Abstract: A combination rasping/filing tool comprises an axially extending blade having first and second surfaces and proximal and distal ends. The first surface has a plurality of rasping teeth. Each individual rasping tooth defines a rasping cavity projecting below the first surface and has a raised portion projecting away from said first surface a height h. The raised portion has a trailing shoulder extending proximally away from and contiguous with a sharpened rasping ledge. A rasping face is contiguous with the rasping ledge and projects into the rasping cavity. Each rasping tooth is arranged in a row of a plurality of teeth, and each row is staggered in relation to proximally and distally neighboring rows. In one embodiment each row comprises eight teeth.

Abstract: A styptic powder applicator and file for use with pets. The applicator is designed to be integrated with the container and have a funnel-like shape in order to handle a styptic powder in an easier fashion. The container further has a file attached to a side of the container for the removal of burrs left after clipping a pet's nails. This invention provides a more efficient structure for grooming a pet by incorporating a file for removing burrs with the styptic applicator for staunching the flow of blood from a “quicked” nail.

Abstract: A hoof-pick is an equine tool resembling a screwdriver with a bent blade. It is used to “pick-out” or clean and examine the sole of a horse's hoof. The hoof-pick can be either a curved hook style or standard bent or “spade” blade. An illuminating hoof-pick has a LED (light emitting diode) built into the rubber or molded plastic handle. The LED wiring and resistor is housed in a protective tube built into the underside of the molded handle. One wire in the assembly goes to the contact spring; the other to a conducting battery tube on the contact board. The LED is activated by a push button on-off switch and powered by a “AAA” battery. The technology is basically the same as a flashlight. The LED light would be mounted on the base of the hook. This position would illuminate the proper area to be cleaned or examined.

Abstract: Unbalanced feet are known to cause lameness in horses. A trimming template, when attached securely around the exterior hoof wall with predetermined and precise measurements, will guide the farrier's hoof-cutting tools to trim the foot into perfect balance. This device looks like an oversized flat horseshoe with a hinge about half way between the toe and the heel on each side, allowing both heels to swing out or in. On the inside, protruding nail-type pins will penetrate into the hoof wall when the device is closed therearound between the coronary band and the foot's ground surface. Attached to one heel is an expanding strap that snaps onto the other heel to hold the device in place. Tool hardened steel construction withstands wear and tear. This device encircles the hoof wall, then locks solidly into place and stays attached to the foot to guide farrier tools for quick and accurate trimming.

Abstract: The equine hoof rasp is used by a horse owner to keep healthy, balanced hooves between the five to eight week intervals before a farrier visit. The equine hoof rasp has an elongated peanut-shaped handle with a front end and a rear end. The rear end is larger than the front end. The handle has a V-shaped cutout extending from the rear end to the front end. The V-shaped cutout forms a concave middle for mounting a pair of rasps at an angle. To hold the rasps, there is a pair of congruent retaining shields. The shields form an open rectangular middle section. The open rectangular middle section frames the rasps when the rasps are mounted in the peanut-shaped handle.

Abstract: A hoof pick measure tool that includes a hoof pick and a measuring body. The hoof pick may be used to remove foreign material from a horse's hoof. Additionally, the hoof pick measure tool further includes the measuring body. The measuring body includes at least one set of indicia linear measurement lines that allows a user to evaluate changes in dimensions of areas in the horse's hoof.

Abstract: A hoof plane comprises cutting teeth with cutting edges which extend perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and therefore to the working direction. The cutting teeth and the chip breaker grooves are formed by machining and extend at an angle of 45° relative to the longitudinal axis. The hoof plane consists of a high-quality tool steel and has a hardness of at least 64 HRC.

Abstract: The present invention is a visual aid for balancing and aligning the equine hoof. Unlike previous devices that consider only the ground surface when balancing the hoof capsule, this invention utilizes coronet band and hoof capsule deformation as the start point for rebalancing giving it a top down approach. This wrap-around device is superimposed upon a live hoof capsule for measurement and visualization. The invention is flexible, resilient, and adjustable allowing for proper placement and utilization on all equine hooves. A posterior attaching mechanism may be incorporated into the device for added stability. On the surface of the device are various markings with which measurements are made.

Abstract: The equine hoof rasp is used by a horse owner to keep healthy, balanced hooves between the five to eight week intervals before a farrier visit. The equine hoof rasp has an elongated peanut-shaped handle with a front end and a rear end. The rear end is larger than the front end. The handle has a V-shaped cutout extending from the rear end to the front end. The V-shaped cutout forms a concave middle for mounting a pair of rasps at an angle. To hold the rasps, there is a pair of congruent retaining shields. The shields form an open rectangular middle section. The open rectangular middle section frames the rasps when the rasps are mounted in the peanut-shaped handle.

