HOOF SHOE OR HOOF SHOE INSERT FOR RELIEVING THE PRESSURE ON THE TOES OF A HOOFED ANIMAL

Abstract

A hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert for a hoofed animal. An object is to relieve the pressure on the foot of a hoofed animal, in particular of a horse, on a hard ground surface. This may be achieved by a foamed plastics cushion which is arranged between the hoof of the animal and the ground surface and which is composed of a closed-cell plastics foam having a thermoplastic or elastomeric matrix with a density of between 100 and 400 all and which, at 50% compression, has a compressive stress of 150-280 kPa.

Claims

1. A hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert for relieving the pressure on the foot of a hoofed animal on a hard underlying surface, at least comprising a foamed plastics cushion, which is arranged between the hoof of the animal and the underlying surface, wherein the plastics cushion is formed of a closed-cell plastics foam having a thermoplastic or elastomeric matrix of a density between 100 and 400 g/l, wherein the plastics cushion has a compressive stress of 150-280 kPa at 50% compression.

2. The hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert as claimed in claim 1, wherein the closed-cell plastics foam is in the form of particle foam with bead sizes of 1.5 mm to 10 mm.

3. The hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plastics cushion is designed to be multicompressible and has a spontaneous recovery from a 50% compression to at least 95% of the initial thickness.

4. The hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plastics cushion achieves a return to a relaxed, approximately full initial thickness from a 50% compression after 30 to 75 minutes.

5. The hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plastics cushion consists of an expanded thermoplastic polyurethane, polyacrylic or polyolefin.

6. The hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert as claimed in claim 1, wherein the material of the plastics cushion has a low modulus of elasticity of 1 to 100 MPa at 20° C.

7. The hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plastics cushion is designed to be raised in the central region to provide increased support for the frog in the animal's hoof.

8. The hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert as claimed in claim 7, wherein the elevation in the central region of the plastics cushion is designed to inhibit rotation by molding itself into the hoof.

9. The hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plastics cushion is designed with its outer contour following the hoof but to be larger than the hoof surface, as a result of which, when the plastics cushion is compressed, a raised annular rim surrounding the hoof at its outer edge is formed.

10. The hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plastics cushion has a raised annular rim surrounding the hoof at least in some section or sections at the hoof wall thereof.

11. The hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert as claimed in claim 10, wherein the rim of the plastics cushion surrounding the hoof wall is inclined at least in some section or sections toward the inner space surrounded by the rim, and the wall thickness of the rim widens at least partially starting from the base plate, as a result of which a shaft formed by the annular rim tapers toward the upper receiving opening thereof.

12. The hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert as claimed in claim 11, wherein this taper is steeper at the front side of the hoof shoe, and the rim thus slopes more steeply inward in this front section.

13. The hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert as claimed in claim 1, wherein fastening means for releasable fastening on the animal's hoof are arranged on the plastics cushion.

14. The hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert as claimed in claim 13, wherein the fastening means are arranged so as to span the front region of the hoof or the pastern, starting from the rear region of the plastics cushion, wherein the rear side of the hoof remains free from fastening means.

15. The hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert as claimed in claim 13, wherein at least one touch and close fastener is arranged on the plastics cushion as a fastening means for releasable fastening on the horse's hoof

16. The hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert as claimed in claim 13, wherein padding elements are arranged in such a way on the inside of the fastening means spanning the animal's hoof that a compression-reduced free space remains above the extensor tendon on the animal's hoof.

17. The hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plastics cushion is arranged in a hoof shoe comprising fastening means for releasable fastening on the animal's hoof.

18. The hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least pressure-sensitive sensor elements are arranged on or in the plastics cushion to detect the introduction of force and distribution of pressure through and on the hoof.

19. The hoof shoe or hoof shoe insert as claimed in claim 18, wherein electronic components for wireless communication and evaluation of the measured values of the force introduction and pressure distribution detected by the pressure-sensitive sensor elements are arranged on or in the plastics cushion and connected to the sensor elements.

Description

[0073] An embodiment of the invention is described in greater detail below with reference to drawings.

[0074] In the drawings:

[0075] FIG. 1 shows the device according to the invention in an embodiment as a hoof shoe without fastening straps 5, 6;

[0076] FIG. 2 shows an animal's hoof 4 in the hoof shoe according to the invention;

[0077] FIG. 3 shows the hoof shoe according to the invention with fastening means 5, 6 arranged thereon;

[0078] FIG. 4 shows an animal's hoof 4 with a hoof which is set in the hoof shoe and is secured on the animal's hoof 4 by means of fastening straps 5, 6, and

[0079] FIG. 5 shows a simplified sectioned view of a fastening strap 6 resting against an animal's hoof 4 with pads 10.

