Development of Horseshoe with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composite

To protect a horse's hoof and increase horse behavior and stability, a horseshoe is generally attached under the hoof. The horseshoe increases the durability of the hoof and also protects the frog, the soft and tender inner part of the hoof, in a healthy state. Horseshoes are usually made of steel, and other materials may be used for special purposes. Racehorses use aluminum horseshoe, which is lighter than steel, to increase speed. When comparing the aluminum horseshoe to the steel horseshoe, the aluminum horseshoe is lighter, but it wears out faster than the steel horseshoe. To get better performance of horse and relatively longer lasing horseshoe, it is necessary to develop a novel horseshoe with a new material. In this study, recycled carbon fiber and polymer composite horseshoe was developed. A carbon fiber itself has excellent mechanical properties and the fabricated carbon fiber and polymer composite with recycled itself showed similar characteristics comparable to the carbon fibers. It is lighter than the existing iron horseshoe and has good mechanical properties at the same time. By using the composite horseshoe, it is expected to improve the walking ability of the horse and reduce fatigue of the horse.