WO1998019525A1

WO1998019525A1 - A hoofed animal shoe pad and clip assembly

Info

Publication number: WO1998019525A1
Application number: PCT/AU1997/000739
Authority: WO
Inventors: Christopher Julian Bull; Roger Martin Grubb
Original assignee: Christopher Julian Bull; Roger Martin Grubb
Priority date: 1996-11-04
Filing date: 1997-11-04
Publication date: 1998-05-14
Also published as: AUPO343196A0; GB9910138D0; GB2333686A

Abstract

The invention relates to a horse shoe pad arrangement wherein a replaceable pad (12) is releasably secured to the base of a horse's hoof by means of a spring clip (13), with the pad (12) being shaped and sized so as to fit within the opening defined by the inner periphery of a horse shoe (11) and the retaining clip (13) having locking extremities (16) which lockingly engage against the inner face of the shoe (11) at spaced locations therearound. The extremities (16) desirably engage in respective indentations or recesses formed in the inner face of the shoe (11) and spaced around the inner periphery thereof.

Description

AN HOOFED ANIMAL SHOE PAD AND CLIP ASSEMBLY

This invention relates to horse shoe pads and in particular to a pad retention clip which is arranged to removably secure a protective pad in position against the underside of a horses hoof.

Hoof pads which are presently available on the market suffer from the problem that they cannot be easily removed, the pads generally being held in place by means of the actual horse shoe. Normally the pad is nailed between the hoof and the horse shoe. Since this process quite often needs to be completed several times a week, it is highly desirable that the pad should be capable of being easily removed otherwise early degradation of the hoof can occur, eg through nail damage.

The applicants are also aware of a horse shoe pad arrangement described and illustrated in Australian Patent Application No 81907/91 (Fox) which makes use of a removable insert unit having locking elements for attaching the insert to the horse shoe pad or to the actual horse shoe. In that arrangement, however, the locking means by which the pad is releasably retained to the horse shoe is formed as an integral part of the pad. This necessitates the pad being moulded with precisely shaped locking formations as a result of which tooling costs are increased.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved simple and inexpensive fixing means by which a horse shoe pad can be held in position on the horse's hoof and which permits the pad to be easily fitted and removed without the need to remove the actual horse shoe.

Broadly according to this invention therefore, there is provided a horse shoe pad assembly comprising an approximately arch-shaped pad arranged to fit within the opening defined by the inner periphery of a horse shoe when fixed to the horse's hoof, wherein said pad is retained in position against the hoof by means of a resilient spring clip which has a plurality of extremities spaced around its outer periphery and which removably locate in slot-like openings formed in the inner face of the shoe at spaced locations around its inner peripheral edge, said clip being arranged to bear against the pad and clamp same against the base of the hoof.

Preferably the slot-like openings are defined by three separate recessed portions or indentations formed in the inner face of the shoe, one located medially of the free ends of the shoe, the other two being equi-angularly spaced from the first, so as to provide a three point fixing arrangement for the clip.

Alternatively, a rebate extending around the inner peripheral edge of the horse shoe can be used to locate and lockingly retain the clip extremities in position.

Preferably the extremities of the spring clip comprise outwardly projecting tabs which lockingly engage in respective said indentations or recesses.

Preferably the spring clip is essentially planar and produced from flat spring steel. The clip can be generally U-shaped (in plan), with three outwardly projecting locating tabs spaced around its outer periphery.

Alternatively, the clip can be approximately Y-shaped, with each of the three limb extremities of the clip forming a locking projection engageable with a respective locating recess or a rebate formed in the inner face of the horse shoe.

Desirably, the flat metal spring clip locates in a correspondingly shaped groove or recess formed in the outer face of the protective pad. This assists to firmly locate the clip and inhibit bodily rotational displacement thereof. In addition, movement of the pad is also restrained relative to the hoof base. The depth of the groove is desirably greater than the thickness of the clip, whereby the clip does not protrude beyond the outer face of the pad. This assists in the retention of the clip and reduces the likelihood of it disengaging when the horse is in gallop. It is an advantage of the present invention that the spring clip can be both quickly and easily fitted and removed by means of a hand lever tool. Removal of the clip is necessary when the pad is required to be removed, eg when the animal is not in training.

It is another advantage of the invention that the pad is able to be easily replaced daily which may be necessary where daily treatment of the hoof is required, eg for treating infection.

In order to further describe the present invention, several embodiments are described hereunder in some further detail with reference and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig 1 is an underside plan view of a first embodiment of the invention showing a spring clip in its engaged position in order to retain the shoe pad firmly against the horse's hoof;

Fig 2 is a sectional view taken along the lines A-A shown in Fig 1;

Fig 3 is a view similar to Fig 1 of a second embodiment of the invention;

Figs 4(a), (b) & (c) show perspective views of alternative spring clip designs which can be used;

Figs 5(a) & (b) & Figs 6(a) & (b) show perspective views of two other horse shoe designs which can be used with this invention;

Fig 7 shows a hand lever tool designed to assist the attachment of the clip to the shoe and also its removal therefrom; while

Figs 8(a) to (c) show the method by which the clip is clipped into position with the use of the hand lever tool shown in Fig 7.

