Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 13th May, 1887.
Complete Left, 29th June, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 16th Aug., 1887.
I, ROBERT GUMM, of 62, Davies Mews, Brook street, W., in the County of Middlesex,
Coachman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
My invention relates to an improved construction of shoe for horses, and consists
in an improved combination of leather and rubber, the former being faced with iron
plates.
According to this invention, I prepare a plate of leather of the shape of the hoof,
which plate is thicker towards the heel of the hoof than at the toe.
The thick corners of this plate under the heels of the hoof are opened in a plane
parallel with the bottom of the hoof, and a piece of indiarubber let in at each corner.
Instead of using one iron shoe of the usual shape, I use three plates, one for under
the toe of the hoof and two for under the sides and heels thereof. The two last
mentioned are separated from the toe plate by spaces which are filled with enlarge-
ments of the leather plate above mentioned.
This leather plate is shaped and cut away so that the frog will, when the foot comes
down, press upon the U-shaped plate of indiarubber fixed thereunder, and feel the
ground through a plate of leather or other suitable material embraced by the said
U-shaped piece.
The space between the said iron plates and the last mentioned leather plate is
occupied by the U-shaped piece of rubber above mentioned, which projects beyond all
the plates when the foot is off the ground.
The various parts of my invention are connected in any convenient way.
The above mentioned materials are those I find most suitable, but they may be
replaced by others possessing relatively equivalent properties.
O
1007
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
An Improved Horse Shoe.
I, ROBERT GUMM, of 62, Davies Mews, Brook Street, W., in the County of
Middlesex, Coachman, 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 :-
My invention relates to an improved construction of shoe for horses, and consists in
an improved combination of leather and rubber with metal plates facing the former.
Its object is to provide a shoe both light, strong, and elastic; so that while the
hoof shall be effectually shod, it shall be saved from the ruinous effects of the endless
knocking to which it is exposed on modern roads and streets, especially the latter,
and shall be enabled, by the establishment of a sensitive contact between its frog and
the ground, to obtain a better grip of the latter than has hitherto been possible with
ordinary shoes.
I attain the object of my invention by means of the construction illustrated in the
accompanying drawing, in which
Fig. 1 is a plan of the under-face or ground-side of a shoe made according to my
invention.
Fig. 2 is a side view.
Fig. 3 is a plan of the top face of the hoof-side of a shoe; and
Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line Y-Z of Fig. 3.
A is a shaped piece of leather, prepared in any convenient way and of the same
area as that of the under-face of the hoof. It is thickened at the heels a by the
combination therewith of extensions c of an indiarubber plate C described further on,
and of leather guards a¹.
It has a triangular opening a formed in it, in which the frog can enter for the
purpose of being in constant touch with the rubber plate C. Ridges as extend
from the apex of the opening to the heels a, a. These ridges may be, and preferably
are, sufficiently high to reach the arch of the hoof-on-cach-side of the frog. The
inner edges of the ridges are preferably bevelled where they press against the frog,
as shown in Fig. 3. The portion at of the leather A between the ridges a and the
triangular opening is lower than those parts of the leather outside the ridges, for the
purpose of making room for the heel of the frog.
Cis a plate of indiarubber of the same area as the space in part surrounded by
the iron plates E, F and G; and is of a thickness sufficient to permit of its acting
as a cushion between the hoof and the ground, and to project beyond the face of the
plates when the hoof is off the ground. I form an extension cat each heel-corner
of this plate, which extensions are comprised between the heel-corners a of the leather
plate A and the leather guards a¹. The latter prevent the extensions c being damaged
by contact with the thin metal shoe D, and may be made integral with the plate A.
The outer face of the plate C is hollowed to receive a plate of leather c¹ which is

page_text: preferably sewn to the indiarubber C. I find that the latter can be conveniently
united to the leather A by cement. I prefer that the rubber C should be carried
round the inside of the toe of the hoof but it may stop short at or near the
spaces de i.e., being then U-shaped.
D is a thin metal shoe; and E, F and G are three thin metal plates.
The heels of the latter are thinned down to make room for the guards a¹ and the
extensions c. The plates E, F and G are separated by two spaces d, e.
The iron
plates and shoe, rubber C, and leather A are nailed to the hoof according to the
ordinary and well known methods.
I do not confine myself to the use of three metal plates and a thin metal shoe as
illustrated, nor to the position of the spaces d, e; as these may be varied according
to circumstances.
The advantage of using three plates E, F, G, is that any one of them can be
removed when worn down and replaced without removing the whole shoe. The toe
and heel plates, E, F and G are made separate from the shoe D when the hoof is a
sound one, but integral with it if they would come opposite a seedy part of the hoof.
For instance, in adapting my invention to a hoof the toe of which is seedy and conse-
quently without hold for a nail, the toe plate E must be made in one piece with the
thin shoe D, and the spaces d, e moved nearer to the heels. In like manner if the
heel of the hoof be seedy, the plate F or G, or both as the case may be, must be made
integral with the thin shoe D, and the position of the spaces adjusted accordingly.
The advantages of having the toe plate separated by the spaces d, e, are as follows.
The heads of the nails driven into the hoof through the holes in the shoe D are not
worn away and therefore will not require renewing so long as the said shoe remains
on the hoof. The long life of these nails will be of considerable advantage when the
toe of the hoof is seedy. The edges of the plates E, F, G, abutting upon the said
spaces will also enable a horse shod with my invention to take a better hold of a wood
pavement.
The materials I have specified above are those which I prefer to make use of,
although I do not confine myself to them but may use any others possessing equiva-
lent properties.
I use leather for the plates A and a because it acts as a packing between the metal
plates and the shoe on one side and the hoof on the other, taking up some of the
shock to which the hoof is exposed as the horse plants it on the ground, and also
because leather is sufficiently hard when of good quality to stand considerable and
repeated pressure without breaking up.
The function of the indiarubber C is to act as a cushion between the ground on one
side and the hoof, especially the frog and the heels of the hoof, on the other; and to
maintain contact between them so long as the hoof is down. The frog is accordingly
enabled to feel and take hold of the ground, when the hoof is down thereupon, without
actually touching it.
In virtue of the projection of the indiarubber C beyond the iron plates, the former
comes down on the ground first and places the hoof in touch therewith before the
iron plates reach the ground, so that not only is the aforesaid cushioning effected, but
the rubber Cand leather c¹ will exert a tendency to prevent a horse slipping on a wet
or greasy roadway.
The iron plates are used to bear the brunt of the wear and tear, and to prevent the
other parts being worn away by abrasion against the road surface. They take the
weight of the animal as the feet come down while the plates C and c¹ are forced
upwards, the latter into close but sensitive contact with the frog.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination of a plate of leather or equivalent material A having an
opening a formed in it; an intermediate plate of indiarubber or equivalent material
thick enough to project beyond the ground-face of the shoe when the hoof is off the
ground, and through which intermediate plate the frog can feel the ground when the

page_text: hoof is down thereupon; and iron plates, substantially as and for the purpose described
with reference to the accompanying figures.
2. The combination of a plate of leather or equivalent material having an opening a³
formed in it; an intermediate plate of indiarubber or equivalent material thick enough
to project beyond the ground-face of the shoe when the hoof is off the ground, with
which indiarubber plate is incorporated a facing of leather, and through which inter-
mediate plate the frog can feel the ground when the hoof is down thereupon, and iron
plates, substantially as and for the purpose described with reference to the accom-
panying figures.
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
22, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.