SHOES AND IN MEANS FOR ATTACHING THE SAME, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVE- MENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1881

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Vernon at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 25th October 1881.
"
IMPROVEMENTS IN HORSE
JAMES VERNON, of Newton Stewart, Scotland.
SHOES AND IN MEANS FOR ATTACHING THE SAME, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVE-
MENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES."
These improvements relate to means whereby horses may be rapidly shod to suit
varying conditions of ground, such as ploughed fields, grasslands, frozen and snowy
roads, and hard pavements, and consist, first, in constructing a shoe having deep
slots or sockets for the reception of removable plates or gripping surfaces furnished
with dowels which are secured in the sockets by transverse bolts or pins having
split or forked ends to prevent their working out. The wearing surfaces of these
removable pieces of iron or its equivalent are made flat for use on ploughed or soft
land, and ridge like or knife-edged for use on frozen or slippery ground. The
wearing pieces are exchangeable, so that a horse may be rough shod in a few
minutes by withdrawing the bolts, removing the flat plates, and replacing them by
the knife edged pieces, which are then locked in place by the bolts as before.
The Invention relates, secondly, to means for preventing the concussion of the
hoof on hard roads from injuriously affecting the horse, and consists in attaching to
a shoe plate formed with sockets, as above described, a second or outer plate of iron
of a contour corresponding exactly to the plate attached to the hoof, a layer of
rubber fitted with downwardly projecting pads or cushions being previously inter-
posed between the two metal portions of the composite shoe. The outer plate is
slotted to allow the rubber pads to protrude, and it has studs or dowels which
enter the sockets in the inner shoe plate and in which they are secured by the
transverse bolts above named. The studs or dowels have elongated slots for the
passage of the bolts, by which means direct metallic contact of the two halves is
obviated and the elasticity of the composite is ensured. The force with which the
foot strikes the ground is deadened by the projecting rubber pads, and when the
metal touches the ground the layer of rubber absorbs a great portion of the
jarring.
The lower or outer metal part of this composite shoe may be provided in some
cases with roughened surfaces in front and rear, or into sockets or chambers formed

page_text: therein short tufts of iron wire or bristles may be inserted and melting pitch be
used to firmly embed them, transverse bolts serving as before to secure this
durable gripping block in place.
For shoes of cheaper construction one piece of metal may be used, and the rubber
may be fitted in sections within deep grooves or channels formed in its underside,
the said rubber being retained in place by metal cross bars and transverse bolts or
pins. The bristle or its equivalent set on end and embedded in pitch forms an
elastic gripping surface of extraordinary durability especially applicable for use on
asphalte and wooden pavements, but this part of my Invention is also applicable to
a variety of purposes, such, for instance, as the gripping surface of brake blocks
and for preventing the slipping of boots and shoes.
I would also remark that I have found that jute, hemp, manilla, and similar
fibrous material combined with pitch or its equivalent form an elastic block of
great durability for use in my composite and other horse shoes, but its gripping
power is inferior to that of the bristles.
The Invention relates, thirdly, to improved means for attaching the shoes, such
as those above described, to horses' hoofs which have become deseased so that nails
cannot be used.
In carrying out this part of my Invention, I take advantage of the quasi conical
shape of the hoof to attach the shoe by means of a strap or band of ribbon steel
tightened upon the hoof by a screw or equivalent device. The front of the shoe is
fitted with a raised sloping flange, and the rear part has hinged side pieces to which
the ends of the steel ribbon are attached. On releasing the screw the side pieces
may be opened out and the shoe withdrawn from the hoof. The side pieces may
have their top edges bent and serrated the better to grip the rear part of the hoof,
and the steel band is held down in front by a clip secured to the front flanged
portion of the shoe. A guard plate at rear connecting the hinged side pieces may
also be advisable to prevent cutting.