IMPROVEMENTS IN SHOEING HORSES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHOEING HORSES."-A communication
from abroad by Alphonse Auguste Watrin, of Rue St. Sebastien, Paris,
in the Empire of France.
Sealed the 27th February 1866, and dated the 28th September 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th September 1865.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHOEING HORSES," to be as
follows:-
The object of this Invention of improvements in shoeing horses is to shoe
them in such a manner as to maintain the shape of the hoof, and also to
restore the hoof to its primitive form when it has been altered. By the
employment of this system any malformations of the hoof, and any Jameness
consequent upon bad shoeing, can be remedied. To obtain this result two
strong oblique points are raised at the extremities of the two branches, and

page_text: at the inner side of the ordinary shoe, so as to form inclined planes to give
support to the terminals of the arch of the hoof. These two inclined planes
are arranged in opposite directions, and constitute a kind of wedge which,
while supporting the horse at rest and also during the march, enters between
the two heels and forces them to separate more or less according to the
obliquity and length of the slope.
In order to restore a horse's hoof, when deformed, to its primitive form, a
sort of moveable vice is employed. This vice is composed of two jointed
arms, which hold between them a three-cornered piece of metal which is
moved by a screw. The extremities of the arms are filed,, and the instrument
is placed between the two points of the shoe, and nailed under the foot of
the animal. Upon the screw being actuated by a cross handle the three-
cornered piece is forced between the arms of the vice, and by thus separating
them will determine the expansion of the shoe. A slight knock with a
hammer on the outer side of the shoe produces a shock in the molecules of
the metal, and fixes the distance, and prevents the shoe from springing
together when the instrument is drawn out. Whatever be the width of the
opening between the arms a compact and inflexible part of the vice is always
presented to the arms of the shoes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, tiled
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 28th March 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of September, 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 William Edward Newton, Her special licence that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Newton, 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

page_text: for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHOEING HORSES, "being a communication from
Alphonse Auguste Watrin, of Rue Saint Sebastien, Paris, in the Empire
of France, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particu-
larly 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 William Edward Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
:
The object of this Invention of "Improvements in Shoeing. Horses." is to
shoe them in such a manner as to maintain the shape of the hoof, and also to
enable the hoof to return to its primitive form when it has been deformed; by
the adoption of this system of shoeing, freedom of action will be given to
the horse, and any malformation of the hoof and lameness consequent upon
bad shoeing can be remedied. To attain this result two strong oblique points
are formed at the extremities of the two quarters or the heels of the ordinary
shoe, and at the inner side thereof which constitute inclined planes, and give
support to the terminals of the arch of the hoof. These two inclined planes
are arranged in opposite directions, and constitute a kind of wedge and, while
serving to support the horse at rest and also during the march, give the two
heels a tendency to separate or spring apart more or less under pressure,
according to the obliquity and length of the slope. The "heels" will,
however, resume their normal position on their horse raising its foot from the
ground and relieving the shoe of pressure. An elastic shoe is thus obtained
capable of adapting itself to the natural spring of the horse's foot.
In the accompanying Drawing Figures 8 and 8* shew respectively the
inner or foot face, and the lower or tread face of the shoe; Fig. 9 shows the
strong oblique points; and Figures 10 shew the application of the improved
shoe to the hoof.
In order to restore a horse's hoof, when deformed, to its primitive form, a
sort of expanding vice is employed. Fig. 1 represents the vice in perspective;
Fig. 2 is a front view; and Fig. 3 a side view of the vice; Figs. 4
shew in side and front views a screw and wedge piece for operating the
instrument; Figures 5 and 6 represent in detail the arms of the vice; and

page_text: Figs. 7 represents the traverse bar to which the arms are jointed in elevation,
-plan, and side view. 6, 6', are expanding arms jointed to the cross bar t, the
"outer ends of these arms are shaped so as to clip and form guides for the
wedge piece c, which is moved between the arms by a screw v, secured thereto
by a swivel joint, and working in the cross bar t; which is tapped to receive
it. The outer face of the extremities of the arms 6 and b¹ are roughened like
the jaws of a vice, and the instrument is used by these roughened faces being
placed between the two points 3, 3, of the shoe (see Figures 8 and 9) when
nailed on to the foot of the animal. Upon the screw v being actuated by a
cross handle p, the wedge piece c is forced between the arms of the vice, and
by thus separating them will cause the shoe to expand. A slight blow with a
'hammer on the outer side of the shoe will set it in its expanded form and
prevent its quarters from springing back on the withdrawal of the expanding
instrument from the shoe.
Having now described the Invention, as communicated to me by my 1
foreign correspondent, I wish it to be understood that under the above in
part recited Letters Patent I claim the method above described and shown of
'shoeing horses.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my-hand and seal, the Twentieth day of March, in the year of 2
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)