Farriery – Sole pads – Elastic
Patent
1996-01-30
1997-12-02
Swiatek, Robert P.
Farriery
Sole pads
Elastic
A01L 500
Patent
active
056925700
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hoof pad.
Horses used in man's service, for competitions or otherwise, are equipped with horseshoes. Actually it is unnatural for a horse to be shod, since this changes the function of the hoof mechanism. As a result, the body of the horse is more readily injured. The frog of an unshod hoof is subjected to pressure, which is necessary to make the natural hoof mechanism function. If the hoof is shod, the frog, which is fairly centrally located in the rear half of the hoof, very seldom touches the ground. One way of coping with this problem is to provide the hoof with a hoof pad which more or less fills the space between the ground and the parts of the hoof which are not covered by the horseshoe.
2. Prior Art
Hoof pads are known, one being disclosed in Patent Specification GB-187,294. However, this hoof pad suffers from a number of drawbacks. Its heart shape deteriorates its effect to a considerable extent since, as mentioned above, the frog is the part which first of all needs to be stimulated. The position of the valve and the fact that it is made of metal imply a great risk of further injuries to the hoof. Prior art hoof pads do not provide the intended support, since the rear part of the hoof pad is extended more than the rest of the hoof pad, due to the fact that this rear part is not supported by the horseshoe when the hoof hits the ground (and the hoof pad is subjected to load). This problem is caused by an incorrect design of the hoof pad. The design is unnecessarily complicated and, thus, costly.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a hoof pad which eliminates the drawbacks of prior art and permits the shod hoofs of the horse to function in a natural fashion, i.e. in essentially the same manner as without shoes.
In a preferred embodiment, the hoof pad comprises a circumferential flange which can be arranged between the hoof and a horseshoe. The circumferential flange of this embodiment eliminates one disadvantage of the technique disclosed in the above-mentioned patent specification, in which the hoof pad can only be used together with a "bag" attached to the horseshoe, into which the hoof pad is inserted.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the inventive hoof pad will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the hoof pad according to the preferred embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of the hoof, horseshoe, outsole and hoof pad, according to FIG. 1, when assembled; and
FIG. 3 is a cross-section of the hoof pad when assembled according to FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S) OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the inventive hoof pad. The hoof pad essentially comprises a hollow body 1 and is provided with a valve 2 for controlling an inner pressure in the hoof pad. This pressure is obtained by supplying air, oil, water or some other fluid to the hollow body via the valve 2. The circumference of the hollow body or bladder 1 is essentially shaped as a horseshoe. The valve 2 is arranged at the rear end of the bladder, i.e. the end of the bladder which is to be found at the rear end of the hoof 3 when the hoof pad is mounted on the hoof 3, as shown in FIG. 2. According to this preferred embodiment, the bladder 1 is arranged in a space between the hoof 3 and an outsole 4 which is connected to the horseshoe 5 along flange 13. Preferably, the connection of the outsole 4 with the horseshoe 5 continuously extends from one end to the other of the horseshoe 5. The connection preferably is a glue joint. A solution according to the above-mentioned prior art technique does net function in practice, since the bladder comes loose, in any case at the rear portions of the horseshoe where it is only squeezed between the horseshoe and the hoof, owing to the forces arising as the horse moves. A
REFERENCES:
patent: 28473 (1860-05-01), Hale
patent: 594080 (1897-11-01), Hennessy
patent: 646148 (1900-03-01), Kent
patent: 809144 (1906-01-01), Singleton
patent: 895994 (1908-08-01), Fawkes
patent: 1100670 (1914-06-01), Curley
patent: 4573538 (1986-03-01), Figueras
LandOfFree
Hoof pad does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Hoof pad, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Hoof pad will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-794994