HORSE SHOE

Abstract: A nailless horse shoe comprising a resilient mate­ rial is disclosed. The horse shoe comprises a curved body, an upwardly projecting tab and downwardly depend­ ing projections and gripper. Additional strength is provided by use of a curved member embedded in the body having a high strength to weight ratio.

Description: This invention relates in general to a horse shoe, and, more particularly, to a resiliently flexible horse shoe capable of absorbing severe shocks and preventing lacerations to the horse, other horses or to riders. Persons familiar with the handling of horses, particularly horses used in racing and the like, have long been aware of the need for a better horse shoe. It is well-known that the legs of horses, and particularly their ankles, tendons, knees and shoulders, are frequently injured by the shocks incurred from impact of their hooves with relatively hard surfaces, especially during competition. Another serious problem created by existing horse shoes involves the painful and crippling lacerations often produced in one leg of a horse by the edge of a horse shoe on the hoof of another leg. Resilient horse shoes are known; see e.g., US-A-152,975, US-A-3,302,723, US-A-1,946,636, US-A-3,513,915, US-A-3,050,133 and US-A-586,558. These horse shoes all suffer various difficulties which render them unsuitable for use with racing horses. For example, some of the horse shoes require nails for attachment, which introduces the possibility of accidental nailing injuries. Other horse shoes do not adequately protect the hoof; an unprotected hoof may inflict a horse's legs with bruises, cuts and contusions during the course of a horse race. Thus, there remains a need for a light weight, resilient horse shoe which can stand up to the rigors brought on by racing competition. The aim of the present invention is to overcome the above drawbacks and to provide a lightweight, nailless resilient horse shoe suitable for use in racing and provided with a protection of the out- side edge of the hoof. According to the invention there is now proposed a horse shoe comprising a resilient curved body having an upper surface adapted to receive a horse's hoof and resilient tap means projecting upwardly and adapted to clampingly engage an outer surface of a horse's hoof and to position said horse shoe on said hoof, said upper surface of said horse shoe and the engaging surface of said tab means being adapted to receive a bonding means, at least said upper surface being provided with a plurality of openings for receiving said bonding means, a reinforcing member being embedded into the body of the horse shoe, the lower surface of the body being provided with a plurality of downwardly depending projections, said lower surface further including a downwardly depending gripper portion, characterized in that the reinforcing member is a curved member constituted of a material having a high strength to weight ratio, the curved embedded member comprising a downwardly depending portion integrally formed with the member and embedded into said downwardly depending gripper portion. Preferably the tap means, the downwardly depending projections and the downwardly depending gripper portion are integrally formed with said body. In one preferred arrangement the resilient body comprises polyurethane and said embedded member comprises a light weight metal or plastic. The horse shoe of the invention requires no nailing and therefore eliminates the possibility of accidental nailing injuries. The horse shoe is further equipped with a "lip", or tab means, which fits around the outside of the hoof, and further lessens injuries by protecting the horse's legs. Finally, the use of a resilient material, in which is embedded a curved member having a high strength to weight ratio, provides a horse shoe that is approximately 30% lighter than the metal racing shoes presently in use, thereby providing support while at the same time providing adequate resiliency to protect the horse's legs and the jockey and to cushion the shock of racing. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the horse shoe of the invention; FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the horse shoe; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1; and FIG. 5 is a side elevational view similar to that of FIG. 2 but depicting an alternative embodiment. Referring now to the drawing wherein like numerals of reference refer to like elements throughout, the horse shoe of the invention is generally depicted at 10. The horse shoe 10 comprises a resilient curved body 12 having an upper surface 14 adapted to receive the bottom of a horse's hoof (not shown). A resilient tab means 16 projects upwardly. The tab means 16 is adapted to clampingly engage an outer surface of a horse's hoof and to aid in positioning the horse shoe 10 on the hoof. The upper surface 14 of the horse shoe 10 and the inside surface 18 of the tab 16 are adapted to receive a bonding means, such as a suitable epoxy (not shown), for bonding the horse shoe 10 to a horse's hoof. In this connection, at least the upper surface 14 is provided with a series of openings 20, into which epoxy may flow and provide additional holding strength. For added strength, a curved member 22 is embedded in the body 12 of the horse shoe 10. The openings 20 terminate at the top of the curved member 22, as seen in FIG. 3. The curved member 22 comprises a material having a high strength to weight ratio and may comprise a light weight metal such as aluminum or any of the well-known high strength plastics. The fabrication of an embedded member in a resilient material itself is well-known and hence forms no part of this invention. The curved body 12 is provided with a lower surface 24 which in turn is provided with a plurality of downwardly depending projections 26 having a conical shape. Further, in the forward region 28 of the horse shoe, a downwardly depending gripper means 30 is provided. The extent of the projections 26 and gripper means 30 is approximately the same, in order to provide stability for the horse. The purpose of the downwardly depending gripper 30 is to provide added stability and grip of the horse's hoof. To provide added support of the gripper means, the curved embedded member 22 may include a downwardly depending portion 22a integrally formed with the member 22. For improved traction, a pair of rear projections 27 may be made a bit longer than the intermediate projections 26. Also, the gripper means 30 may be of a length intermediate that of projections 26 and 28 to provide three point stability and to tip the hoof slightly forward. For further reduced weight and ease of fitting the horse shoe 10 onto the hoof of a horse, the middle part of the tab means 16 may be omitted, leaving a forward portion 16a and two rear portions 16b (one of which is seen in side elevational view in FIG. 5). Preferably, the lip 16, the downwardly depending projections 26 and 27 and downwardly depending gripper 30 are integrally formed with the body 12. The resilient material may comprise any of the natural or synthetic rubbers or hard rubbers, as well as suitable plastics such as polyurethanes and the like. The use of a horse shoe which requires no nailing eliminates the possibility of accidental nailing injuries. These problems are wide-spread throughout the horse and racing industry and have cost race horse owners millions of dollars. The well-known "Quarter Crack" (a severe crack in the hoof) could be virtually eliminated as well as could many other problems caused by nerve or other tissue injuries to the hoof area incurred during nailing. The horse shoe of the invention, being equipped with upwardly projecting resilient tab 16, fits around the outside edge of the hoof. This further reduces the possibilities of injuries by protecting the horse's legs, which are often inflicted with bruises, cuts and contusions during the course of a horse race - a brutal experience for an expensive horse. Use of a resilient material in the horse shoe adds to the protection of the horse's legs in preventing injury to itself or another horse during the course of a horse race. Injuries to jockeys are also expected to be reduced, inasmuch as the resilient horse shoe is likely to cause less bodily harm than hard metal horse shoes. Further, the resilient cushion of the horse shoe lends itself to the reduction of pain and stiffness of the shin and other leg ailments caused by the jarring motion of running. The horse shoe of the invention is approximately 30% lighter than metal shoes currently in use, and it is conceivable that use of a lighter horse shoe will enable a horse to achieve a faster speed. The horse shoe of the invention is attached to the hoof of the horse by means of a suitable epoxy. Removal of the horse shoe is done by the use of nippers, which are inserted between the embedded member 22 and the horse's hoof. The small amount of resilient material which remains intact can be easily filed away. Thus, there has been disclosed a horse shoe comprising a resilient material suitable for use with racing horses and in other forms of competition where it is desired to minimize injury to the horse.

