NO343887B1

NO343887B1 - Horse shoe

Info

Publication number: NO343887B1
Application number: NO20170425A
Authority: NO
Inventors: Bendik Bø
Original assignee: Inventu As
Priority date: 2017-03-20
Filing date: 2017-03-20
Publication date: 2019-07-01
Also published as: NO20170425A1

Description

Ambit of the Invention

The present invention concerns the construction and structure of a horse shoe, particularly a horse shoe for racing horses. A horse shoe according to the invention is a horse shoe made of metal or a metal alloy of a size being designed to fit a horse’s hoof and including a number of apertures for nails or rivets for securing the horse shoe to a horse’s hoof, the horse shoe including an underside being made to come into contact with the ground and a top side being made to come into contact with the horse’s hoof, and including a front end and two rear ends, said rear ends being present to support the heel of the horse’s hoof, wherein at least the surface of the rear ends of the horse shoe facing the horse’s hoof being made of a harder metal than the rest of the body of the horse shoe. In one embodiment the rear ends of the horse shoe are equipped with a tempered and polished metal surface of a harder metal than the rest of the horse shoe. Particularly a horse shoe according to the present invention is made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy wherein the heel sections of the horse shoe include a layer of steel or tempered steel facing the hoof, the surface of said steel or tempered steel sections being flat and optionally polished for providing a surface with a reduced traction against the heel sections of the hoof.

Background for the Invention

A horse’s hoof is a complex organ evolved for carrying the weight of the horse and including a host of structures which operate in equilibrium with each other to form a hoof capsule which is able to withstand huge forces, utilizing energy to assist with forward movement while providing protection to the sensitive structures beneath. The hoof is a live organ being adapted to withstand the forces from the ground exerted on the hoof.

During the domestication of the horse as a species several inventions have been made to accommodate the horse to the rider’s needs as well as for improving the horse’s health and wellbeing as well as catering to its intended tasks. Among such inventions it may be mentioned inter alia the saddle, stirrups, yokes in different shapes, bridles and horse shoes.

A horse shoe has as one of its purposes to protect the hoof against injury, prolonging the term where the hoof is healthy, while providing good traction between the ground and the hoof.

A hoof is from nature equipped with a hoof wall with little or no nerves partly surrounding the threading structures of the hoof. The hoof wall is a live structure normally being worn down through contact with the ground, and it is through this hoof wall a horse shoe is nailed or riveted. Since the horse shoe thus is taking over the task of being the object between the ground and the hoof, the horse shoe has to be inspected for damage and wear and has from time to time to be replaced with a new horse shoe.

Since a horse shoe has to withstand such wear and external forces, a horse shoe has normally been made of a hard and rigid substance such as a metal or metal alloy, e.g. iron, steel or tempered steel, but such materials are heavy and are sometimes not suitable for the horse’s tasks. For e.g. racing horses it is of importance that the horse is a fast runner, and for improving the speed of the horse the horse’s shoes are in such circumstances made of a light-weight metal such as aluminum or an aluminum alloy. Aluminum is also selected for this purpose on account of its availability and its low price. However, aluminum is a soft metal and horse shoes made of this material have to be inspected regularly for damage.

As mentioned supra the hoof is a live organ, and many of its structures are supple and move elastically when forces are exerted upon them. One of these structures is the heel of the hoof. The heel of the hoof will, when loaded, move slightly and will return to its initial position when unloaded. This has as a consequence that there will arise rear sections in the horse shoe where the metal is worn down faster than the rest of the shoe in the heel areas of the shoe facing the hoof. Eventually, the horse shoe is worn down in these areas to the extent that the shoe becomes painful for the horse to wear, and replacing the horse shoe will not remedy this situation, particularly if the heels of the hoof have become inflamed.

Prior Art

The above-described problem has been observed, particularly in relation to racing horses or horses used for sports, e.g. polo where the horse has to be fast and maneuverable. In an attempt to remedy this problem, prior art horse shoes have been added heel sections made of and/or provided with a layer of a resilient material between the hoof and the horse shoe. However, such a soft and resilient layer only compounds the problem, since such a soft material is worn away in the relevant sections even more quickly than the aluminum material.

There thus remains a need for a horse shoe that solves the problem of heel wear between the hoof and the horse shoe, while simultaneously not adding any significant weight to the horse shoe.

According to the present invention this problem is solved by providing the horse shoe with an end section including a hard surface, preferably with a smoother surface, facing the hoof heel. A harder material in this section of the horse shoe will prevent the wearing down of the horse shoe and will provide a smoother surface facing the heel of the hoof making it easier for the heel sections to move or slide against the upper surface of the horse shoe accommodating the natural movement of the hoof heel during the horse’s gait.

A better understanding of the present invention will be provided with reference to the enclosed figure showing an embodiment of a horse shoe according to the invention.

