AU2021204445A1

AU2021204445A1 - Horseshoe

Info

Publication number: AU2021204445A1
Application number: AU2021204445A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Michiel Petrus M. KERCKHAERT
Original assignee: Kerckhaert Hoefijzerfabriek
Current assignee: Kerckhaert Hoefijzerfabriek
Priority date: 2020-07-02
Filing date: 2021-06-29
Publication date: 2022-01-20
Also published as: GB202109639D0; GB2598659B; NL2025978B1; GB2598659A

Abstract

Aluminium horseshoe (1) that is provided with two branches (6a and 6b) that are connected to each other by means of a toe section (7), whereby the horseshoe (1) is provided with an upperside (3) which is intended to be mounted against a hoof (2) and the underside (4) which is intended to make contact with the ground and is provided with an outer edge (9) and an inner edge (8) which connect the underside (4) to the upperside (3), and whereby the horseshoe (1) is provided on the underside (4) of the toe section (7) with a reinforcing rib (10) which is provided at a radial distance from the outer edge (9) of the toe section (7) and is made from a material with a greater hardness than that of the aluminium of the horseshoe (1), wherein in the underside (4) of the toe section (7) an additional reinforcing rib (11) is provided at a radial distance from the outer edge (9) of the toe section (7) which is greater than the radial distance from the first mentioned reinforcing rib (10) and at a radial distance therefrom to form a groove (12), whereby said additional reinforcing rib (11) is made from a material with a greater hardness than the material from which the horseshoe (1) is made, and whereby both reinforcing ribs (10, 11) are made as a one-piece insert (15) with a U-shaped cross-section with legs oriented toward the underside (4) of the horseshoe (1). A /0 1,3-

Description

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Horseshoe.

The present invention relates to a horseshoe, particularly

a horseshoe provided with one or more reinforcing ribs in

the base of the horseshoe.

It is known that a horseshoe is used to shod a horse's

hooves, among other things, to prevent damage to the

hooves.

Traditionally, a horseshoe has an upperside that is

intended to be mounted to the hoof and an underside which

comes into contact with the ground and is provided with an

inner edge and an outer edge, whereby the radially

innermost edge is called the inner edge and the radially

outermost edge is called the outer edge of the horseshoe.

Furthermore, a horseshoe, made of aluminium, has a U-shape

with a number of holes for horseshoe nails on the underside

such that the horseshoe can be mounted to the hoof.

These classic horseshoes possess various limitations for

racehorses, chiefly concerning the grip a racehorse shod

with such classic horseshoes experiences.

A disadvantage is that with the classic horseshoes the

horse has little grip when the ground is wet or when the

horse has to take a sharp turn during racing, such that

there is a high risk of both the horse and the jockey

falling, possibly resulting in injuries and harm.

Another disadvantage is that the classic aluminium

horseshoes wear out relatively quickly in racehorses such

that racehorses have to go to the farrier every 4 to 5

weeks.

In addition, horseshoes also exist which were developed for

racehorses such that they have more grip on the ground,

such horseshoes being provided with a downwardly protruding

outer edge.

However, the use of such horseshoes during a horse race is

not permitted in various countries.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a

solution to the aforementioned and other disadvantages.

To this end, the invention relates to an aluminium

horseshoe that is provided with two branches that are

connected by means of a toe section, whereby the horseshoe

is provided with an upperside which is intended to be

mounted against a hoof and the underside which is intended

to make contact with the ground and is provided with an

outer edge and an inner edge which connect the underside to

the upperside, and whereby the horseshoe is provided on the

underside of the toe section with a reinforcing rib which

is provided at a radial distance from the outer edge of the

toe section and is made from a material with a greater

hardness than that of the aluminium of the horseshoe,

characterised in that in the underside of the toe section

an additional reinforcing rib is provided at a radial

distance from the outer edge of the toe section which is greater than the radial distance from the first mentioned reinforcing rib and at a radial distance therefrom to form a groove, whereby said additional reinforcing rib is made from a material with a greater hardness than the material from which the horseshoe is made, and whereby both reinforcing ribs are made as a one-piece insert with a U shaped cross-section with legs oriented toward the underside of the horseshoe.

A big advantage of said horseshoe type according to the invention is that the horse has a much better grip on the ground.

The reason for this is that the reinforcing ribs in the toe section extend at least into the plane of the underside and preferably extend with a section that protrudes in a downward direction from the underside.