Claims: 1. A horse shoe (10) comprising a resilient curved body (12) having an upper surface (14) adapted to receive a horse's hoof and resilient tab means (16) projecting upwardly and adapted to clampingly engage an outer surface of a horse's hoof and to position said horse shoe on said hoof, said upper surface (14) of said horse shoe (10) and the engaging surface of said tab means (16) being adapted to receive a bonding means, at least said upper surface (14) being provided with a plurality of openings (20) for receiving said bonding means, a reinforcing member being embedded into the body (12) of the horse shoe (10), the lower surface (24) of the body (12) being provided with a plurality of downwardly depending projections (26), (27), said lower surface (24) further including a downwardly depending gripper portion (30), characterized in that the reinforcing member (22) is a curved member constituted of a material having a high strength to weight ratio, the curved embedded member (22) comprising a downwardly depending portion (22a) integrally formed with the member (22) and embedded into said downwardly depending gripper portion (30). 2. The horse shoe according to claim 1, characterized in that said tab means, said downwardly depending projections and said downwardly depending gripper portion are integrally formed with said body. 3. The horse shoe of any of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said resilient body comprises polyurethane. 4. The horse shoe of any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said embedded member comprises a light weight metal or plastic. 5. The horse shoe of claim 4, characterized in that said embedded member comprises aluminum.

Inventors: CAMERON, KENNETH A.
Applicants: CAMERON, KENNETH A.
Application year: 1987
Main classification: A01L3
IPC codes: A01L3, A01L5