No athlete would be without the best possible footwear, and the same is true for racehorses. Paul Stevens reports on a horseshoe moulded using a two-shot process and with an in-mould assembled steel component.

High-technology injection moulding processes can be found in the most unlikely applications today. Consider the horseshoe, for example.
Traditionally manufactured and fitted by a blacksmith using the most rudimentary of equipment, the latest development is a two-shot injection moulded design with an in-mould assembled steel strip.
Compared with steel - or even aluminium - the polymer horseshoe is claimed to offer a number of benefits for racehorses.
One of the main advantages is that the shoe is held in place using an acrylic adhesive, avoiding the need for hoof nails which traditionally limit the number of times a horse can be re-shod and, therefore, the number of times it can be raced.
It is also claimed that the shoe offers a combination of strength and flexibility that works in harmony with the hoof, expanding and contracting with the hoof.
Meanwhile, the thermoplastic elastomer part of the moulding provides both grip and shock absorption.
Designed, patented and developed by Jameg Horseshoes of Barnby Moor, UK, the Jameg Sprinter horseshoe is suitable for the forelegs of racing horses.
The materials used in the two-shot moulding process are polyamide PA6.6 from Vitamide Jackdaw, the VTC UK nylon compounder, and a thermoplastic elastomer compound (TPE) from VTC's Swedish compounder VTC Elastoteknik.
In addition to the two polymer compounds, the shoe contains a small steel strip insert-moulded at the front. Jameg developed the Sprinter with substantial assistance from Senior and Dickson, a toolmaker and moulder, who called in VTC for advice on polymers and compounds
In addition to being fitted to racehorses, the Sprinter can have studs installed for use on horses involved in almost any discipline. They are said to be less likely than steel shoes to cause injury to a fallen rider, as well as being suitable for brood mares, horses at rest, those recovering from laminitis and horses with poor or badly broken feet.