The reinforcing ribs in the toe section have a curved form which runs practically parallel with the outer edge of the toe section and lie mutually parallel from each other, whereby the reinforcing ribs are separated from each other by means of a groove.

An advantage of said groove is that the horseshoe will wear out less quickly and the horse's grip on the ground is improved.

In a preferred embodiment said inner edge and outer edge on the underside of the horseshoe are located in the same tread.

In a practical embodiment the reinforcing ribs are made of

steel with a hardness expressed in Hardness Rockwell B

(HRB) of at least 80 HRB, more preferably of at least 90

HRB and most preferably of 100 HRB, whereby a material with

a hardness HRB 100 is harder than a material with a

hardness HRB 80.

Furthermore, the branches of the horseshoe are each

provided with a groove with nail holes which extends up to

a distance from the free end of the branches and which is

interrupted on the level of the toe section, whereby the

reinforcing ribs extend over the entire length or

practically the entire length in the interrupted section.

The inner edge of the horseshoe is provided along the

underside with a chamfer or cavity, whereby the additional

reinforcing rib extends along the edge of the chamfer or

cavity between the inner and outer edges of the horseshoe.

The additional reinforcing rib offers the advantage that it

is more robust against wear and tear due to its hardness

and consequently increases the wear resistance of the

horseshoe.

In a preferred embodiment both reinforcing ribs in the toe

section are made as a one-piece insert with a U-shaped

cross-section whereby the legs are oriented toward the

underside of the horseshoe and whereby the foot of the

reinforcing rib is provided with a protrusion and/or a cut

away with which the insert is mounted in the horseshoe.

An advantage of this is that the insert is firmly embedded in the aluminium of the horseshoe such that the reinforcing rib does not easily come loose and is lost.

In a practical embodiment, the horseshoe, in addition to said reinforcing rib in the toe section, is also provided with an additional reinforcing rib in the section without groove of at least one branch of the horseshoe, whereby the reinforcing ribs extend in the branches to at least the underside of the plane or extend with a section that protrudes in a downward direction from the underside and have a curved form which runs practically parallel with the outer edge of the branches of the horseshoe.

An advantage of said reinforcing ribs in the branches of the horseshoe is that they contribute to a better grip on the ground and in this way increase the horse's safety.

Preferably, the reinforcing ribs in the branches of the horseshoe are made of a material, for example but not restricted to steel, with a hardness greater than that of aluminium.

An added advantage of said reinforcing ribs, made of such material, is that they wear out less quickly and in this way increase the wear resistance of the horseshoe.

The positive consequence of the greater wear resistance of said horseshoe type is that horses have to go to the farrier less often, which not only offers an economic advantage but also has a positive influence on the horse's mental state of health.

With the intention of better showing the characteristics of the invention, a preferred embodiment of a horseshoe according to the invention is described hereinafter, by way of an example without any limiting nature, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

figure 1 shows a shod hoof with a horseshoe according to the invention; figure 2 schematically shows a bottom view of a horseshoe according to the invention; figure 3 shows a cross-section of an insert in the toe section of a horseshoe from figure 1 according to line III-III; figure 4 shows a cross-section of an insert in a branch of a horseshoe from figure 1 according to line IV-IV; figure 5 shows consecutive steps for a method according to the invention.

Figure 1 shows a horseshoe 1 mounted under a hoof 2 of a horse whereby the upperside 3 of the horseshoe 1 is the contact surface with the sole of the hoof 2 and the underside 4 is in contact with the ground.

The horseshoe 1 according to the invention, as shown in figure 2, in this embodiment essentially consists of a U shaped element 5 the branches 6 of which are connected by means of a toe section 7 and are each other's mirror image.

The radially innermost edge 8 of the tread of the horseshoe

1 is the inner edge 8 while the radially outermost edge 9

of the horseshoe 1 is the outer edge 9.

Preferably, said inner edge 8 and outer edge 9 are located

on the underside 4 of the horseshoe 1 in the same tread.

In other words, the outer edge 9 does not protrude from the

underside 4 of the horseshoe 1 in a downward direction more

than the inner edge 8 does.