Referring to Figs 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings, there is shown a horse shoe assembly 10 comprising a conventional horse shoe 11 which is secured, eg by nailing, to the hoof of the horse, a moulded arch-shaped protective pad 12 which is shaped and sized so as to fit within the opening defined by the inner periphery of the horse shoe 11, and a resilient, flexible pad retaining spring clip 13 which when clipped in position is contiguous with and lies flat against the pad 12 and ensures that the pad

12 is firmly clamped between the clip 13 and the sole of the hoof 14 of the horse.

As can be seen from Fig 2 of the drawings, the clip 13, when engaged, lies essentially flat against the pad 12 and is retained in position by means of three outwardly projecting tabs 16 which seat in rebate 17 which extends around the inner periphery of the horse shoe 11. With this multi-point fixing arrangement, the clip, by the nature of its design, provides a very strong clamp which is not only effective to firmly hold the pad 12 against the hoof base but also is capable of withstanding positive, negative and suction forces which occur when the horse's hoof repeatedly strikes the ground.

The clip 13, in this embodiment is located in a correspondingly shaped groove or indentation 14 formed in the outer surface of the pad 12. The groove depth is approximately 4 mm while the clip thickness is approximately 0.8 mm.

In the first embodiment, the spring clip 13 is generally U-shaped (in plan) and constructed of spring steel. The clip, in its unstressed condition, can be either flat or slightly concavely curved.

The clip 13 can be readily fitted in position and in turn disengaged by a special hand tool (shown in Fig 7) which is designed to bend the clip to allow it to snap into position. This is described in greater detail hereafter.

It should of course be appreciated that the spring clip 13 can be designed so that it makes seating contact at four fixing points spaced around the inner periphery of the horse shoe 11.

In another variation, the locating tabs 16 on the clip 13 may locate in separate indentations on the inner face of the shoe and which extend inwardly from the inner periphery thereof. These can be formed in a conventional horse shoe at the time of fitting the pad - which thus avoids the need for a specially formed horse shoe as is the case with horse shoe 11 described above.

Referring to the embodiment shown in Fig 3 of the drawings, the arrangement is very similar to that described and illustrated in Fig 1; however, in this instance, the retaining spring clip 20 is designed to also locate under a transverse bar 21 which extends across the horse shoe 22 at the back thereof, thereby ensuring, that the clip 20 is more securely held in position and increases frog pressure.

As shown in Fig 3, the body of the clip 20 is formed with a closed inner periphery which includes a rear cross bar 23 which engages against the inner side of the end transverse bar 21 of the horse shoe 22.

There is also the option for the rear cross bar 23 of the clip 20 to replace the bar 21 on the horse shoe, therefore eliminating the need for the bar 21 on the horse shoe. This provides a flexible protection piece over the frog area of the hoof of the horse. In this instance, the end cross bar of the clip would remain separate from the horse shoe 22.

The shape of the metal spring clip can widely vary. As shown in Fig 4(a), the clip 25 is approximately V-shaped and is formed with three spaced apart fixing tabs or tongues 26, 26', 26" which serve to lockingly retain the clip in its engaged position with the shoe.

Referring to Fig 4(b) the retention clip 30 is approximately Y-shaped, with each of its three limbs terminating in an outwardly directed fixing tab 31, 31', 31" for detachably securing the clip to the shoe.

Fig 4(c) shows a clip 32 which is almost the same as that shown in Fig 4(b), being further provided with a cross-piece 33 which not only stiffens the clip 32 overall but also functions to ensure that the pad is held more firmly against the sole of the hoof. Figs 5(a) & (b) show an alternative horse shoe 35 which has a downwardly opening channelled slot 36 formed in its bottom face and a continuous rebate or shoulder 37 formed in its inner face and which extends around the inner peripheral edge of the shoe 35. The rebate 37, with the shoe fixed to the horse's hoof, defines a slot-like cavity between the shoe and the insert pad for receiving and locating the fixing tabs on the clip 25, 30.

Figs 6(a) & (b) show yet another horse shoe 40 which can be used with this invention, wherein the inner face of the shoe 40 is formed, eg by a forging process performed by a blacksmith, with three circumferentially spaced apart indentations 41 for receiving and locating the clip extremities when the clip is snapped into its fixing position. The depth of the indentations should be as small as possible to minimise any movement of the clip when the horse is galloping.

Fig 7 shows an example of a hand tool 45 which is used to facilitate the installation of the fixing clips. The tool 45 comprises a lever arm 46 which at its lower end is formed with a transverse slot 47 which is adapted to slidably fit over an outer edge portion on one of the limbs of the clip to allow the limb to be bent upwardly so that its free end will be displaced inwardly sideways to a position where it can then slidably locate in its associated slot-like opening.

