US832468A - Hoof-pad. - Google Patents

Description

No. 832,468. PATENTED OCT. 2'; 1906.

E. FITZGERALD.

HOOP PAD.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. e. 1906.

, cago, in the county air-chamber 11, open UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIoE.

HOOF-PAD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 2, 1906.

Application filed February 8, 1906. Serial No. 300,110.

To all w/wm it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD FITZGERALD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chiof Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hoof-Pads, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to cushion-tread hoof-pads for use in connection with horseshoes.

The object of the invention is to provide a durable, light, and economical hoof-pad having a resilient air chamber or cushion for protecting the frog without interfering with its healthy ventilation and means for supporting and firmly holding the cushion in place, shielding it from wear, and affording a surface against which the shoe may be closely fitted.

My hoof-pad will not take up dirt or other foreign bodies, gives a secure and effective hold in every direction against slipping, and tends to shift strain from the rear quarters or Ltendons of the heel to the front or toe of the 'oot.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown a hoof-pad embodying my invention.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the bottom of the pad. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the top. Fig. 3 is a side view, and Fig. 4 a cross-section, taken on line 4 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrow.

5 indicates the backing or body portion, preferably of leather, provided with a central opening 6 under the point of the frog. To this backing is secured the rubber bottom of the pad, comprising the corrugated heelbar 7, the outer flange 8, the central resilient cushion or chamber 9, and the rigid shield or supporting-wall 10. The cushion 9 forms an at the top and in communication with the outside air through the opening 6 and the notches of the frog, while its bottom surface is corrugated, as shown, to give a firm hold to the hoof. Sloping sur faces 1 support thecalks of the shoe, the latter being nailed through the flange 8 into the hoof in the usual manner. This flange is preferably made of such size that it may be trimmed off around the edges to fit any style of shoe used.

The feature of my invention to which I attach most importance is the supporting-wall or rigid shield 10. (Shown in Figs. 1 and 3.) As the horses hoof descends in traveling and strikes the road-bed the blow on the hoof-pad is oblique, and in constructions having an aircushion, heel-bar, and shoe-flange the blow falls upon the front of the cushion over the frog. It is therefore important that this cushion should be supported on all sides and in a measure shielded from the brunt of the direct concussion as well as from the wear which comes not only from ordinary travel, but from cutting of the iron shoe. I therefore construct this supporting-wall of solid rubber, projecting it substantially to the plane of retraction of the cushion and carrying it around the cushion to join the heel-bar on the two ends. The exterior is adapted to fit closely within the interior of the shoe, while the interior is preferably merged or run into the cushion, so as to provide a flat curved surface on the bottom of the pad, along which I arrange teats 13, which afford the necessary friction for a firm footing. This wall completely fills the space between the shoe and cushion and prevents the picking up of dirt and other substances, and it also tends to limit the retraction or compression of the resilient cushion. When the foot is placed firmly on the road-bed, the cushion is pressed upward and the wall 10 affords a rest or continuous calk for the hoof. By this construction the durability of the pad is materially increased, since the iron shoe rests against a comparatively solid surface and the wall comes into contact with the road-bed when ever the resilient cushion is heavily or suddenly pressed upon.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A hoof-pad comprising a body portion provided with a flange adapted to seat a shoe, a downwardly-protruding resilient air-chamber beneath the frog ventilated from above, a heel-bar, a supporting-wall surroundin said chamber, said wall being substantially below the bottom of said chamber when the latter is compressed, and adapted to fill the space between the shoe and chamber, substantially as described.

2. A hoof-pad comprising a body portion, heel-bar, shoe-flange and resilient air-chamber beneath the frog and a rigid supporting- Wall projecting substantially below the plane l of retraction of said chamber said Wall and EDWARD FITZGERALD heel-bar surrounding said cushion and affording a rest for the horseshoe and a shield and Witnesses:

support for said chamber, substantially as CHARLEs L. HINE,

described. ROBERT CATHERWOOD.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

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