Improvements in or connected with the Shoeing of Horses and other Animals with like Hoofs.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Feb., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 19th Nov., 1890-Accepted, 20th Dec., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with the Shoeing of Horses and other
Animals with like Hoofs.
I, JOHN KENNEDY, of 66, Kirkstall Road, Leeds, in the County of York, Shoeing
Smith, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
This invention has reference to an improved pad and a mode or manner of fixing
and unfixing the same in the shoe itself: the said pads being made of indiarubber or
other similar material: the shoe being specially forined to securely retain these pads,
and also further shaped-if found necessary-by indentations or otherwise so as to
present a rough surface to the road.
The object of the invention is to provide a shoe that shall (1) tend to prevent horses
slipping in frosty weather, or on the granite pavements or other smooth surfaces now
so common in towns, and (2) to supply a means of fixing my gripping pads in the
said shoes, which pads may be renewed as often as the circumstances warrant without
removing the shoe or in any way distressing the horse or its hoofs.
I carry out my object as follows:-I arrange a number of holes which run through
the shoe from face to face; there may be any convenient number of such holes and
these may be of any convenient size and shape In all cases however I make or
prefer to make these holes narrower at the waist (like an hour glass) when viewed in
sectional elevation.
I prefer, further, to indent or form projection on all parts of the wearing face of
the shoe not otherwise occupied either by the pads or the nail-heads.
Into the narrow waisted or double dovetailed holes 1 insert correspondingly shaped
pads of indiarubber (or other such material) squeezing these in from the outer face of
the shoe after the horse has been shod. The waist-like-portion of each pad settles
down into the correspondingly narrowed part of the hole in the shoe and no ordinary
use of the shoe can then disturb it. A pad is made of such a thickness from face to
face that when well pressed home the inner face bears against the hoot, and forms, in
each case, a pad calculated to lessen concussion. The outer face is left long enough
to project beyond the shoe, to any extent thought desirable.
The faces of the pads I slightly concave by preference so that when new they tend
to form a vacuum under the weight of the horse ;-hence even on wet ice, with new
pads, the tendency to slip is reduced to a minimum.
In cases where I fit pads having corners more or less square I prefer to continuo the
narrow waist round all the sides of the holes in the shoe.
To remove a pad all that is required is to draw it or pick it out of the shoe some-
what at right angles to the face of the shoe. I propose to make these shoes by
stamping them in various sizes-out of wrought iron or the like as this gives a
farrier a chance of modifying the shape somewhat according to requirements, but
cast steel or other such metals, although less adjustable, may nevertheless be
advantageously used.
The pads may be forced in by a peculiar pair of tongs, having on one side a flat
surface to bear against the pad, & on the opposite side, one or more thin prongs which
may be inserted for a short way between the hoof and the inner face of the shoe; a
thin tool being also used to push the leading edges of indiarubber forward.
Means may also be taken to squeeze together that end of the pad which has first to
pass the central waist and thus enable it to be pushed more easily through.
In any case however I provide such a pad as may be inserted from the outside.
From what has been described it will be easily understood that the pads may be
changed as often as required without taking the shoe off.
We prefer to arrange the centre of the waist more than half way through, so that

page_text: during the ordinary wear of the shoe the position of the waist becomes more and more
central.
It must be understood that each pad forms an integral part of the shoe and relies
on no part of the hoof for any fixing, further than that (and this 1 prefer) it presses
upwards against the hoof, i.e. except on the upper and lower faces the pad is entirely
surrounded and held by the metal.
Although I have described the holes for the pads as running through from face to
face of the shoe they need not do so, as the upper portion might be made solid, but I
prefer to make them as described.
Although I prefer to make the indiarubber pad with a definite waist, such waist
is not absolutely necessary as the squeeze given to it when inserted may prove
sufficient to hold it.
Again the waist or narrowed part of a hole for a pad may be level with the outer.
face and the indiarubber may be arranged to suit.
Dated this 19th day of February 1890.
WM. SNOWDON,
9, Old Bank Chambers, Leeds, Yorks., Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with the Shoeing of Horses and other
Animals with like Hoofs.
I, JOHN KENNEDY, of 66 Kirkstall Road, Leeds, in the County of York, Shoeing
Smith, 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:-
This invention has reference to an improved pad and a mode or manner of fixing
and unfixing the same in the shoe itself; the said pads being made of vulcanised
indiarubber, the shoe being specially formed to securely retain these pads, and also
further shaped by indentations so as to present a rough surface to the road.
The object of the invention is to provide a shoe that shall (1) tend to prevent horses
slipping in frosty weather, or on the granite pavements or other smooth surfaces now
30 common in towns, and (2) to supply a means of fixing my gripping pads in the
said shoes, which pads may be renewed as often as the circumstances warrant without
removing the shoe or in any way distressing the horse or its hoofs, taking, throughout
this specification, a horse as an example.
