GB2222757A - Horseshoes - Google Patents

Abstract

A horseshoe comprises a body moulded from a wear-resistant substantially rigid thermoplastics material about a substantially rigid core 10 of fibre reinforced plastics which extends along the full length of the shoe and which provides the main structural strength of the shoe. The construction is such that the shoe has a degree of flexibility which permits the rear ends of the shoe to be moved towards and away from each other to accommodate a similar flexing which occurs in the horse's hoof during walking. For this purpose, the side portions of the core may be locally waisted (22) radially. <IMAGE>

Description

HORSESHOES This invention relates to horseshoes.

According to the present invention there is provided a horseshoe comprising a body which is moulded from a wear-resistant substantially rigid thermoplastics material and which affords the ground-engaging surface of the shoe, and a core embedded in the body and extending along substantially the full length of the shoe, said core being made from a fibre-reinforced plastics material and being substantially rigid, but the shoe having a degree of flexibility permitting resilient movement of the rear ends of the shoe towards and away from each other.

The radial thickness of the core is preferably locally reduced at each of two locations in the respective side portions of the shoe thereby to impart to the shoe said degree of flexibility permitting resilient movement of the rear ends of the shoe towards and away from each other.

Conveniently vertical holes extend upward from the wearing surface of the shoe through the body and the core for receiving fixing nails and according to a preferred feature of the invention the holes, where they extend through the core, are of rectangular section and taper inward on all four sides in an upward direction.

In preferred arrangements, the shoe is of substantially uniform thickness along its length but the vertical dimension of the core is less in the front portions of the shoe than in the side portions in a manner to provide a greater thickness of the material of the body in said front portions than in said side portions.

The core is preferably made from a glass-filled thermoplastic polyurethane.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is an underplan of a horseshoe according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a front view of the horseshoe shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a cross-section on line 3-3 of Figure 1, Figure 4 is a cross-section on line 4-4 of Figure 1, Figure 5 is a part plan/part underplan view of a core used in the horseshoe of Figure 1, Figure 6, 7 and 8 are cross-sections taken on lines 6-6, 7-7 and 8-8 of Figure 5.

Referring first to Figures 1 to 4, the horseshoe comprises a reinforcing core 10 extending along substantially the full length of the shoe, and a body 20 in which the core is embedded.

The core is shown in more detail in Figures 5 to 8 to which reference is now also made. The core has upper and lower surfaces 11, 12 and its two side regions incorporate respective waisted parts 22 in which the radial dimension of the core is reduced to impart a degree of resilient flexibility to the side portions of the shoe, which is otherwise substantially rigid.

Nail holes 15 are formed in each side portion of the shoe, and in the illustrated arrangement there are eight nail holes in total. Each nail hole is of rectangular cross-section along its length and, where it extends through the core, all four sides of the hole are inclined inwardly towards each other in a direction towards the upper surface 11. The parts of each hole above and below the core are of constant cross-section substantially equal in size to the minimum and maximum sizes respectively of the part of the hole in the core.

One or more upward projections 14 are formed at the front edge of the core and project from the top surface of the finished shoe to form toe-clips to resist the tendency for the shoe to be twisted off as the horse turns.

The core is moulded from a hard, strong, resilient thermoplastic plastics material incorporating reinforcing fibre, because the core provides the main structural strength of the shoe, and a glass-filled polyurethane material has been found to have excellent characteristics for that purpose. The core is conveniently formed by hot injection of the material at 0 about 180 C into a mould cavity, and when cooled sufficiently the core is removed from the mould and 0 cured for 14 hours at 40 C.

The finished core is subsequently degreased if necessary and coated with a bonding agent, and is then placed in a second mould to have the body moulded about it. The second mould is shaped to form nail holes in the body aligned with those in the core and provides a recess to accommodate the projection or projections 14.

A mixture of polytetramethylene-ether glycol, 1, 4 butane diol and diphenylmethane - 4,4 - di-isocyaneate has been found to be a mixture giving excellent toughness, wear-resistance, anti-abrasion and anti-slip properties. The mixture is cast or injected at 0 180 C. The finished shoe has a Shore D hardness of about 85.

The core is positioned near the upper surface of the shoe as shown, in order to provide a substantial thickness of the body material to give long wear properties, and the core may if desired have its top surface flush with that of the body.

The material of the body may in some cases incorporate 5% by weight of glass fibre to improve further its wear-resistant properties.

The waisting at positions 22 may be omitted, if desired.

The shape of the shoe can be adjusted to accommodate variations of shape in a given shoe size by softening the shoe, for example by immersion in hot water, adjusting the shoe, and then cooling the shoe while holding it in its adjusted shape.

The shoe is fixed to the horse's hoof using rectangular-section tapering nails which have all four sides inclined inward, the four sides engaging the respective inclined sides of the nail-holes in the core.

The holes in the body may be parallel-sided as shown but may have tapering sides, if desired, as in the core.

The core may have a wide notch extending lengthwise of its lower surface in the front part thereof to enable a correspondingly thicker layer of the body material to be provided to give extra wear properties in that part of the shoe which receives most wear.

The flexibility of the shoe resulting from the use of flexible resilient material enables the side parts of the shoe to splay slightly in unison with the horse's hoof as the horse walks. The waisted portions 22 assist in providing this degree of flexibility.

The shoe may have a weight comparable to an aluminium shoe and has therefore a particularly useful, but by no means exclusive, application for racehorses since by reason of its wearing qualities it can obviate the need to re-shoe a race-horse with steel shoes after a race.

Claims (10)

1. A horseshoe comprising a body which is moulded from a wear-resistant substantially rigid thermoplastics material and which affords the ground-engaging surface of the shoe, and a core embedded in the body and extending along substantially the full length of the shoe, said core being made from a fibre-reinforced plastics material and being substantially rigid, but the shoe having a degree of flexibility permitting resilient movement of the rear ends of the shoe towards and away from each other.

2. A horseshoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein the radial thickness of the core is locally reduced at each of two locations in the respective side portions of the shoe thereby to impart to the shoe said degree of flexibility permitting resilient movement of the rear ends of the shoe towards and away from each other.

3. A horseshoe as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein vertical holes extend upward from the wearing surface of the shoe through the body and the core for receiving fixing nails.

4. A horseshoe as claimed in claim 3, wherein said holes are of rectangular section and taper inward on all four sides in an upward direction.

5. A horseshoe as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the core has one or more upward projections extending above the top face of the body at the front edge of the shoe so as to form toeclips.

6. A horseshoe as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the shoe is of substantially uniform thickness along its length but the vertical dimension of the core is less in the front portions of the shoe than in the side portions in a manner to provide a greater thickness of the material of the body in said front portions than in said side portions.

7. A horseshoe, wherein the core is disposed so as to have its upper surface nearer to the top surface of the shoe than to the wearing surface of the shoe.

8. A horseshoe as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the top surface of the core is substantially flush with the top surface of the body.

9. A horseshoe as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the core is made from a glassfilled thermoplastic polyurethane.

10. A horseshoe substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.