This invention relates to horseshoes and particularly racing plates for use on race horses.

Racing plates should be made as light in weight as possible and should be provided at their toe portions with grabs for digging into the surface of the race track. In the past racing plates have been made of aluminum, magnesium and plastic while the grabs have been made of steel or other harder metal.

While standing on a soft surface a horse is fairly comfortable despite the fact that the grabs extend downwardly from the bottom planar surface of the racing plate. However when standing on a harder surface such as hard ground, wood or concrete the presence of the grabs causes the legs of the horse to be tilted with the toe up and heel down in an awkward, concussion prone posture. Since the coffin joint inside the horse's hoof has very limited motion even the relatively small 2— ?° tilt usually caused by the toe grabs has a pronounced adverse affect on the articulation of the hoof which is the site of navicular disease — a major problem in race horses. Bucked shins, tendonitis, and joint problems may be reduced by this more comfortable design.

By the present invention the advantages gained by the use of grabs are retained and at the same time the comfort of the horse is insured even while standing on a hard surface.

Another advantage of the present invention is that fewer nails are required to secure the plates thus minimizing the chance of injury to the horse.

Still another advantage is that surface soil, mud and the like has less tendency to cling to the plate than is the case with shoes now in use.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following specification and drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a racing plate.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the plate of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation.

In detail, and first with reference to Fig. 1, the horseshoe 10 of the present invention is provided with nail holes 12 on each runner of the shoe. However, as seen in Fig. 2, the toe portion 14 is bent upwardly, preferably at an angle of about 30° and the toe portion of the hoof 16 is rasped to provide a surface which is complementary to the modified toe portion of the plate.

As seen in Fig. 2 the toe grab 18, which is embedded in the toe portion in the usual manner, is preferably disposed perpendicular to the lower surface of the plate to perform its usual function.

SUBSTITUT

By the present invention said grab 18 is somewhat longer than those presently used and, as seen in Figs. 1 and 3 may extend substantially to the juncture between the bent portion and the remainder of the plate.

It will be apparent that, by the above described structure, the horse has firm support throughout the periphery of its hoof while standing on a hard surface and, at the same time the grab retains its usual function while racing.

In many instances it is possible to reduce the number of nail holes from four in each runner to three in each runner as indicated in Fig. 1. This desiable reduction in the number of nails is attributable to the fact that the rolled toe portion has a hugging effect relative to the hoof thus improving the connection between plate and hoof.

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