I carry out my object as follows:-And in order to explain my invention have
annexed and herein make reference to a drawing which fully sets out my mode of
procedure together with my method of inserting the pads; but it must be understood
that when the manner of carrying my invention into effect is explained many
equivalent variations and modifications in the pads themselves or the holes in the shoe
could easily be made.
The same letters refer to the same parts or their equivalents in all the figures.
Fig. 1 is a half plan showing the roughened wearing surface of my shoe together
with the pads;
Fig. 2 is a half sectional plan of the same shoe showing the narrowed waists of
the pads;
Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section of the said shoe on the line E, F, in Fig. 1.
Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7, are half plans showing modifications of the arrangements of the
pads and roughened surfaces of the shoes.
Fig. 8 shows how the pad and its hole in the shoe may be varied, in cross section.
Fig. 9 is a cross section through the metal portion of the heel of my shoe showing
how dies are used in indenting the roughened surface and stamping out the pad-holes
in wrought metals.
Fig. 10 is the longitudinal section of a part of a shoe, such as shown in Fig. 4, in

page_text: which the left hand portion shows parts of two adjoining pads in position, whilst in.
the right hand portion they are omitted.
Fig. 11 shows the manner in which a specially constructed pair of tongs. and a
pushing tool required to be used in inserting the pads.
Referring to Fig. 1, I arrange a number of holes A, A, which run through the
shoe B from face to face; there may be any convenient number of such holes, and
they may be of any convenient size and shape. In all cases however I make these
holes narrower at the waist, like an hour glass, when viewed in sectional elevation---
see Figs. 3, &c.
Although I prefer this narrow waisted hour glass shape other equivalent shapes
will answer my purpose.
I, further, indent or form projections on all parts of the wearing face of the shoe
not otherwise occupied either by the pads or the nail-heads, as shown for example in
Figs. 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Into the narrow-waisted or double-dovetailed holes I insert
correspondingly shaped pads, C, of vulcanised indiarubber, squeezing these in from
the outer face of the shoe after the horse has been shod. The waist like portion of
each pad settles down into the correspondingly narrowed part of the hole in the shoe,
and no ordinary use of the shoe can then disturb it. A pad is made of such a thick-
ness from face to face that when pressed home the inner face bears fully against the
hoof D and forms, in each case, a pad calculated to lessen concussion. The outer
face is left long enough to project, beyond the shoe, to any extent thought desirable.
I make my shoes, in various sizes by stamping them out of wrought iron, or
wrought steel, as this gives a farrier the opportunity of modifying the shapes some-
what according to requirements.
In stamping my shoes the indentations required on the lower face of the shoe
together with one half of the projection necessary for forming the near portion of
the double dovetail (or other equivalent recess) are arranged on one die; whilst the
opposite die carries the projection necessary to form the rest of the double-dovetailed,
or other equivalent recess. Fig. 9 shows the projection G, on the face of the die H;
J represents the projection on the face of the opposing die K, which would be cut
to suit the indentations required on the outer face of the shoe; the sides of the shoe
are held in a separate casing L. M represents the space occupied by the metal of the
shoe, the dies being shown pressed home. Should any film of metal be left between
them it is punched out afterwards.
The pads are forced or assisted in by a peculiar pair of tongs-see Fig. 11-having
on one side a flat surface N, to bear against the outer surface of the pad, with the
opposite side fitted with one or more thin prongs, O, which may be inserted for a
short way between the hoof and the inner face of the shoe as shown, a thin tool P,
being used to push the leading edges of the elastic pad forward. As the drawing
shows, a pad, or at any rate its head, must be possessed of considerable clasticity to be
thus inserted. Wetting the indiarubber will assist it in its entry.
In fixing my shoe I proceed in the same manner as with an ordinary one, no pads
being then inserted.
To remove a pad all that is required is to forcibly draw or pick it out, somewhat at
right angles to the face of the shoe, using a hook or a screw as may be most
convenient; this of course being done without removing the shoe, as no nails go
through the pad.
A distinct advance in pads fitted into a shoe from the outer or underside is obtained
by my getting an expanded portion of the pad next to the road-way. All pads, thus
fitted in from the outer side and depending upon their hold on an ordinary dovetail
have heretofore had a narrowed face to present to the roadway. When such pads as
these latter give way, upwards, under pressure, there is a tendency for sand and
dirt to enter and lodge between the sides of the retreating pad and the neigh-
bouring part of the shoe. In my plan however the greater the pressure on the lower
half of the expanding pad the more tightly it is pressed against the supporting metal
as will be seen by examining the drawing (see Fig. 3) thus rendering it almost
mpossible for dirt &c. to enter. Under the weight of the horse the elasticity of the

page_text: pad is given off in two ways as it were (1) by the lower part of the pad pressing from
off the ground upwards against the metal of the shoe that forms the outwardly
expanding bottom half of the dovetail, and so to the hoof; and (2) that which is
conveyed through the pad direct to the hoof.
