An Improved Heel Expander for Horses.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Jan., 1891-Accepted, 28th Feb., 1891
An Improved Heel Expander for Horses.
We, GEORGE TAYLOR CHAPMAN, of No. 202, West 74th Street, in the City,
County and State of New York, Farrier, and WILLIAM HARVEY MERRITT, of
No. 59, West 127th Street, in the said City of New York, United States of America,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:--
Our invention consists of an improved form of spring for application to the feet
of horses for wear with the shoe for producing an expanding or spreading effect on
contracted heels for gradually restoring them to proper shape as hereinafter fully
described reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which :
Fig. 1 is a plan view of our improved spring.
Fig. 2 is a section of the spring taken on the longitudinal centre of the spring,
line Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the spring on line y y Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a plan view of a shod foot inverted with our improved spring
applied.
Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of part of a hoof showing the application of the
spring.
We make a lyre shaped spring a of a thin flat steel bar widest at the middle
and tapering each way therefrom to the ends which terminate in the outwardly
and upwardly bent points b, said bar being bent edgewise and also being concave on
the upper side and convex on the lower side to the plane of the entire spring, as
shown by the sectional views, and the length and breadth of the spring when bent
into the required shape being such that when it is in the position for use, which is
with the points engaged in the clefts d of the heel of the hoof, the sides and
front of the spring will overlap the upper inner edge of the shoe so as to enter the
space between the inner edge of the shoe and the sole of the foot sufficiently to be
kept in position by the shoe.
The heel points bare projected upwardly of the heel at a suitable distance above
the bottom from the plane of the rest of the spring to engage the walls of the hoof
above the surface of the shoe.
The spring is to be gaged so that the heel points have to be sprung towards each
other to some extent to be entered between the heels and when released will press
them outward with the desired force for subjecting the heels to the proper tension
for effecting gradual expansion of the heel.
The spring is in general substantially like other springs that have been used for
the same purpose, and we do not claim it broadly, our improvement lies in
the thin flat tapered bar bent edgewise and having the concavo-convex or oblique
pitch at the cross section to the plane of the whole the advantages of which are
that the bar will bend in this form with less destructive effect on the metal than
when bent directly edgewise thus cuabling greater efficiency and with a given
quantity of metal which it is desirable should be as light as is consistent with
the strength required the spring has much larger range and more uniform
action.
The spring may be made wider along the toe for greater stiffness or it may be
stiffened by a rib or bead e impressed or stamped in that part, or by a flange turned
on the inner edge for a suitable length along the toe, or the bar may be made
thicker along the toe.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The lyre shaped heel expanding spring consisting of the thin flat bar widest
at the middle and gradually tapered to the ends, and having the pitch in the
cross section of the bar oblique to the plane of the entire spring substantially as
described.
2. The lyre shaped heel expanding spring consisting of the thin flat bar widest
at the middle and gradually tapered to and upturned and outwardly projecting at
the ends, and having the pitch of the cross section of the bar oblique to the plane
of the entire spring substantially as described.
Dated this 27th day of January 1891.
PHILIP M. JUSTICE,
Associate Agent.