GB2278036A - Lightweight horseshoe - Google Patents

Abstract

An aluminium horseshoe has a toe-reinforcing insert in the form of a wear-resistant steel plate 5 set into a recess 4 in the underside of the shoe. The plate, which is secured in the recess by means of two rivets 6, is inclined upwardly in a direction towards the toe end 9 of the shoe, at an angle of from 5 DEG to 15 DEG to the plane of the shoe, so as to permit the shoe to wear to a rounded profile which blends with the plate and without forming a toe grab. <IMAGE>

Description

TOE REINFORCEMENT FOR LIGHTWEIGHT HORSESHOE A recurrent problem with lightweight horseshoes, for example of aluminium alloy, is to provide effective reinforcement of the toe region to prevent undue wear.

The use of lightweight metal horseshoes can be very desirable from the point of view of reducing fatigue in the animal, and consequently reducing injury risks. However, most lightweight shoes available have a very poor wear life, the interval between re-shoeings commonly being reduced to around two weeks (instead of, perhaps, around six weeks) because of excessive wear at the toe of the shoe, even though it is known to reinforce the toe region in various ways to reduce the wear rate.

Two examples of known reinforcements are described in US-A-4 299 288 and FR-A-2 526 630. According to the former disclosure, an upstanding wear plate of steel is secured edgeways-on in a slot extending around a toe portion of the shoe in the ground-engaging underside of the shoe; the plate may be set to project downwards beyond the undersurface of the shoe in order to serve as a toe grab. The steel plate comprises integral fixing pins which project from an upper edge of the plate, the pins extending through holes in the shoe and being peened over on the upper side of the shoe to secure the plate.

FR-A-2 526 630 describes the provision of a steel insert in a toe portion of a cast, light alloy, horseshoe. The insert is in the form of an elongate block extending across the toe region, side walls of the block being downwardly tapering to ensure retention after the alloy shoe material has been cast about the block.

It is also known to secure a steel reinforcing plate to lie flat in a correspondingly-shaped shallow recess in the toe region of the underside of the shoe.

The plate is secured by means of headed rivets which extend through the shoe, tail ends of the rivets being deformed to occupy recesses in the top (hoof-engaging) surface of the shoe and secure the assembly.

Various problems arise with known toe reinforcements. Some tend to come loose, and may be lost altogether. Occasionally an insert, or its associated fastenings, may become driven deeper into the shoe during use, with the result that material becomes displaced above the upper surface of the shoe and gets driven into the horse's hoof.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a lightweight horseshoe with a wear-resistant toe reinforcement of improved performance.

The invention provides, in one of its aspects, a lightweight horseshoe having a toe-reinforcing insert in the form of a plate of a relatively hard-wearing material secured in a recess in the ground-engaging underside of the shoe, the plate being secured in a position set back from the toe end of the shoe and being inclined upwardly towards the toe end relative to the plane of the shoe.

It has been found that such an arrangement provides a more effective and permanent fixing for the reinforcement. Furthermore, for many applications it can be important that no toe grab is created which could inhibit forwards sliding movement of the hoof on the ground. With a plate-form insert suitably set in accordance with the invention, aluminium or other material of the shoe in the underside of the toe end portion beyond the plate can wear to a rounded profile which blends with the plate, leaving no projecting features forming an effective toe grab.

A suitable angle of inclination of the plate may ordinarily be within the approximate range of 5 to 150, though this could depend upon the style of shoe and the distance that the plate is set back from the toe end.

Reinforcement could be effected by securing two, or even more, such plates side-by-side in the toe region of the shoe.

The reinforcing plate may be secured in the shoe by any suitable means. For example, separate rivets may be used which from headed ends extend upwardly through the plate and the shoe; the upper (tail) ends of the rivets are upset to secure the plate, the upset material preferably occupying suitable cavities in an upper surface of the shoe in order that a flat upper surface can be presented to the hoof. The rivets, or other such mechanical fastenings, are preferably set perpendicularly to the plane of the inclined plate.

The reinforcing plate may suitably be of an appropriately heat-treated steel.

There now follows a detailed description, to be read with reference to the accompanying drawings, of a horseshoe with toe reinforcement which illustrates the invention by way of example.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a plan view of the underside of a horseshoe with toe reinforcement; and Figure 2 is a view in section on line II-II of Figure 1 showing securement of a toe-reinforcing plate to the shoe, the shoe being shown inverted.

An aluminium horseshoe 1 of a generally conventional planar form is manufactured to have a flat upper surface 2 and a flat undersurface 3, the former being for fitment against a horse's hoof and the latter being a ground-engaging surface.

A recess 4 is formed in a toe portion of the undersurface of the shoe for accommodation and location of a flat reinforcing plate 5. The plate 5, which is of a heat-treated wear resistant steel, is of an elongate arcuate form to match the curvature of the shoe in the toe region, and is secured into the recess by means of two steel rivets 6 which extend upwardly through the plate and the shoe from headed ends 7; to secure the plate, tail ends of the rivets are spread to occupy cavities 8 in the upper surfaces 2 of the shoe.

The plate 5 is seated on the shoe, in the recess 4, at an inclination to the undersurface 3 and the plane of the shoe (as seen in Figure 2), the plate being inclined upwardly in the direction towards the toe end 9 of the shoe. In the example illustrated the angle of inclination is a little over 110. The rivets 6 are set perpendicularly to the plate. The recess in the undersurface 3 is set back from an end face 10 at the toe end of the shoe and terminates (considered longitudinally of the shoe) adjacent to an inner periphery 11 of the undersurface at a shallow lip 12 of the shoe. Owing to the inclination of a flat bottom surface 13 of the recess which bears the plate, the recess is of reducing depth in the direction away from the toe end 9.

Claims (6)

1. A lightweight horseshoe having a toe-reinforcing insert in the form of a plate of a relatively hard-wearing material secured in the recess in the ground-engaging underside of a shoe, the plate being secured in a position set back from the toe end of the shoe, and being inclined upwardly towards the toe end relative to the plane of the shoe.

2. A lightweight horseshoe according to claim 1 in which the angle of inclination of the plate to the plane of the shoe is within the range of 5 to 150.

3. A lightweight horseshoe according to either of claims 1 and 2 in which the reinforcing plate is of a suitably wear-resistant steel.

4. A lightweight horseshoe according to any one of the preceding claims in which the plate is secured in the recess by means of rivets.

5. A lightweight horseshoe according to any one of the preceding claims which is principally of aluminium.

6. A lightweight horseshoe substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.