Patent ID: 6883615

Claim:
A gripping device for attachment to the bottom surface of a horse's hoof to spread the shock evenly upon the hoof engaging a contacting surface and taking pressure off the wall of the hoof, the device comprising: a generally planar shock absorbing pad of elastomeric material, the pad having an outer periphery conforming to the outer periphery of the horse's hoof and an upper surface adapted to face towards and cover substantially all of the bottom surface of the hoof, and a gripping member for improving the grip between a horse's hoof and the contacting surface, the gripping member being integrally formed and including a generally flat plate, a raised traction element for contacting the ground, and at least one raised clip for engaging the front outer periphery of the horse's hoof, the plate being embedded in the pad of elastomeric material, the traction element being positioned centrally of the pad whereby to overlie the frog of the horse's hoof and extending upwardly and outwardly from the elastomer in a direction away from the upper surface, and the clip extending upwardly and outwardly from the outer periphery of the pad and in a direction opposite to the traction element.