[0080] In the present drawings, a version of the invention in the form of a hoof shoe is illustrated in a simplified representation, the hoof shoe being constructed on the basis of a plastics cushion 1 in accordance with the features indicated in the claims. Here, FIGS. 1 and 3 each show a hoof shoe, wherein this shoe is illustrated without fastening means 5 and 6 in FIG. 1 and with fastening means 5 and 6 in FIG. 3. In both figures, it can be seen that the hoof shoe is of one-piece design, such that it is formed so as to partially surround the hoof, wherein the hoof shoe has an encircling rim 3 which starts from a base plate 11 and surrounds an interior space 2 as a shaft.

[0081] In this case, in this version, this rim 3 forming the shaft is not formed with a continuously uniform material thickness but is designed to widen toward the opening of the hoof shoe. This is a targeted measure aimed at ensuring that the hoof shoe can be slipped over the animal's hoof 4 by virtue of the elasticity of the plastics cushion 1. At the same time, the widening of the material thickness of the rim 3 toward the upper opening on the one hand shapes the inner space 2 to follow the conical shape of the hoof, and on the other hand this widening also provides what is already a first stabilizing element for a secure hold on the horse's hoof.

[0082] That is to say that the widening of the rim toward the upper open region of the hoof shoe has the effect that the material is expanded here when the hoof is inserted and is compressed by the inserted hoof, and thus the hoof is prevented from sliding out of the hoof shoe according to the invention.

[0083] FIG. 2 now also shows an animal's hoof 4 inserted into this first hoof shoe. Here it can be seen that the hoof has been inserted into the opening 2 in the hoof shoe 1 and the encircling rim 3 protrudes approximately halfway over the hoof in this illustration and thus already provides the hoof shoe with basic stability when secured on the hoof.

[0084] It should be noted here that both the material thicknesses of the illustrated hoof shoe in relation to the size representation of the hoof are merely exemplary and are in no way to be considered as determining or restricting the invention. In particular, the thickness of the base plate 11 of the plastics cushion 1 forming the hoof shoe 1 can also be designed to be considerably thicker and is determined here in dependence on the weight of the animal to be supported by the hoof shoe.

[0085] FIG. 3 now shows fastening means 5 and 6, which in this case are of strap-type design and are arranged on the outside of the hoof shoe. This is merely an exemplary arrangement since, for example, these fastening means 5, 6 can also extend around the hoof shoe or only at its upper edge.

[0086] What is relevant here, however, is that these fastening means are arranged to engage the animal's foot to a small extent. In the illustrated design, strap-type fastening means 5 and 6 are located in combination here since the actual strap-type fastening means 6 which spans the animal's foot is braced to the front region of the hoof shoe by fastening means 5 extending transversely thereto, so as to ensure uniform pressure of the hoof shoe against the animal's hoof and to mutually stabilize the fastening means 5 and 6.

[0087] The view of the mounting of the hoof shoe on the animal's foot in FIG. 4 makes clear here that the flexor tendon 7 extending on the animal's foot on the rear side of the hoof is completely excepted from the fastening of the hoof shoe. This is very advantageous since in this way irritation of this tendon, during the tilting movement of the animal's foot, by the fastening means 5 or 6 that may possibly span said tendon can be reliably excluded.

[0088] All that is spanned is the pastern in the front region of the leg, wherein, here too, irritation of the extensor tendon 8 extending here is avoided according to the invention, this being explained in greater detail in the following FIG. 5.

[0089] FIG. 5 again shows the strap-type fastening means 6 spanning the pastern of the animal's leg, wherein it can be seen here that, in an advantageous design of the invention, padding elements 10 are provided on the inside of the strap-type fastening means 6, said elements starting from the hoof and extending approximately to the pastern. The aim of these additional padding elements 10 is, on the one hand, the actual padding itself and thus gentler contact with the pastern. Moreover, however, the effect according to the invention is that this padding also creates a spacing between the strap-type fastening means 6 and the animal's hoof 4 in the region of the extensor tendon 8 on the front side of the animal's leg. The free space 9 shown schematically here is created by the fact that the padding elements 10 on both sides are only arranged up to a region on the strap-type fastening means 6 that adjoins the course of the extensor tendon 8 on the pastern, and leave a gap free here. That is to say that the region in which the extensor tendon spans the pastern approximately vertically is excluded by these padding elements, with the result that a region is created here in which there is less or no pressure of the strap-type fastening means 6 on the pastern of the animal.

[0090] Basically, it should be noted once again that these are exemplary embodiments in simplified representation and thus the dimensions for the invention are only to be understood as exemplary.