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Plastic Gallops Ahead - 01/08/2006
Yorkshire-based moulder and toolmaker, Senior & Dickson, has produced the first polymer horseshoe on behalf of Lightfoot Horseshoes Ltd, which it says exhibits attributes far superior to traditional steel or aluminium plates.
Initially only for fore legs, the shoe is a two shot injection moulding using PA6.6 from Jackdaw, the UK nylon compounder, and thermoplastic elastomers compound (TPE) from Swedish compounder, VTC Elastoteknik. In addition to the two polymer compounds it contains a small steel strip, which is assembled in mould.
"We needed to undertake a lot a development work." said Senior & Dickson's managing director, Geoff Dickson, "After all a two-shot moulding with a steel in-mould insert is fairly complex and I wouldn't like to say how many versions we went through before we had a workable product."
The new horseshoe - the Jameg Sprinter - attaches to the hoof using an acrylic adhesive - no nails are required. This is important says Dickson as nails can limit the number of times and animal can be reshod, and in the case of racehorses, the number of races it can compete in.
"Most importantly, because a horses hoof is effectively a 'polymer', the nylon base produces not just strength but flexibility which works in harmony with the hoof, not against it," explained Dickson. "Once fixed, it becomes part of the hoof, allowing it to expand and contract in a natural fashion."
In addition to racehorses, the Sprinter can be fitted with studs and used on horses involved in almost any discipline. "They are less likely than steel shoes to cause injury to a fallen rider, and are ideal for brood mares, horses at rest, those recovering from laminitis, and horses with poor or badly broken feet," added Dickson. |
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