few minutes be suitably fitted for encountering
frost or snow, and it consists in making shoes in a peculiar manner and
so as to be applicable as a kind of overshoes upon the ordinary shoes.
The improved shoe consists of a plate of wrought iron corresponding
in outline with that of the ordinary shoe, but with its back part made

page_text: narrower and fitting in between the heels of the ordinary shoe. Sharp
points are formed on the under side of the plate at the toe and at the
heels or back corners to enable the horse to take hold of the slippery
surface of the ground when frozen, whilst the plate prevents snow
from lodging in the hollow of the hoof. At a little distance within the
toe of the plate a tongue is cut or formed in it and turned up and
forward, and when the overshoe is applied this tongue catches upon
the inside of the toe of the ordinary shoe, and whilst this serves to hold
up and fix the toe of the overshoe the back of it is held up by a leather
strap fixed to it by a rivet and brought round and buckled over the
upper front part of the hoof.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Stewart Robertson in the Great Seal Patent.
Office on the 6th May 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
STEWART ROBERTSON, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Stewart Robertson, Her special
licence that I, the said John Stewart Robertson, my exccutors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Stewart
Robertson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 HORSE-SHOES FOR FROSTY OR SNOWY WEATHER," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Stewart Robertson,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument 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

page_text: Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Stewart Robertson, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement in writing, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
My said Invention has for its object the providing of appliances by
means of which horses may in a few minutes be suitably fitted for
encountering frost or snow, and it consists in making shoes in a peculiar
manner and so as to be applicable as a kind of overshoes upon the
ordinary shoes.
And in order that my said Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, may be properly understood, I have hereunto appended a Sheet
of explanatory Drawings to be herein-after referred to, and representing
various modifications of overshoc as made according to my Invention.
The same reference numerals are used to mark the same or like parts
in all the Figures.
Figure 1 is a vertical section as from the front to the back of one
modification of overshoe; Figure 2 is a side elevation showing it as
applied upon a horse's hoof; and Figure 3 is an inverted plan corre-
sponding to Figure 2. The improved shoe consists of a plate 1 of
wrought iron or of malleable cast iron approximating in outline to that
of the ordinary shoe 2, but with its back part 3 made narrower and
fitting in between the heels 4 of the ordinary shoe. Sharp points 5, 6, 7,
are formed on the under side of the plate at the toe and at the heels or
back corners to enable the horse to take hold of the slippery surface
of the ground when frozen, whilst the plate 1 prevents snow from
lodging in the hollow of the hoof. In case it is considered objectionable
for the bottom of the hoof to be entirely covered by the plate 1, the
middle part of that plate may be cut out, as shown in Figure 4, which
is an inverted plan of an overshoe. At a little distance within the toe
of the plate 1 a tongue 8 is cut or formed in it and turned up and
forward, and when the overshoe is in use this tongue 8 catches upon
the inside of the toe of the ordinary shoe 2, as indicated by dotted lines
in Figure 2, and whilst this serves to hold up and fix the toe of the
overshoe the back of it is held up by a leather strap 9 fixed to it by a

page_text: -rivet 10 and brought round and buckled over the upper front part of the
hoof, as shown in Figure 2.
My improved overshoe is obviously susceptible of various modifications,
and some of these I now proceed to describe, remarking here that in
all of them the mode of obtaining a secure hold for the toe by a turned
over tongue 8 catching inside on the top of the toe of the ordinary hoof,
as herein-before described, is retained, the variations having reference
principally to the mode of holding up the heel parts.
Figure 5 is plan, Figure 6 a side elevation, and Figure 7 an inverted
plan of a modification in which a pair of latches 11 are arranged to hold
on the heel parts of the overshoe 1 by catcbing inside upon the tops
of the sides of the ordinary shoe 2. When taking off or putting on the
'overshoe the latches 11 are turned into the positions indicated by the
dotted lines in Figure 5, being fitted so as to be capable of turning in
the plate 1, and having square holes to receive a key (shown in Figure 8).
The latches are kept in position by a spring 12. If found desirable for
securing steadiness holes 13 may be formed in the ordinary shoe 2 to
receive steady pins formed or fixed on the overshoe.
Figure 9 is a plan, Figure 10 is a side elevation, and Figure 11 is an
inverted plan of a modification in which an internal cross bar 14 is
provided for holding up the heel of the overshoe. This cross bar, which
is shown as detached in Figure 12, is made with lips to catch inside
upon the tops of the sides of the ordinary shoe 2, and it is connected to
the plate 1 by a screw 15 held in sockets formed for it on the plate.
When the cross bar 14 is screwed towards the toe it can be got up
between the wide parts of the ordinary shoe, and it can then be screwed
back until it takes a firm hold. Steel bits 16 may be fixed in the
overshoe the better to withstand the severe action to which the holding
points 5, 6, 7, are subjected, and are capable of easy renewal when
worn. They may be wedged in from the top side of the overshoes, as
indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 10, being prevented from getting
loose by the close contact of the ordinary shoe on the tops of them.
Figure 13 is a side elevation of a modification in which the plate 1 is
reduced to a narrow middle strip having the toe point 5 and holding
tongue 8 at one end, whilst the heel points 6, 7, are formed on a cross
bar 14 shaped to fit the ordinary shoe 2, as applied to which the over-
shoe is shown in Figure 14, the cross bar being shown detached at the
side in Figure 15. When the parts are put into position they are fixed

page_text: together by a screw 17, which prevents their getting displaced. This
modification of overshoe must be made specially for the ordinary shoe
with which it is to be worn, but it is shown in Figures 16, 17, and 18
as slightly modified so that it can be worn with various shoes. The
longitudinal piece 1 is formed into a screw at its back end, and is entered
through a hole in the cross bar 14, a nut 18 being first screwed upon it;
then by means of this nut the cross bar 14 is screwed back against the
heels 4 of the ordinary shoe 2, and the overshoe is thereby securely
held.
In order to prevent or deaden a clanking noise which is apt to be
produced between the overshoe and the ordinary shoe 2 there may be
inserted between the two a ply of rubber, cloth, or other suitable elastic
or compressible material to prevent metallic contact. This cloth is
shown by a double line at the upper side of the plate 1 in Figures 1, 2,
and 6.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I have to state that I do not restrict
myself to the precise details herein described or delineated; but that what
I believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention secured to
me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the making of
shoes, substantially such as herein-before described, so as to be applicable
upon ordinary horse-shoes as overshoes for frosty or snowy weather.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Stewart Robertson, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of April, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
JOHN STEWART ROBERTSON. (L.S.)
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.