It has been the object of many horseshoe designers and farriers to provide a horseshoe which is hoof-friendly and which mimics to some extent the movement of a horse's hoof when the horse is walking or running, especially on a hard surface. Various attempts have been made over decades to obviate the rigidity of conventional metallic horseshoes by introducing nonmetallic or composite elements that provide selected degrees of flexibility and resilience. It is desirable to provide a simple unitary, somewhat flexible construction for the horseshoe, and it also desirable to provide a horseshoe with an advantageous stabilizing feature, especially for race horseshoes.
It has however been found that the prior art horseshoe designs which provide resilience invariably have a composite construction, or use several parts and components, and do not offer simplicity, reliability or cost effectiveness. Those prior art horseshoes which by design use predominantly resilient material, are generally less durable (-shorter life-) than the conventional rigid metallic designs which might however restrict hoof-expansion and thus create increased stress in the hoof and legs of the horse, particularly during racing.
Despite the availability of horseshoe designs providing shock absorption, flexibility and such features, there is still a need for a horseshoe design which is characterized by simplicity, economy, controlled-splaying and including a stabilizing feature to assist race horses when they negotiate curves on a race track.