US3284989A - Racing boots for horses - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 15, 1966 R. M. H. CODE ETAL 3,284,989

RACING BOOTS FOR HORSES Original Filed May 19, 1964 INVENTORS.

RHE TA MH. CODE.

JOSEPH B. L/NDECKER.

United States Patent 19, 1964, Ser. No. 368,677. 1965, Ser. No.

Claims. (Cl. 54-82) This invention appertains to novel and useful improvements in protective devices for use in conjunction with racing horses feet, this invention being a division of our patent application, Serial No. 368,677, filed May 19, 1964.

The object of our invention is to provide simple, durable, light-weight devices of inexpensive construction which may be easily and quickly applied to racing horses feet.

A further object of our invention is .to provide an improved boot, having the main body portions thereof formed of rubber embodying internal reinforcement means and to fit snugly around the feet and hoof of a racing horse with its outer surface smooth and free of obstructions.

A further object is to provide an improved bell boot for racing horses which includes novel reinforcing means em bodied therein and the boot can be used on either right or left foot thereof.

A further object is to provide protective type boots for racing horses made essentially of formed rubber portions and including novel reinforcing means such as nylon embedded or embodied therein, the synthetic reinforcing means being of pr-oteinlike structure which is adapted for fashioning into filaments of extreme toughness, strength, and elasticity.

Other objects and advantages reside in the particular structure of the invention and of the various parts thereof together with the novel combinations and sub-combinations as will be readily apparent to those skilled in'the art upon reference to the attached drawing in connection with the following specification, wherein the invention is shown, described and claimed.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a racing horse in action along with a sulky and the driver, showing the bell type boot applied to each of the horses front hoofs;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the preferred form of the bell type boot of the invention;

FIGURE 3 is a side view showing the bell boot in position upon a horses hoof;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the boot taken substantially ton line 4-4 of FIG. 2',

' FIGURE 5 is a-fragmentary top plan view of the boot, with a part in section showing the reinforcing elements.

The invention has been developed to provide an improved device for protecting racing horses feet against injuries. Devices of this nature are well-known in the art. However, it is one of the prime purposes of this invention to provide an improved racing boot, such as a bell boot, or the like, increasing the wearability of the boots by use of said reinforcing means. It is most desirable to make the quarter boots and scalper boots interchangeable by embodiment of a similar design, the right boot being the same as the left boot in configuration, in each type of boot.

The main function of the boots, of course, is to protect the leg areas, especially the lower leg areas, such as the fetlocks, pasterns and quarters, against injuries which might occur as a result of blows to the lower leg areas by a shod hoof of another leg, the accident of interfering in kicking, or throwing a shoe. Racing horses always wear sharp racing shoes of exactly the right weight and shape knocked by the opposite shod foot, or

3,284,989 Patented Nov. 15, 1966 ice for each horse. These sharp shoes cause injury more quickly than a plain unshod hoof, and they cut the boots quicker than a plain unsho d hoof.

The most common injuries requiring the protection of boots are those caused by brushing when the inside of the leg, usually on or in the region of the fetlock joints, is by over-reaching rear of the foreleg. hind legs may be enof over-reaching. racing horses, only our light Weight reinforced boots, the bell boots, quarter boots and scalper boots, will give the very necessary protection to the lower leg region both during the long training period and when actually participating in a race without the danger of being ripped off, or ripped beyond protection during workouts, or final races.

The common bell boot as used, also called over-reach boot, is usually made from almost pure rubber, which allows considerable elasticity and fit fairly tight, above and adjacent the hoof, is easily cut and made unfit for further use if once cut by a kick from another foot with a sharp shoe. However, our bell-boots are reinforced and only the rubber is cut by a kick and therefore are not ruined by said kick.

The greatest need for boots because of the dangerous form of over-reach which strikes the area of the fetlock joint and causes permanent damage to the tendon of the leg, is in harness racing. Gracefully gaited horses pulling delicately fashioned sulkies in close-quarters competition make a charming spectacle, but one does not always note that a horse is brushed once or twice in a race to get a good burst of speed each time, or can be Whipped or run into by an unscrupulous driver of another horse, or run into by another close horse "by accident, and this often causes overreaching and resulting in permanent damage to the horse.

The trotting race is a popular form of harness racing which draws over 15 million people a year, and the trotting horse must be protected from injuries by using boots, and the like. Trotters often require bell boots on the front feet and scalpers on the hind feet because these horses lift their feet in a kitty-cornered manner and put them down almost together; they sometimes clip the left hind hoof with a sharp shoe against the right front foot when running. The bell boots and scalpers take the gait instead of ripping the foot, the front hairline of the back foot or the back quarter of the front foot. The timing of front and rear opposite feet must be put down split seconds apart to save injury, and prevent accidents. Many things can break this natural rhythmic timing of the trotters feetkwhen racing, such as slipping on a slippery muddy trac Show horses and saddle horses often wear quarter boots on the front feet thereof to prevent bruises and cuts in an area which is sensitive and difficult to heal. The hooves of show horses may be surprisingly long and need a longer shoe; this shoe often interferes with their other feet, thus requiring the use of boots to prevent injuries. However, racing horses are in greater need of requiring reinforced boots since racing horses are subjected to more serious in uries.

