US55215A - Improved method of attaching shoes to horses - Google Patents

Description

Unirse STATES i" rtree.

PATENT THOMAS HENRY INCE, OF. WESTMINSTER, ENGLAND.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 55,215, (lated May 29, 1866.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS HENRY INCE,

of theWestminster Palace Hotel,Westminstel',-

in the county ofMiddleseX, England, barristerat.-la\v, have made new and useful Improvements in the Mode of Shoeing Horses 5 and I do hereby declare the following' to be a full, clear, and exact description of the nature and operation ofthe same, sufficient to enable one skilled in the art to which my invention is allied to use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are made part of this specication.

This invention has for its object improvements in the mode of shoeing horses and other animals.

In shoeing horses as at present generally practiced nails are used, which are driven into the foot of a horse in a curved direction, the points being first bent in such manner that the end or point of each nail may, after entering the foot a certain distance, come out through the outer surface of the horn or hard crust of the foot, where the nails are clinched and led off. In thus driving the nails to fasten a shoe considerable skill is required in order that the nails, on the one hand, may enter to the desired eX- tent, and then that their points or ends may pass out of the foot, and, 011 the other hand, that this may be done without touching or injuring the tender parts interior of the hard crust or horn. Again, by penetrating the outer crust of the hoof, and by the hammering required to clinch the nail, the hoof is very seriously and permanently injured.

Now, according to the present invention, screws are used for fixing shoes onto horses feet in the place of nails. The shoes are also formed and suitably drilled or punched, with or without fullering, for the reception of the screws, and so as to guide the screws into holes which are first drilled or bored in the under edge of the horn or hard crust ofthe feet. This is done in such manner that each screw may, when in the foot, be as nearly as may be parallel to the outer surface of the foot, the points of the screws not being allowed to pass out from the hard crust or horn of the foot. The

screws employed have threads formed on them similar to wood-screws-that is, the threads or worms are of considerable depth as compared with the diameter of the shafts of the screws. It is preferred that the shaft of each screw should be cylindrical from end to end beyond where it joins its nicked head; but this is not essential, as the shafts of each screw may be somewhat tapered. It is desirable that the diameter o-f the thread or worm of a screw should be somewhat less at the point or end than at the head, so thatthe succeeding turns of the thread or worin, as it enters the foot, are slightly larger than the preceding ones. The holes drilled in the foot are to be as large in diameter as the shafts of the screws used, in order that the hard part of the crust of the/ foot may not be pressed outward or inward l); the shafts of the screws as they pass into/the holes drilled in the foot. The holes drilled into the shoes are countersunk to receive the heads of the screws, and, as before mentioned, the directions in which the holes are formed through a shoe correspond with those formed in the foot, and this direction is such that each screw may be parallel, or nearly so, with the outer surface, and not so inclined thereto as to cause the point thereof to pass out.

In some cases the surfaces of the heads of the screws, in place of being at right angles to the central line of the shafts, are inclined thereto, so that when the screws have been screwed into the foot the heads of the screws may come more nearlyparallel with the under surfaces of the foot than they would do if the heads were formed at right angles to their shafts. By thus using screws, and shoes suitable for receiving screws, the concussion produced by nailing is avoided.

The putting .on of horseshoes may be performed by persons having comparatively little skill, as compared with that necessary in fixing shoes by nails as now practiced, and with no danger of pricking. The shoes will also be more securely held, and may be readily removed froiu the feet, as it will onlyr be necessary to withdraw the screws. In theevent of the heads of the screws being so much worn as to require fresh nicks, they may be readily produced by a cutter, so as to admit of the screws being turned back and withdrawn. This plan also obviates the injuries produced by hammering on the hoof in clinching the nails, producing sealy feet and other diseases of the feet-the too frequent result of fastening shoes by nailing-and the horse travels with comfort immediately after shoeing7 iustead of having to wear his shoes awhile to become accustomed to them when nailed and clinched to the hoof.

