Summary
Objectives: To evaluate the damage inflicted by an unshod hoof and by the various horseshoe materials
(steel, aluminium and polyurethane) on the long bones of horses after a simulated
kick.
Methods: Sixty-four equine radii and tibiae were evaluated using a drop impact test setup.
An impactor with a steel, aluminium, polyurethane, or hoof horn head was dropped onto
prepared bones. An impactor velocity of 8 m/s was initially used with all four materials
and then testing was repeated with a velocity of 12 m/s with the polyurethane and
hoof horn heads. The impact process was analysed using a high-speed camera, and physical
parameters, including peak contact force and impact duration, were calculated.
Results: At 8 m/s, the probability of a fracture was 75% for steel and 81% for aluminium,
whereas polyurethane and hoof horn did not damage the bones. At 12 m/s, the probability
of a fracture was 25% for polyurethane and 12.5% for hoof horn. The peak contact force
and impact duration differed significantly between ‘hard materials’ (aluminium and
steel) and ‘soft materials’ (polyurethane and hoof horn).
Clinical significance: The observed bone injuries were similar to those seen in analogous experimental studies
carried out previously and comparable to clinical fracture cases suggesting that the
simulated kick was realistic. The probability of fracture was significantly higher
for steel and aluminium than for polyurethane and hoof horn, which suggests that the
horseshoe material has a significant influence on the risk of injury for humans or
horses kicked by a horse.
Supplementary Material for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.3415/VCOT-17-01-0003
ORCID iD MAJ: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2142-2942
Keywords
Horses - shoeing - impact load - kick injury