The toe section 7 on the underside 4 of the horseshoe 1 is

provided with a reinforcing rib 10, located at a radial

distance A from the outer edge 9, and an additional

reinforcing rib 11, located at a radial distance B from the

outer edge 9 which is greater than that of the first

mentioned reinforcing rib 10, which are located relative to

each other at a radial distance C from each other, in other

words, the reinforcing ribs 10 and 11 in the toe section 7

are separated from each other by means of a groove 12.

On the underside 4 the horseshoe 1 is provided with a

reinforcing rib 10 which extends along the outer edge 9 of

the horseshoe 1 and with an additional reinforcing rib 11

on the inner edge 8 extending along said edge.

On its inner edge 8 along the underside 4, the horseshoe 1

is provided with a chamfer or cavity 13, whereby the

additional reinforcing rib 11 extends along the edge of the chamfer or cavity 13 between the inner 14 and outer 9 edges of the horseshoe 1.

The reinforcing ribs 10 and 11 in the toe section 7 lie parallel with each other and have a curved form which runs practically parallel with the outer edge 9 of the toe section 7.

The reinforcing ribs 10 and 11 in the toe section 7 of the horseshoe 1 are made of a material with a greater hardness than that of aluminium, such as for example steel.

Preferably, the reinforcing ribs 10 and 11 are made as an insert 15 consisting of one piece with a U-shaped cross section whereby the legs are oriented toward the underside 4 of the horseshoe 1 and whereby the reinforcing ribs 10 and 11 are made from steel with a hardness expressed in Rockwell hardness B (HRB) of at least 80 HRB, more preferably at least 90 HRB and most preferably at least 100 HRB, whereby a material with a hardness HRB 100 is harder than a material with a hardness HRB 80.

This insert, prior to mounting in the horseshoe to be formed, is first hardened to a hardness between 48 and 50 HRC, to then be pressed into the horseshoe to be formed before the horseshoe is formed during production, in which phase of production the hardness of the insert decreases to 39 to 42 HRC.

The horseshoe 1 is forged such that the foot of the reinforcing ribs 10 and 11, provided with a protrusion 22 or cut-away, is enclosed in the material of the horseshoe 1.

Each branch 6a and 6b of the horseshoe 1 contains a groove 16 with nail holes 17 which reaches up to the toe section 7 and is interrupted there, whereby the reinforcing ribs 10 and 11 extend over the entire length D or practically the entire length D of the interrupted section 18.

In addition, the grooves 16a and 16b in the branches 6a and 6b extend up to a distance E from the free ends 19 of the branches 6 of the horseshoe 1, whereby at least one branch 6a or 6b is provided with at least one or two additional reinforcing ribs 20 in the section 21 of the branch 6a or 6b without grooves 16.

The reinforcing ribs 20 in the branches 6 of the horseshoe 1 extend up to at least the underside 4 of the plane or with a section protruding in a downward direction from the underside 4, whereby the reinforcing ribs 20 preferably possess a curved form which runs practically parallel with the outer edge 9 of the branches 6 of the horseshoe 1.

Preferably, the described reinforcing ribs 10, 11, 20 in the underside 4 of the horseshoe 1 are made of a material with a hardness greater than that of aluminium such as for example but not exclusively steel.

The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a horseshoe 1 according to the invention, as shown in figure 5.

A full tube 23 or rod, for example from aluminium, is first

curved into the typical U-shape of the horseshoe 1.

The preformed horseshoe 24 can then be heated in a furnace

25, after which the heated preformed horseshoe 26 can be

put in a press 27 and pressed to provide the heated

preformed horseshoe 26 with the desired forms and/or

openings.

In this case the heated preformed horseshoe 26 is provided

on the underside 4 with an opening 28 in which the double

insert 15 is mounted.

The horseshoe with double insert 29 will then be forged at

a temperature of for example 400 degrees, after which the

forged horseshoe with double insert 30 is put in a press 31

and pressed into the desired forms and dimensions.

After pressing the forged horseshoe with double insert 30,

the insert 15 is, at least on the sides, surrounded by the

material of the horseshoe 1, such that the insert 15 is

clamped in the forged horseshoe with double insert 30.

Thus the material of the horseshoe 1 can, for example,

penetrate in the cut-aways 22 of the insert 15.

The end product, i.e. the forged horseshoe with the double

insert 30, forms a stable whole, whereby the double insert

15 does not come loose easily, does not often break and can

move little to none in the horseshoe 1, 30.

