IMPROVEMENTS IN HORSESHOES, AND IN ATTACHING THE SAME TO THE HORSES' FEET
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Bartholomew, of the Town and County of
Linlithgow, North Britain, Edge Tool Maker, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN HORSESHOES, AND IN ATTACHING THE SAME TO THE
HORSES' FEET."
Sealed the 27th July 1858, and dated the 1st February 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by; the said George Bartholomew at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st February 1858.
I, GEORGE BARTHOLOMEW, of the Town and County of Linlithgow, North
Britain, Edge Tool Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN HORSESHOES, AND IN ATTACHING THE SAME TO THE HORSES'
FEET," to be as follows, that is to say:
This Invention relates to the arrangement and construction of horseshoes
in such manner that they may be attached to the horses' feet without driving
nails into the hoof, whilst they are easily attachable and removable when
required. The shoe proper or the actual sole wearing part resembles the
common shoe in its general details, and it is formed with the usual nail holes;
but it is attached to the foot by a ispecies of inclined spring clipping piece.
formed of two layers or thin pieces of metal. This clipping piece is attached
to the upper.or. hoof side of the shoe by nails passed through the holes in the
shoe body, and driven up through the space left between the two layers of the

page_text: clipping piece; the latter is inclined so as to suit the slope of the hoof, the
lower part of which it is to embrace. It is made somewhat wider on the
heel side than the actual width across the heel, to enable the shoer to spring
it into its fixing position. To accomplish this, one side only of the clipping
piece is permanently attached to the shoe, whilst the other extends freely over
or outside the shoe on that side. By this contrivance, the shoe can be placed
upon the hoof with very great facility, and when on the extending side of the
clip is sprung inwards to its proper position, and the nails on that side being
driven up from below, they are passed through the clip and clinched over at
the top, thus binding the shoe securely on the hoof. When the shoe is to be
removed, the nails or some of them on that side are drawn out, allowing the
clipping piece to spring out again.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Bartholomew. in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
30th July 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
BARTHOLOMEW, of the Town and County of Linlithgow, North Britain, Edge
Tool Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent bearing date the First day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Bartholomew, Her, special licence that I, the said George
Bartholomew, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said George Bartholomew, 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
IMPROVEMENTS IN HORSESHOES, AND IN ATTACHING THE SAME TO THE HORSES'
FEET," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Bartho-
lomew, 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 Great Seal
66

page_text: Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent."
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Bartholomew, 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 thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to the arrangement and construction of horseshoes
in such manner that they may be attached to the horses' feet without driving
nails into the hoof, whilst they are easily attachable and removable when
required. The shoe proper or the actual sole wearing part resembles the
common shoe in its general details, and it is formed with the usual nail holes;
but it is attached to the foot by a species of inclined spring clipping piece
formed of two layers or thin pieces of metal. This clipping piece is attached
to the upper or hoof side of the shoe by nails passed through the holes in the
shoe body, and driven up through the space left between the two layers of
the clipping piece; the latter is inclined so as to suit the slope of the hoof,
the lower part of which it is to embrace. It is made somewhat wider on the
heel side than the actual width across the heel, to enable the shoer to spring
it into its fixing position. To accomplish this, one side only of the clipping
piece is permanently attached to the shoe, or till it becomes needful from wear
or otherwise to remove the shoe proper from such clipping pieces, whilst
the other extends freely over or outside the shoe on that side.
By this
contrivance the shoe can be placed upon the hoof with very great facility, and
when on, the extending side of the clip is sprung inwards to its proper
position; and the nails on that side being driven up from below, they are
passed through the clip and clinched over at the top, thus binding the shoe
securely on the hoof. When the shoe is to be removed, the nails or some of
them on that side are drawn out, allowing the clipping piece to spring out
again.
But that the nature of these my improvements may be more fully under
stood, I will proceed to describe the Drawing annexed.
Figure 1 shows a plan, Figure 2 a side view, Figure 3 an under side view;
and Figure 4 a section, of a horseshoe arranged according to my Invention.
a, a, is the shoe proper, or that which receives the. weight of the animal,
and is the sole wearing part. This shoe a is formed with the usual nail holes
to receive nails b, b', but, according to my Invention, the nails b, b', passed
through these holes are not driven into the hoof, but they are driven between
the two layers or thin pieces of metal c, d, which form the clip piece.by which

page_text: to clip the hoof of the horse and retain the shoe thereon. The two plates
c, d, are retained at a short distance from each other by means of small plates e,
and the parts c, d, and e, are held together by rivets e, there being spaces left
between the ends of these plates e for the passage of the nails b, 6. The nails
b, b, are driven in between the two plates, and at their upper ends. clinched
over the plate c before the shoe is applied to the foot. When the shoe is
applied to the foot, the nails 61, 61, on the other side of the shoe are driven up
between the plates c, d, and their upper ends are then clenched or rivetted, as
was the case in respect of the nails b, so as to cause the inner inclined plate d
by its pressure to hold the shoe on the hoof.
When required to remove a shoe thus formed from a hoof, it will simply be
necessary to unclench the upper ends 62 of the nails 6', and drive them back,
when the shoe may readily be removed, and if the part a has become worn, it
may readily be removed from the parts c, d, and replaced by another, in
manner such as explained. :
I may here state that whilst the common idea is that a horse's foot expands
by the pressure exerted upon it by the weight of the animal under labor, I
have discovered that this idea is not correct, but that the tendency of the
muscular effort of the horse's foot when in motion and exerting effort to pro-
gress, is to collapse or contract rather than expand, and that this effort for
contraction of the foot is materially interfered with by the common arrange-
ment and mode of applying horse's shoes, whilst shoes constructed according
to my Invention give every facility for the contraction and expansion of the
horse's foot. To prevent any undue play to the shoe in the contraction of the
foot, I apply a spring fattached by its having a pin fixed to it, which simply
passes through and slides freely in a hole in each of the plates c, d. Figures
5, 6, 7, 8, show respectively a plan, an under side view, a side-view, and a
section of a modification of the above. In this case the nails b', 61, in place of
being secured by clinching their upper ends over the plate c, are formed with
recesses 63, as more clearly shown by a separate view of one of them at
Figure 9, and when driven in after applying the shoe to the horse's foot, they
are correctly held in position by a spring bolt or stop 9 being passed in between
the plate c, d, and in the recesses 63. This spring stop is shown separately at
Figure 10, and when in position it may be held from coming out by means of a
loop of wire passed through a hole g¹, and over a stud projecting from the
plate c. Shoes thus formed will be found to give facility for easy removal
when the horse is not at work, and of ready application when he is going
to labour..

page_text: I
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
carry the same into effect, I would have it understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details shewn and described so long as horseshoes
are constructed and capable of being attached in manner substantially as
explained.
.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Bartholomew, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
BENJ J. B. MILLS,
73, Chancery Lane.
GEORGE BARTHOLOMEW. (L.S.)