Having thus stated the nature of my invention, I will, with the aid of the drawings hereunto annexed, proceed more fully to describe the manner of performing the same.

Figure l is a vertical section of the hoof and shoe of a horse, the shoe being applied according to my invention. Fig. 2 shows the under side of the foot with the shoe, and Fig. 3 is a sideview of the same.

A horses foot is to be first evenly pared or prepared as usual. The shoe is to be of the usual shape, with the follQwin g modifications: Instead of a scratch, crease, or fullering, as usually made in the shoe, and instead of the nail-holes, as ordinarily made, a flatbottomed fullering or a sufficient number of round holes of such a size as to receive the screw is to be made iu the shoe in such parts of the shoe as the operator prefers. rlhe holes are to be well countersunk, so as to protect the heads of the screws from wear. rlhe holes are to be formed in directions as nearly as possible in a line with the outer crust or wall of the hoof at the place where the screw is intended to enter the hoof. It is preferred that the screws used should be made of the toughest metal with hardened heads, which may have a diameter one-half greater than the threaded portion. The screws may be nicked so as to be driven and withdrawn with a screw-driver, or they may have square or angular heads driven and withdrawn by a key or nippers. The shaft of each screw may be either cylindrical or taperY ing, and the thread should be deep and tapering slightly from the head to the point, and continued up so near the head as to prevent any unthreaded portion of a screw entering the hoof.

When the shoe is made to fit the hoof accuhoof with a suitable gimlet, drill, or other borrately a hole foreach screw isto be bored in the ing-instrument, which is to make a hole of the diameter of the shaft of the screw to he used. Each holein the hoof is to be as nearly as may be parallel to the outer surface of the wall or crust. But as in most horses feet the walls of the hoofs are firmer and tougher oil the outside than on the inside, it is obvious that the holes through the shoe and into the hoof should be in such places and in such directions as to pass the screws into the most dense and tough parts of the horn. It will be evident that the strength, length, and size of the screw must be regulated to suit each horse according to its size, the work to be performed, and the weight of the shoe worn. The number of screws used for fixing a shoe must also be regulated by the same rule.

In replacing shoes the same holes in the foot should be used as far as practicable; but of course new holes may be made, according t0 the judgment of the operator. It is desirable to oil the screws before using. The depth of each hole should correspond exactly with the length of the part of the screw to be received. The holes in the shoe may be countersunk to such distance as to leave only sufficient metal between the screwheads and the hoof to hold on the shoe, and the heads of the screws being beveled the holes may be so much countersunk as to admit of the shoe being worn down to the head of the screw before removing, if desirable. Should the heads of the screws become worn down and the uicksobliterated new nicks can be made. Whenever grooved shoes or shoes with intercepted calks, or any other formation of shoe by which the heads of the screw would he protected, are used, the holes in the shoe to receive the screws may or may not be countersunk, according to the j udgment of the operator. The best kind of screws preferred to be used are similar to the ordinary wood-screw, with the thread running to the heads, but with deeper threads, smaller heads, and deeper nicks than the ordinary woodscrew.

It is found desirable after a horse has been shoed a few hours, and when the hoof has become closely compressed to and has accommodated itself to the shoes, that the screws should he tightened, and when found necessary the screws maybe again tightened.

Among the advantages resulting from my invention are the following The outer crust of the hoot is not pierced, broken, or injured to any extent, as oecursin nailing., The concussion required in nailing is entirely avoided. The horse travels offwith perfect ease and comfort immediately after being shod with screws. The shoes may be easily removed for the purpose of frost-roughing, or for any other purpose, and pricking, which so frequently results from nailing, is entirely obviated.

What I claim as my invention is- The mode herein described of attaching a horseshoe by screws whose heads shall be sunk within the body of the metal, as shown and described, and which penetrate the hoof in a direction parallel, or nearly so, with the outer wall thereof, but without piercing the latter.

T. H. INCE. Witnesses:

G. F. WARREN, Trios. BROWN, Both of No. 17 Gracechurck Street, London.

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