The present invention is by no means limited to the

embodiments described as an example and shown in the

figures, but a horseshoe according to the invention can be

realised in all kinds of forms and dimensions without

departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

Claims.

1.- Aluminium horseshoe (1) that is provided with two

branches (6a and 6b) that are connected to each other by

means of a toe section (7), whereby the horseshoe (1) is

provided with an upperside (3) which is intended to be

mounted against a hoof (2) and the underside (4) which is

intended to make contact with the ground and is provided

with an outer edge (9) and an inner edge (8) which connect

the underside (4) to the upperside (3), and whereby the

horseshoe (1) is provided on the underside (4) of the toe

section (7) with a reinforcing rib (10) which is provided

at a radial distance from the outer edge (9) of the toe

section (7) and is made from a material with a greater

hardness than that of the aluminium of the horseshoe (1),

characterised in that in the underside (4) of the toe

section (7) an additional reinforcing rib (11) is provided

at a radial distance from the outer edge (9) of the toe

section (7) which is greater than the radial distance from

the first mentioned reinforcing rib (10) and at a radial

distance therefrom to form a groove (12), whereby said

additional reinforcing rib (11) is made from a material

with a greater hardness than the material from which the

horseshoe (1) is made, and whereby both reinforcing ribs

(10, 11) are made as a one-piece insert (15) with a U

shaped cross-section with legs oriented toward the

underside (4) of the horseshoe (1).

2.- Horseshoe according to claim 1, characterised in that

the reinforcing ribs (10, 11) are executed in the form of one or more inserts (15) which are embedded in the aluminium of the horseshoe (1) and which preferably extend at least into the plane of the underside (4) or with a section protruding from the underside (4) in a downward direction.

3.- Horseshoe according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the inner edge (8) and the outer edge (9) on the underside (4) of the horseshoe (1) lie in the same tread.

4.- Horseshoe according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that the reinforcing ribs (10, 11) lie parallel with each other and have a curved form which runs practically parallel with the outer edge (9) of the toe section (7).

5.- Horseshoe according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that the reinforcing ribs (10, 11, 20) are made from steel with a hardness expressed in Rockwell hardness B (HRB) of at least 80 HRB, more preferably at least 90 HRB and most preferably at least 100 HRB, whereby a material with a hardness HRB 100 is harder than a material with a hardness HRB 80.

6.- Horseshoe according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that the horseshoe (1) is provided with a chamfer or cavity (13) on its inner edge (8) of the tread along the underside (4), whereby the additional reinforcing rib (11) extends along the inner edge (8) of the chamfer or cavity (13) between the inner edge (8) and outer edge (9) of the horseshoe (1).

7.- Horseshoe according to claim 2, characterised in that

one or more inserts (15) are forged in the aluminium of the

horseshoe (1), whereby the foot of one or more inserts (15)

of the reinforcing ribs (10, 11) is provided with a

protrusion (22) or a cut-away (22) with which the

reinforcing ribs (10, 11) are enclosed in the material of

the horseshoe (1).

8.- Horseshoe according to any one of the previous claims,

characterised in that the branches (6) of the horseshoe (1)

are provided with a groove (16) with nail holes which are

interrupted on the level of the toe section (7), whereby

the reinforcing ribs (10, 11) extend over the entire length

D or practically the entire length D of the interrupted

section.

9.- Horseshoe according to claim 8, characterised in that

the grooves (16) in the branches (6) extend up to a

distance E from the free ends (19) of the branches (6) of

the horseshoe (1) up to a section without grooves (16),

whereby at least one branch (6a or 6b) is provided with at

least one or two additional reinforcing ribs (20) in the

section of the branch (6a or 6b) without grooves (16a or

16b), said reinforcing ribs (20) being made from a material

with a hardness greater than that of the material of the

horseshoe (6).

10.- Horseshoe according to claim 8 or 9, characterised in that the at least one or two reinforcing ribs (20) in the branches (6) of the horseshoe (1) extend to at least the underside (4) of the plane or extend with a section that protrudes from the underside (4) in a downward direction and have a curved form which runs practically parallel with the outer edge (9) of the branches (6) of the horseshoe (1).

11.- Horseshoe according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that the reinforcing ribs (10, 11, 20) in the horseshoe contain a hardness of at least thirty-nine hardness Rockwell C (HRC), more preferably at least forty two HRC and most preferably at least forty-seven HRC.