IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OP HORSE SHARE
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Pierre François Guèrin, of College Street, Chelsea,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OP HORSE SHARE
د,
Sealed the 7th January 1873, and dated the 9th July 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Pierre François Guèrin
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 9th July 1872.
I, PIERRE FRANÇOIS GUÈRIN, of College Street, Chelsea, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF HORSE-SHOES," to be as
follows:-
11
This Invention consists in manufacturing horse-shoes in the following
manner: The under surface, or that part that is intended to bear upon
the ground, is hollowed or grooved out in an angular direction. The
apex of the groove being the part at which the nails are to pass through
for fixing the shoe to the crust of a horse's foot. The obtuse angle of

page_text: the aforesaid groove begins at about one-quarter of an inch from the
outside edge of the shoe, and the acute angle or opposite inclined surface
of the said groove joins or meets the lower surface of the shoe about
th parts of an inch from the innermost edge of the shoe, so that from
the posterior region of the quarters, namely, at the commencement of
the node of inflexion the shoe is hollowed or grooved out in a circular
direction and the said groove ends at the corresponding point of the
posterior part of the other quarter of the foot, namely, at the com-
mencement of the other node of inflexion. The regions of the nodes.
of inflexion are covered by the flat or plain portions of the shoe, which
are turned back inwards at an angle so as to cover the inflexural parts
of the foot up to their points of junction with the inside edge of the sole,
that is to say, about this of the length of the body of the frog. The
upper surface of the shoe which comes opposite to the plantigrade
surface of the hoof presents two parts, one of which is convex throughout
its circular parts up to the commencement of the heels, where it is flat
to the ends, that is to say, to the extremities of the inflexural parts.
This convex part is not wider than the width corresponding to the line
of demarcation, which in the hoof unites the crust to the sole; this line
which forms the point of junction of the outside plantigrade edge of the
sole with the lamellar structure of the concave surface of the plantigrade
edge of the crust exposes the thickness of the crust, which is the only
part of the foot which can be brought into contact with the shoe. I give
to this part of the shoe a slightly convex form to increase the supporting
surface of the foot, but principally to facilitate a sort of forward outward
movement of the horney fibres of which the crust is composed, and to
prevent, by these means in the regions of the quarters and the heels
especially, the narrowing or shrinking of the hoof and consequently the
horse becoming hoof bound. The second part of the upper surface from
the line where the convexity terminates that part of the shoe which
bears upon the ground is oblique from top to bottom, and outside and
inside, so as never to bear upon or touch the sole; and is oblique
throughout and within the nodes of inflexion and the inflexural parts.
As regards the lower surface of the shoe, namely (that which is in
contact with the ground), I would observe that the widening of the
aforesaid groove causes the shoe to rest on the ground on two square
edged curves, and in the regions of the nodes of inflexion and of the
inflexural parts perfectly level with the two aforesaid curves. The
sections of the terminal parts of the shoe upon the inflexural parts in

page_text: their converging direction present together with the two curved edges
a powerful obstacle or resistance to slipping, even upon the most slippery
surfaces.
The application of this improved shoe to a horse's foot may be per-
formed as follows:-After having rasped the plantigrade surface of the
foot with a flat rasp and levelled the crust, the nodes of inflexion and
the inflexural parts by means of a small rasp (made half round and
slightly curved from end to end), I make a slight, but not very deep,
groove of the same width as the convex part of the shoe along the whole
length of the thick part of the wall only, and up to the posterior part
of the region of the quarters. The shape of the rasp, which should be
similar to the arc of convexity of that part of the shoe that bears. upon
the ground, causes the shoe to fit in and fill up the slight concavity
which is made in the thick part of the wall by the actions of the rasp.
The shoe is put on cold, and no cutting instrument is required to be
employed to pare the foot. The sole is made smooth only by the rasp,
and the frog is allowed to grow without ever being touched, as is now
commonly practised by farriers.
By the above method of manufacturing horse-shoes the horse's fect do
not require to be pared, and the frog is allowed to grow, and the shoc
may be applied and fitted cold.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Pierre François Guérin in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 9th January 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PIERRE
FRANÇOIS GUÉRIN, of College Street, Chelsea, in the County of Middlesex,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent. Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-sixth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Pierre François Guérin, Her special licence.
that I, the said Pierre François Guérin, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Pierre Francois Guérin, my

page_text: 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 for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF HORSE-SHOES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Pierre François Guérin, 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 Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Pierre François Guérin, 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, that is to say:
This Invention consists in manufacturing horse-shoes in the following
manner: The under surface, or that part that is intended to bear upon
the ground is hollowed or grooved out in an angular direction. The
apex of the groove being the part at which the nails are to pass through
for fixing the shoe to the crust of a horse's foot. The obtuse angle of
the aforesaid groove begins at about one-quarter of an inch from the
outside edge of the shoe, and the acute angle or opposite inclined surface
of the said groove joins or meets the lower surface of the shoe about
1th parts of an inch from the innermost edge of the shoe, to that from
the posterior region of the quarters, namely, at the commencement of
the node of inflexion the shoe is hollowed or grooved out in a circular
direction, and the said groove ends at the corresponding point of the
posterior part of the other quarter of the foot, namely, at the com-
mencement of the other node of inflexion. The regions of the nodes
of inflexion arc covered by the flat or plain portions of the shoe which
are turned back inwards at an angle so as to cover the inflexural parts
of the feet up to their points of junction with the inside edge of the sole,
that is to say, about ths of the length of the body of the frog. The
upper surface of the shoe which comes opposite to the plantigrade
surface of the hoof presents two parts, one of which is convex throughout
its circular parts up. to the commencement of the heels, where it is flat

