Improvements in or relating to Shoes for Horses and other Animals.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Oct., 1896-Accepted, 5th Dec., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Shoes for Horses and other Animals.
I, WILLIAM WILSON BARNES, of Melbourne House, Harrington, in the County of
Cumberland, Mining Engineer, 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 for its object a construction of horse or other animal shoe in
which the shoe will have a greater grip on the road and yet generally conduce to the
health and comfort of the horse and at the same time deaden the noise of traffic.
The invention will be understood from the following description, reference being had
to the accompanying drawings, in which,
Figure 1 is a cross section on the line a b;
Figure 2 a half plan of the shoe looking from below; and
Figure 3 a half plan view of the horse shoe with the bottom layer of elastic
composition separated therefrom.
I form a horse shoe A of cast steel or other material, with a series of apertures
or perforations B which can be of any number and any desirable shape, but they
should be as much as possible in the centre of the shoe, and thus reduce its strength
to the smallest practicable extent while at the same time allowing free connection
between the top and bottom layers hereafter described. CC are the usual nail holes
which can be of any convenient shape for the purpose of nailing the shoe on the animal's
hoof. Moulded preferably in situ on this (preferably metallic) shoe A, I place two
layers of india rubber, woodite, or other suitable tough composition, the part B being
entirely filled with the composition as set forth in Figure 3 at H, in which D is the
lower layer or road cushion, or tread taking the wear of the road and E the upper layer
or hoof cushion coming against the animal's hoof. These two layers are united by
the webs H, said webs being suitably moulded into or being part of the layers D and E.
The nail holes in the cushion D are so made that the nail heads cannot bear against
the cushion, but come in direct and immediate contact with the metallic shoe A.
The material of which the cushions D and E are made may be so treated that while
the cushion D which comes next the road shall be elastic, the cushion E shall be hard
and non-yielding, or as like the natural hoof of the horse as possible. This result may
be arrived at by moulding india rubber or similar vulcanizable gum in place forming
the parts DE and H all in one. The surface E is then vulcanised with sulphur or
sulphur solution or equivalent well-known vulcanising compound, or in place of this
the part D is moulded in place and while it is still hot a little rubber solution is added
and the remaining part moulded with a harder rubber. This harder rubber can be
still further vulcanised if desirable. It must be understood however that I do not
restrict myself to this plan, as there may be other ways of rendering the two
cushions of different degrees of elasticity or one layer non-yielding and the other
elastic.
By making the hoof layer non-yielding and the other layer elastic and by making
the heads of the nails to impact or go directly upon the metallic shoe A so that they
do not touch or come in contact with or are in any way influenced by the road cushion
as described, I avoid the defect so objected to hitherto in shoes in which cushions or
buffers have been tried, namely, that the nails have been loosened by the give and take
set up by the elasticity of the cushions. It is for this reason, I make the cushion next

page_text: the hoof hard, or "as like the natural hoof of a horse as I can and the nail heads to
impact against the metallic shoe instead of against the cushion D so that the nails shall
be in no way influenced by the road cushions. It will thus be seen that the road
cushion is the yielding cushion, and its impact or concussion upon the ground
when the horse lifts its foot and brings it down again has no influence upon the
metallic shoe A, or the hoof cushion E; or the clinches of the nails. The nails come
right against the metallic shoe itself, and they cannot be loosened from the clinches
because there is no give and take acting upon them.
Should two independent layers D and E be required to be used, dovetailed
apertures B might be used alternating with each other on opposite sides of the
foundation A, whereby the two independent layers could be held dovetailed to or
through the metal work, but I do not recommend this plan as it is less safe and more
costly. The shoe may be provided with a clip i.e. a small upstanding projection
common to ordinary horse shoes, just in front of, or immediately above, the toe.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The improvement in animals' shoes, which consists in forming them of three
layers, an upper or hoof layer or cushion of hard, tough or non-yielding material,
a shoe of metal or other hard material having perforations, and a lower elastic layer,
to form the bearing surface against the road, the upper and the lower layers being held
to the shoe through part of the material of which the two layers are composed, passing
through or into the metallic horse shoe.
2. The improvement in elastic or cushioned shoes for horses or other cattle, which
consists in applying to the shoe an upper layer of material which shall be of a non-
yielding character, or as like the natural hoof of the animal as possible, and a lower
layer or tread which shall be elastic to take the wear of the road, and in so forming
the nail holes that the nail heads shall not touch or come into contact with, or in any way
be influenced by, the elastic tread but shall abut directly upon the holes in the metallic
shoe, whereby the shoe can be held firmly on the hoof by the nails and the latter are
not loosened by the give and take set up by the elasticity of the elastic tread,
substantially as described.
3. In the manufacture of horse or other animals' shoes, in which rubber or similar
gum is moulded in place on a metallic shoe to form upper and lower layers or cushions
with a connecting web all in one piece; treating the said layers or cushions in such
manner that the road cushion shall be elastic, while the hoof cushion is non-yielding
or as like the natural hoof of the animal as possible, substantially as and for the
purpose described.
4. Animals' shoes in which indiarubber, woodite or other tough composition is
moulded in place on and in the metallic shoe, substantially as described.
5. The improvement in horse or other animals' shoes, which consists in forming the
metal shoe on which a tough material is moulded, with a series of perforations or
apertures for holding, connecting or securing the said material, substantially as
described.
-ו- n
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, and London, Patent Agents.