1988-12-05
1991-02-19
Swiatek, Robert P.
Farriery
Shoes
168DIG1, A01L 500
Patent
active
049934945
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a horseshoe conformed substantially to the U-shaped sole of the hoof and having a reinforcing insert of a flexible material and a portion which encloses the insert and is made of an elastic friction material.
Prior art horseshoes mainly aim at providing better friction to various substrates and making the shoe lighter. It has also been endeavoured to provide a non-skid shoe, see for example DE Offenlegungsschrift No. 3,219,091 or DE Offenlegungsschrift No. 2,604,607. The main problem is, however, the fixation of the nails for attaching the shoe. When the horse is moving, the nails waggle concurrently with the deformation of the elastic material and eventually break owing to fatigue. Also various types of metal insert have been tried but, because of the shape of the insert, the hammer used for adjusting and attaching the shoes has created fissures in the material surrounding the insert.
The main object of the horseshoe according to the invention is to reduce the risk of injuries to the horse as a consequence of its slipping in stables or on hard roadways and to provide the horse with a permanent soft support which resembles the natural sole. Since slipping on hard concrete or asphalt substrates frequently causes sprained muscles or fractures which heal very slowly or, perhaps, never at all, such a shoe has long been keenly desired, especially by turf people.
A further object of the horseshoe according to the invention is to reduce the risk of fire in stables with concrete floors, where conventional metal horseshoes easily generate sparks when the horse paws the floor.
Another object of the horseshoe according to the invention is to reduce the risk of self-inflicted injuries to the horse, such as when the horse is galloping or trotting and strikes one foot against the other. Also the risk of injuries which grazing horses cause each other by kicking, can be reduced by means of this shoe.
A still further object is to provide a horseshoe which is easily formable by hand and which comprises an insert which, when the nails for fixing the shoe are driven into the hoof, safely guides and fixes the nails in the shoe. This is achieved in that the nail guides taper, and in that the shoe surface engaging the hoof is also covered by an elastic material to prevent the shoe from sliding on the hoof. Furthermore, the shoe can be more easily attached as compared with presentday shoes and may in special cases, e.g. for cross-country racing, also be glued to the rear parts of the hoof, the so-called quarters.
To achieve these objects, the horseshoe according to the invention is characterised in that the insert is narrower than the width of the U-shaped sole of the hoof such that thrust, shock and shear loads are elastically absorbed by the portion enclosing the insert.
The shoe according to the invention reduces the risk of slipping in stables and on concrete or asphalt type substrates, and at the same time the horse is given a permanent soft support which resembles the natural sole and is easy on the joints. The reduced risk of slipping also means less risk of sprained muscles and other injuries. The fact that the shoe according to the invention is much softer than conventional shoes also reduces the risk of injuries due to trampling. The shoe can also be more easily attached to the hoof than conventional metal shoes, mainly because it is easier to adjust.
The invention will be described in greater detail below, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which
FIG. 1 is a view of the shoe as seen from underneath,
FIGS. 2a and 2b are sections along line II--II in FIG. 1, with and without an attachment member as described below,
FIG. 3 is a section along line III--III in FIG. 1, and shows an alternative to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2a, b.
FIG. 4 is a lateral view of the insert and shows two alternative embodiments,
FIG. 5 is a lateral view of a heel calk attached to the shoe, and
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view along line VI--VI in FIG. 1 and shows an alternative embodiment of the
REFERENCES:
patent: 922408 (1909-05-01), Fawkes
patent: 924790 (1909-06-01), Kane
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