IMPROVEMENTS IN HORSESHOES
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Ferris of Athlone in the County of West Meath
-Ireland Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for an Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN HORSESHOES'
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Ferris at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 21st February 1883.
JOHN FERRIS of Athlone in the County of West Meath, Ireland Fellow of the
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. "IMPROVEMENTS IN HORSESHOES
"
My invention relating to improvements in horseshoes consists in forming cogs or
projections on the underside of the shoe in the manner hereinafter described
whereby a secure foot hold is afforded for the animal without the disadvantages
heretofore attending the use of such cogs
According to my invention the cogs of these improved horseshoes are formed on
the shoe so as to form one piece with the latter by stamping, hammering, welding
or otherwise and are arranged in such a manner as to present relatively large
bearing surface whereby the hoof is more equally supported and the shoe rendered
more durable. The size and number of the cogs or projections may vary according
to the size of the shoe and other conditions. The upper side of the shoe is of the
usual flat form to suit the hoof and suitable holes for the nails are provided
between the projecting parts so as to enable the shoe to be fastened on in the
ordinary manner The improved shoes are preferably provided with six, eight or
ten cogs which are distributed at equal or approximately equal distances apart and
are preferably in the form of blunt wedge shaped projections on the underside of
the shoe radiating from the centre of the base of the hoof. By forming the cogs
in one piece with the shoe as herein before described the liability to become dis-
placed or lost is obviated whilst the number of points of support provided according
to this arrangement causes the pressure to be equally distributed over the hoof.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Ferris in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 17th August
1883.
JOHN FERRIS, of Athlone, in the County of West Meath, Ireland, Fellow of the
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, "IMPROVEMENTS IN HORSE-SHOES,"
My invention of improvements in Horse-shoes consists in forming cogs or
projections on the under-side or ground surface of the shoe, in the manner herein-
after described, whereby a secure foot-hold is afforded to the animal, without the
disadvantages attending the use of such cogs as hitherto constructed or arranged.
Removeable cogs or calks attached to the shoe in case of need by screws or other
equivalent devices are expensive and are liable to work loose after they have been
a short time in use. Screws do not answer on account of the difficulty in applying
them, they get lost, besides not being sufficient to prevent slipping, but the uneven
bearing, is most destructive to the animal's feet and legs; being especially injurious
to the joints and to the ligaments that unite the bones... These cogs also materially
add to the weight of the shoe as the flat or web part must necessarily be thickened
in order to afford the requisite hold for the screw or other device by which the
calk, in itself a weighty object, is secured. The cost and weight of these remove-
able calks preclude the use of more than about three, namely, one at the toe and
two at the heel, thus causing the strain to be most unequally distributed over the
hoof owing to the inadequate number of points of support.
The improved horse-shoes constructed according to my invention combine the
advantages of the lightness and durability of a flat shoe with the secure foot-hold
of a shoe provided with cogs or calks, and, by presenting a large number of points
of support for the foot of the animal, the danger of laming the horse, which must
result from the use of ordinary cogged shoes, is entirely removed.
When a cogged shoe presenting an inadequate number of points of support is
employed the navicular pastern and fetlock joints are distorted in a short time,
and the animal is frequently rendered useless as is testified by the number of
horses in our large cities with distorted joints, crippled and disabled from this.
cause.
.4.
I will now proceed to describe the nature of the improvements in detail, with
reference to the annexed drawing in which Fig. 1 is a front view of the shoe;
Fig. 2 a plan of the under side, and Fig. 3 is a side view shewing my improved
shoe attached to the hoof of a horse.
1.
This shoe is composed of a flat plate or web A, to which are welded: or cast a
series of projections in the form of prismatic or wedge shaped blocks B which form
the true wearing or ground surface of the shoe, these blocks are somarranged as
to present a relatively large bearing surface owing to the special arrangement and
relative proportions of the said blocks, and the plate A whereby the animal is
enabled to use these shoes with equal comfort and advantage on all description of
ground. As shewn in the drawing the blocks :B radiate from the centre of the
base of the foot, forming a variety of angles with a line X Y.drawn through the
centre of the base from toe to heel, so that it is scarcely possible for the horse to
put his foot down in such a position that none of the cogs have a hold on the
ground, and a slip.is rendered impossible whatever be the direction in which the
horse is thrusting.
The hoof of a horse provided with a shoe made in accordance with my invention
may be said to be supported on a series of wedge-shaped blocks connected together

page_text: and to the hoof of the flat plate or web A which owing to the length, number and
peculiar arrangement of the said blocks is enabled to be made relatively thin and
light so that the sum of the combined weights of the blocks B and the plate A is
not in excess of that of an ordinary shoe. The holes for the nails are preferably
arranged as shown at a and require no crease.
Calkins or cogs at the heels alone tend to throw the weight forward, and the
undue strain at that part frequently causes lameness and alteration of the sur-
rounding parts. The total thickness of the web and cogs combined of the improved
shoe need not exceed that of an ordinary shoe therefore if properly applied to the
hoof the frog will not be removed from contact with the ground. The ribs
or blocks B on the improved shoe extend from one edge of the plate A to the
other and render slipping impossible whilst their number is such as to afford
so many points of support that the navicular pastern and fetlock joints are well
supported and retained in their natural position. The animal is enabled to exert
its muscular power under the most favorable conditions, and the necessity for the
extremely injurious and troublesome operation of changing shoes on account of
frost is entirely removed in all cases as the improved shoe may be used for all
descriptions of work quite independently of the nature or condition of the ground.
For most purposes it will he most advantageous to employ sight cogs or projections
arranged as shewn in the drawing, but under some conditions it may be found
preferable to increase their number to ten or to reduce it to six, reducing or
increasing the dimensions of the blocks accordingly so as to retain the same
relative proportion between the mass of metal in the blocks or cogs and in the
plates or webs.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of my "Improve-
ments in horse-shoes," what I claim as my invention is:—
In the manufacture of horseshoes, the employment of the solid radiating blocks
or projections B in combination with a light flat plate A serving to connect the
said blocks or projections together and to the hoof substantially as herein described
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In witness whereof I the said John Ferris have hereunto set my hand
and seal this fourteenth day of August in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and eighty three.