The installation of the pad assembly is shown in Figs 8(a) -(c). Firstly, the pad 50 is trimmed so that it can fit the inner border of the shoe 51 allowing for the frog. The shoe 51 is nailed to the hoof. The pad 50 is fitted in position against the sole of the hoof. The forward end of the clip 52 is located in centre indentation 54, whereafter one side limb 53 of the clip 52 is slidably located into its corresponding indentation 55. With the aid of the hand tool 45, the remaining limb 57 of the clip is bent upwards, by using the edge of the shoe 51 as a fulcrum point and levering the tool downwards, while at the same time using one's thumb to press against the end of the limb 57 until it "snap" locates into its own indentation 58. The clip 52 is then fully seated in groove 56 formed in the pad 50.

The removal of the clip 52 is effected by simply locating the slotted end of the tool onto one of the limbs of the clip 52 and levering same outwards away from the horse's hoof.

It is also acceptable for the clip 52 to be installed by firstly locating one of the side tabs 53 or 57, then the front tab, and finally the other side tab 53 or 57 with the aid of the hand tool 45.

A brief consideration of the above described embodiments will indicate that the invention provides a very simple and effective fixing system for releasably holding a horse shoe pad in place against the hoof base of a horse and which avoids the need for the pad to be designed to incorporate locking elements as is the case with that described in Australian Patent Application No 81907/91.

Claims

The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. A removable horse shoe pad assembly for removably fixing an approximately arch-shaped protective pad to a horse's hoof having a horse shoe fitted thereto, wherein the pad is shaped and sized to fit within the opening defined by the inner periphery of the horse shoe, characterised by a resilient spring clip having a plurality of outwardly projecting extremities spaced around its outer periphery and which are arranged to lockingly engage against the inner face of the shoe at spaced locations therearound, said clip being arranged, in use, to firmly clamp the pad against the sole of the hoof.

2. A horse shoe pad assembly according to claim 1 wherein said extremities of the spring clip comprise outwardly projecting tabs or tongues which removably engage in respective indentations or recesses formed in the inner face of the horse shoe and spaced around the inner periphery thereof.

3. A horse shoe pad assembly according to claim 1 wherein said extremities of the spring clip comprise outwardly projecting tabs which removably locate in a rebate extending around the inner peripheral edge of the horse shoe.

4. A horse shoe pad assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said spring clip is essential planar and is approximately U-shaped in plan.

5. A horse shoe pad assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the spring clip is approximately Y-shaped, with each of the three extremities of the clip forming a respective said tab.

6. A horse shoe pad assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the clip is approximately V-shaped, wherein the apex of the V terminates in an outwardly projecting tab and wherein the two limbs of the V-shaped body terminate in transversely aligned outwardly projecting tabs.

7. A horse shoe pad assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the spring clip is shaped symmetrically about a longitudinal centre line through the clip.

8. A horse shoe pad assembly according to any one of the preceding claim wherein a portion of the outer surface of the pad is recessed for locating the clip therein.

9. A horse shoe pad assembly according to claim 8 wherein the recess portion is shaped correspondingly to the perimeter shape of the clip, and has a depth greater than the thickness of the clip.

10. A horse shoe pad assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the spring clip is formed of spring steel.

11. In combination, a horse shoe and horse shoe pad assembly, wherein the horse shoe is provided with a plurality of recessed portions or indentations formed in its inner face and being spaced around the inner peripheral edge of the shoe, and wherein said horse shoe pad assembly comprises a protective pad shaped and dimensioned so as to fit within the opening defined by the inner periphery of said horse shoe, and a resilient spring metal clip which has a plurality of outwardly projecting fixings tabs or tongues spaced around the outer periphery thereof, said clip being arranged to releasably retain the pad in position against the base of the hoof, said clip being retained by means of the fixing tabs or tongues locating within respective said indentations in said shoe, arranged so that when the shoe is fixed to the horse's hoof and the pad located within the inner peripheral opening of the shoe, the engagement of the spring clip firmly retains the pad against the base of the hoof.

12. The combination of claim 11 wherein a portion of the outer surface of the pad is recessed for locating clip therein.

13. Fixing means for releasably fixing a horse shoe pad to the hoof of a horse having a horse shoe fitted thereto, wherein said pad is approximately arched shaped and is arranged to fit within the opening defined by the inner periphery of the horse shoe, said fixing means comprising a resilient spring clip having a plurality of extremities spaced around the outer periphery thereof and which removably locate in recesses or pockets formed between the shoe and the base of the hoof, said clip being arranged to make pressure contact against the pad and firmly clamp same against the sole of the hoof.

14. Fixing means according to claim 13 wherein said spring clip has a V-shaped body formed with three outwardly projecting tabs or tongues around the outer edge thereof, said tabs or tongues defining said extremities.

15. Fixing means according to claim 13 wherein the spring clip has an approximately Y-shaped body, with each of the limbs of the body terminating in a fixing tab.