I prefer to arrange the centre of the waist a little more than half way through, as
shown in Fig. 3, so that during the ordinary wear of the shoe the position of the
waist becomes more and more central; and when it is remembered how the lower
portion of the pad presses against the surrounding metal it will be seen that the
enlargement of these inclines is not without its advantage.
It must be understood that each pad forms as it were an integral part of the shoe
and relies on no part of the hoof for any fixing, further than that (and this I prefer)
it presses upwards against the hoof; i.e. except on the upper and lower faces the pad
is entirely surrounded and held by the metal.
With regard to equivalents:-The problem would be, how to take the lower
expanding part of my pad and put another class of top to it, which should have the
same power of safely securing it, after its insertion from the under face of a shoe
nailed to the hoof. How this can be done Fig. 8 shows; here the narrowed waist
may be suddenly widened out, and the top of the pad made to suit; here, again, a
differently shaped top is shown which might possess some advantages, as far as
effecting an easy entrance, over that at Fig. 3, but this pad would not press nicely
against the hoof.
For a round pad the waist of the metal might have a more or less defined screw in
it, with a corresponding screw in the upper portion of the pad to assist in its
passage through the said screwed waist.
Although I mention these as example of equivalents or variations, I do not
recommend their use.
The slants of the pad holes should be as bold as the elasticity of the pad-heads
will allow; and the restriction of the holes at the waists should be likewise propor-
tionately narrowed. Both in the holes and the pads the narrowed waists should run
all round as shown in Fig. 1.
When it is desired to have a great extent of pad surface in contact with the road-
way, as in Fig. 4, a number of pads may be supported both by the sides of the shoe
and by sundry cross pieces, R, R, as shown in Fig. 10. These cross pieces are
stamped solid with the shoe and thus strengthen it very considerably.
If in any special case an animal appears to be punished by the pads pressing
directly against the hoof a thin sheet of steel, shoe shape or otherwise, may he
inserted between the shoe and the hoof when the former is in process of being
nailed on.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare I do not claim
broadly anything herein set forth concerning narrow-waisted holes, such for example
as may be cast in a metal shoe and afterwards filled in with an unyielding class of
indiarubber, as some such shape has been pointed out as being suited to receive and
retain softened indiarubber in its crude state, which indiarubber had afterwards to be
subjected to treatment (in order to render it permanently elastic when cold) before
the shoe could be nailed on, but what I claim is ;-
(1) The improvements in or connected with the shoeing of horses and other animals
with like hoofs, consisting of a stamped wrought iron or wrought steel shoe, made to
present a specially roughened (stamped) face to the roadway, with certain narrow
waisted holes running through from face to face of the shoe, the arrangements and
proportions of the said holes being such as render it possible to squeeze the beads
of certain elastic pads through the waists after the shoe has been nailed on to the
hoof, the shoe being completed by the insertion of correspondingly narrow waisted
elastic pads of vulcanised indiarubber into the said holes after the shoe has been
nailed on as aforesaid, the said pads being renewable without removing the shoe,
substantially as described and shown, with the object and for the purpose set forth..

page_text: (2) The improvements in or connected with the shoeing of horses and other
animals with like hoofs, consisting of the stamping of wrought iron or steel shoes
with roughened wearing surfaces, and with narrow waisted holes running through
from face to face for the reception of elastic headed vulcanised indiarubber pads,
together with the use of the means set forth for rapidly inserting and renewing the
narrow waisted pads after the shoe has been nailed to the hoof, substantially as
described and shown with special reference to Figs. 9 and 11, with the object and for
the purpose set forth.
(3) The combination of (1) a stamped wrought iron or wrought steel shoe having
(2) a specially roughened (stamped) face for the road, with (3) narrow waisted holes
running through from face to face, with (4) renewable vulcanised elastic-headed
narrow-waisted pads such as have had their beads squeezed through the narrow waists
in the holes in the said shoe, substantially as described and shown, with the object and
for the purpose set forth.
(4) The general construction and arrangement of the stamped wrought metal shoes
and pads substantially as described and shown in Figs. 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7, with the
object and for the purpose set forth.
(5) The plan of making renewable elastic headed pads with narrow waists for
inserting into corresponding holes in a metal shoe when fixed to the animal's hoof,
substantially as described and shown, with the object and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 18th day of November 1890.
WM. SNOWDON,
9, Old Bank Chambers, Leeds, Yorks., Agent for the Applicant.