page_text: to the ends, that is to say, to the extremities of the inflexural parts.
This convex part is not wider than the width corresponding to the line
of demarcation, which in the hoof unites the crust to the sole; this line
which forms the line of junction of the outside plantigrade edge of the
sole with the lamellar structure of the concave surface of the plantigrade
edge of the crust exposes the thickness of the crust, which is the only
part of the foot which can be brought into contact with the shoe. I give
to this part of the shoe a slightly convex form to increase the supporting
surface of the foot, but principally to facilitate a sort of forward outward
movement of the horny fibres of which the crust is composed, and to
prevent by these means in the regions of the quarters and the heels
especially the narrowing or shrinking of the hoof and consequently tho
horse becoming hoof bound. The second part of the upper surface, from
the line where the convexity terminates that part of the shoe which
bears upon the ground, is oblique from top to bottom, and outside and
inside, so as to never to bear upon or touch the sole, and is oblique
throughout and within the nodes of inflexion and the inflexural parts.
As regards the lower surface of the shoc, namely (that which is in
contact with the ground), I would observe that the widening of the
aforesaid groove causes the shoe to rest on the ground in two square
edged curves, and in the regions of the nodes of inflexion and of the
inflexural parts perfectly level with the two aforesaid curves. The
sections of the terminal parts of the shoe upon the inflexural parts in
their converging direction present together with the two curved edges a
powerful obstacle or resistance to slipping, even upon the most slippery
surfaces.
The application of this improved shoe to a horse's foot may be per-
formed as follows:-After having rasped the plantigrade surface of the
foot with a flat rasp and levelled the crust, the nodes of inflexion and
the inflexural parts by means of a small rasp (made half round and
slightly curved from end to end), I make a slight, but not very deep;
groove of the same width as the convex part of the shoe along the whole
length of the thick part of the wall only, and up to the posterior part
of the region of the quarters. The shape of the rasp, which should be
similar to the arc of convexity of that part of the shoe that bears upon
the ground, causes the shoe to fit in and fill up the slight concavity
which is made in the thick part of the wall by the action of the rasp.
The shoc is put on cold, and no cutting instrument is required to be

page_text: employed to pare the foot. The sole is made smooth only by the rasp,
and the frog is allowed to grow without ever being touched as is now
commonly practised by farriers.
By the above method of manufacturing horse-shoes the horse's feet
do not require to be pared, and the frog is allowed to grow, and the shoe
may be applied and fitted cold.
And in order to explain my said Invention more in detail, I will now
proceed to describe the illustrative Sheet of Drawings accompanying
these presents, by reference to to the numeral figures and letters of
reference marked thereon, as follows.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 represents a plan view of the under surface of a horse-shoc
constructed according to my said Invention, and as it would appear
when applied to a horse's foot; Figure 2 is a vertical section through the
line A, B, at Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan view of the upper surface of
the shoe, or that part thereof which is intended to be in fixed contact
with a horse's foot; Figure 4 is a transverse and vertical section through
the line C, D, at Figures 2 and 3. At each of the above-mentioned
Figures similar letters of reference are employed to denote corresponding
parts.
The shoc, which should be made of the best malleable iron, is formed
with a groove or channel B in which are made holes a to receive the
nails employed; to attach the shoc to the horse's foot C are projecting
parts, or what I term auxilliary branches procceding from the end
branches D of the shoe. The upper surface of the shoe is formed slightly
convex at the parts which bear upon the wall of the horse's hoof, and
the shoe is more convex at those parts thereof which cover the sole of
the horse's foot in order to avoid being in contact with such said part.
The branches C are designed to protect the inflexural parts of the foot
without adhering thereto, and such branches should be higher than the
heels or quarters. The effect of thus forming the shoe is to cause the
foot to bear on the ground chiefly by the branches C, cither between the
points A and B, or A' and B', and likewise from C to C¹, in order that
the parts A, C, and A' and C¹ may never touch the ground by reason of
the entire weight of the horse resting upon the branches A, B, and A¹
and B'; such weight is distributed over the sides at A, C, and A¹, C¹,
which allows free action of the heels. I would here observe that the

page_text: slightly convex surface of the shoe which comes opposite to the
plantigrade surface of the horse's hoof, or in juxtaposition to the wall of
the foot, induces the outward propulsion of the horny tubes which
compose it, the result of which is, that the weight of the horse's body,
whether at rest or in motion, compels the heels to keep apart, and
the small inside branches serve to keep the horse's feet from slipping.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention for "Improve-
ments in the Construction of Horsc-shoes," and the means by which it
may be carried into practice, I would remark in conclusion that I hereby
declare my Invention to consist in and I claim, manufacturing horse-
shoes in the manner above described with reference to the accompanying
Drawing, for the purpose of preventing horses from being hoof bound
and also from slipping, as above stated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Pierre François Guérin, have here-
unto set my hand and scal, this Ninth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.
P. F. GUERIN. (L.S.)