A horse shoe according to the invention comprises a horse shoe body 1 being adjusted to fit the relevant hoof (hoofs having different sizes depending inter alia on the horse breed and the age of the horse) protecting the hoof wall and being nailed or riveted to the underside of the hoof wall by nails or rivets passing through a number of holes 2 running mainly parallel to the circumference of the horse shoe body 1. The location and size of these holes 2 are known to the person skilled in the art, and do not differ from such conventional holes. The rear ends of the horse shoe 3 are the sections coming into contact with the heel of the hoof. The horse shoe according to the invention is equipped, at least in the heel sections 3 of the horse shoe, with a harder metal than the horse shoe body 1. The heel sections 3 of the horse shoe according to the invention run along those parts of the horse shoe that require movement of the hoof heel against the horse shoe, and represent in general each 1/4 of the circumference of the horse shoe or less, e.g. 1/5, 1/6, or 1/7 of the circumference of the horse shoe. It is normally not required that the heel sections 3 of the horse shoe including the harder material according to the invention combined is less than 1/10 of the total circumference of the horse shoe.

In one alternative embodiment the horse shoe includes at its front section 4 a front lip for abutting against the hoof wall. This lip is not required for the function of the horse shoe according to the invention, but will assist in positioning the horseshoe on the hoof when shoeing the horse, and will also provide some protection to the front hoof wall.

A horse shoe according to the present invention includes a shoe body 1 equipped with heel sections 3 being made entirely of a harder metal than the shoe body, but may also include heel sections 3 equipped with a layer of a harder metal than the shoe body 1 or may in an alternative embodiment include a layer of a harder metal running on top of the entire shoe.

Since one of the intentions behind the present invention is to reduce the chafing of the heel section of the hoof against the rear ends 3 of the horse shoe, it is possible in one specific embodiment to introduce a lubricant between the hoof heel and the rear ends 3 of the horse shoe. Such a lubricant may comprise grease and/or oil of a natural or synthetic nature, provided the lubricant is of a non-allergic and dermatologically acceptable nature. Such a lubricant may be of a semi-solid or liquid nature. The lubricant may be applied only in the heel regions 3 or alternatively over parts or the entire horse shoe in the junction between the hoof and the horse shoe. It is particularly preferred to introduce the lubricant in the sections of the horse shoe including the harder metal. The lubricant may be a pure substance or a combination of lubricating substances.

Examples

Example 1:

This example relates to a horse shoe for a racing horse with the age of 3 years. A horse shoe according to the invention meant to be worn under one of the front hoofs of the horse, being made of aluminum, is made as a semi-circular structure with an internal diameter of about 6-7 cm and with a width of about 1-1.5 cm and with a thickness of the horse shoe of about 1 cm. This horse shoe is at both its rear ends equipped with a layer of steel material with a smooth surface facing the hoof heel running about 4 cm on the top surface of the horse shoe and having a thickness of about 0.2 cm.

Example 2:

This example relates to a horse shoe as described in Example 1, but wherein the entire top surface of the steel sections is polished.

Example 3:

This example relates to a horse shoe for a working horse, wherein the size of the shoe is as specified in Example 1, but where the shoe is entirely made of iron, and with heel sections of tempered steel with polished surfaces.

Claims

C l a i m s

1. A horse shoe (1) made of metal or a metal alloy of a size being designed to fit a horse’s hoof and including a number of apertures (2) for nails or rivets for securing the horse shoe to the horse’s hoof, the horse shoe (1) including an underside being made to come into contact with the ground and a top side being made to come into contact with the horse’s hoof, and including a front (4) end and two rear ends (3), said rear ends (3) being present to support the heel of the horse’s hoof,

c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that at least the surface of the rear ends (3) of the horse shoe facing the horse’s hoof being made of a harder metal than the rest of the body of the horse shoe (1).

2. A horse shoe according to claim 1,

c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the rear ends (3) of the horse shoe are equipped with an upper surface in the form of a layer facing the heel of the horse’s hoof, said layer being made of a material being harder than the horse shoe body (1).

3. A horse shoe according to any of the preceding claims,

c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the surface of the rear ends (3) of the horse shoe is polished.

4. A horse shoe according to any of the claims 1 – 3,

c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the horse shoe body is made of aluminum.

5. A horse shoe according to claim 4,

c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the rear ends (3) of the horse shoe include a metal harder than aluminum, e.g. iron, steel or tempered steel.

6. A horse shoe according to any of the preceding claims,

c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the rear ends (3) of the horse shoe run along 1/4 of the circumference of the horse shoe or less, e.g. 1/5, 1/6, or 1/7 of the circumference of the horse shoe.

7. A horse shoe according to any of the preceding claims,

c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the front end (4) of the horse shoe includes an upwards extending protrusion.

8. The use of a horse shoe according to any of the claims 1 – 7 together with a lubricant applied between the horse’s hoof and the horse shoe.

9. The use according to claim 8, wherein the lubricant is applied in the area(s) including the harder metal.