Referring specifically to the drawing, wherein like reference characters have been used throughout the several views to designate like parts, reference is first made primarily to FIGURES 1 through 5 wherein a bell type boot is shown, 10 designates a racing horse having bell type boots 11 applied to all its hoofs, the horse being shown harnessed to a sulky 14 with a single seat for the driver 15. The horses hoof 16, as shown by FIG. 3, has a shoe 17 applied thereto. The fetlock 18 and ankle 19 are shown above the hoof in FIGURES l and 3, and the pastern 23 is shown below the fetlock 18. See FIGURE 3.

when the hind toes strike into the Also the shins of either the fore or dangered as a result For horses such as The bell foot 11 according to our invention comprises an upper section, or bell, generally designated by 32 with a rolled upper free edge 33 to protect the horses ankle from chafing, is all made of pure rubber, which allows considerable elasticity. Vertical ribs 34 are located around the exterior surface of bell 32 so that a reinforcing eiTect is distributed around the whole upper surface of the globular body, or bell 32; the ribs 34 are integral with the body portion and extend from the lower peripheral edge 35 about the large lower opening and upwardly past the equator 46 of the shell and substantially to the neck portion 36 below the upper free edge 33. The ribs 34 being of solid rubber, integral with the bell, are of larger crosssectional area at the equator of the shell than at their ends. upon the size of the bell boot 11 and the uniform spacing of the ribs, but all ribs in any shell are usually of approximately the same length. The shell and ribs being of soft, elastic rubber, are subject This improved bell boot 11 has additional reinforcing members 42 arranged in the shell of the boot and between the vertical ribs thereof; see FIGURES 4 and 5. Since the ribs are closer together adjacent the neck of the shell, the spaces between the ribs are likewise reduced at the upper portions thereof. The reinforcing members 42 are fiber units which permits all of the attached fibers to be thoroughly embedded in the latex body of the shell itself; the fibers are generally synthetic fibers such as rayon, and allow the fibers to be individually movable apart from each in a horizontal direction when the shell is stretched when applied over the hoof of a horse. The fiber reinforcing units 42 reinforce the thin areas of the shell while the ribs 34 reinforce the areas between the fiber units 42. The boots protect the leg areas such as the fetlocks, pasterns and quarters against injuries resulting from blows of another leg With hoof and a sharp shoe. However, one

the boot from being ripped beyond usefulness.

Although we have described our invention with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example, and that changes in details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention here presented.

Having thus described this invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A unitary bell boot for horses, comprising a hollow globular body portion made of flexible latex material having a top neck portion with a circular opening at the ribs.

2. The bell boot according to claim 1 wherein said dense reinforcing members consist of short synthetic fibers individually movable when the Wall of the bell boot is stretched.

being trapezoidal in configuration with top and bottom edges thereof parallel relative to each other.

4. A bell boot for horses feet comprising a hollow substantially globular body portion made of molded rubstretched, solely in the adjacent rubber material surrounding the reinforcing members.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 310,044 12/1884 Golden 54-82 482,041 9/1892 Hurd 54 82 3,112,219 1/1964 Cohen 54 82 SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner. H. M. CHAMBLEE, Asn'stant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. 4. A BELL BOOT FOR HORSES'' FEET COMPRISING A HOLLOW SUBSTANTIALLY GLOBULAR BODY PORTION MADE OF MOLDED RUBBER MATERIAL AND HAVING A CIRCULAR BOTTOM OPENING AND A TOP NECK PORTION WITH A TOP CIRCULAR OPENING SMALLER IN DIAMETER THAN THAT OF THE SAID BOTTOM OPENING, EXTERIOR VERTICAL RIBS INTEGRAL WITH THE BODY PORTION AND EXTENDING FROM THE BOTTOM OF SAID BODY PORTION TO SAID TOP NECK PORTION, SAID RIBS BEING OF GREATER THICKNESS MIDWAY BETWEEN THE ENDS THEREOF AND TAPERING TO A THIN EDGE AT EACH END THEREOF, SAID RIBS ARRANGED VERTICALLY AND SPACED HORIZONTALLY FROM EACH OTHER SYMMETRICALLY AROUND THE BODY AND DENSE FIBROUS REINFORCING MEMBERS ENCASED WITHIN THE RUBBER WALL OF SAID BODY PORTION BETWEEN SAID RIBS.

Images