Abstract: A hoof pick measure tool that includes a hoof pick and a measuring body. The hoof pick may be used to remove foreign material from a horse's hoof. Additionally, the hoof pick measure tool further includes the measuring body. The measuring body includes at least one set of indicia linear measurement lines that allows a user to evaluate changes in dimensions of areas in the horse's hoof.

Abstract: A knife or hoof knife where the cutting blade element of the hoof knife is flexibly mounted in the knife handle, at least partially compensating rough motions during trimming. The knife with this design therefore fits more comfortably in the hand and enables, for example, wrist-friendly trimming of a horse's hoof. The flexibility can also be varied by the use of damping elements with different hardnesses and by designing the cutting blade element as an exchangeable module, so that different cutting blade elements can be provided on one handle element.

Abstract: An improved farrier's tool consists of a generally planar body consisting of a substantially rectangular, rigid plate with two opposite flat faces, each face being well-suited for an abrasive body surface—one face consisting of a rasping surface and the opposite face consisting of a filing surface. The body, having a length greater than its width, includes a protruding handle member extending from the body and aligned centrally to the long-axis of the body. The handle member, further, being suitably adapted to receive a griping means such as a wooden or plastic handle element. Both the rasping and the filing surfaces include a repeating and continuous abrasion surface aligned substantially less than about 45-degrees from the cutting or travel direction of the tool.

Abstract: A combination hoof pick and illumination device for performing maintenance on the hooves of equines, such as horses, in poorly lighted areas such as narrow stalls, and at dusk and during the night, includes a handle having a removable cap that defines an illumination end. The illumination end includes a lens through which battery generated light shines, and centrally mounted to the lens is a boss to which various types of tools and implements are attachable to and detachable therefrom for performing specific maintenance operations, such as picking and cleaning the equines hooves, with the interchangeable tools including a straight pick, a right-angled pick and a wrench.

Abstract: A hoof trimming stall has a front gate having two pivotally mounted spaced-apart doors for swinging inwardly and outwardly. The doors are movable between a catching position in which the doors point inwardly for receiving a head of the animal entering the stall, a closed position for holding the animal in the stall with the neck of the animal caught in a gap between the doors, and an open position in which the doors point outwardly for permitting the animal to exit. A door lock/release mechanism has a slider arm movable forward and backward, a hydraulic cylinder for moving the slider arm forward and backward, a rear catcher mounted on the slider arm for preventing the doors from moving from the closed position to the catching position, a front catcher mounted on the slider arm for preventing the doors from being opened by the animal when the doors are in the closed position, and a release mechanism for permitting the doors to move from the open position to the catching position.

Abstract: A trim guide used by farriers for the hooves of animals. The trim guide has a shank with a bend. At one end of the shank is positioned an anchor, ideally configured as an “X”. The anchor rests on the flexor tendons. A leveling bar is attached to the opposing end of said shank and forms a “T” with said shank. A leveling bulb is secured near or on the leveling bar allowing proper measurement on the level of the hoof to be easily determined.

Abstract: Embodiments of a farrier's tool are disclosed which may to trim a horse's hoof. The farrier's tool of the instant invention employs a cam which amplifies the mechanical advantage of the tool such that the operator may trim a hoof using a single hand.

Abstract: A diagnostic tool for use in trimming and shoeing a hoof includes a substantially planar base having a top surface and a bottom surface. A heel member is coupled to the base. At least one radio-opaque marker is rigidly coupled to said top surface of said base. In use, a hoof is positioned on the base, with the hoof resting on the top surface and a heel portion of the hoof placed against the heel member. A side view radiographic image of the hoof positioned on the base is made, with the at least one radio-opaque marker being visible therein. Accurate hoof measurements and location determinations may then be obtained, with reference to the at least one radio-opaque marker in the radiographic image.

Abstract: A horseshoe cleaning tool and method for cleaning under a horseshoe shod to a horse's hoof. The tool includes a blade portion having a blade neck with proximal and distal ends, and the blade portion has a substantially thin and planar tip portion adjacent the blade neck distal end. The tip portion has left and right wing-type extensions each extending laterally outward within the plane of the tip portion and respectively having a left and a right pointed tip remote from the blade neck. The left and right wing-type extensions respectively form left and right notches of about 90 degrees adjacent the blade neck distal end, and the tip portion is substantially rounded intermediate the left and right pointed tips. The tool has a handle grip spaced from the plane of the tip portion, and a blade mounting segment extends upwardly and rearwardly from the blade neck's proximal end and joins to the handle grip.

Abstract: A hand-held hoof cleaning tool is formed as a shaped handle and a simply bent metal pick element, which are specially oriented and configured to greatly improve the amount of controllable power that may be applied to the cleaning task. In a preferred embodiment, a specially shaped handle guides the user's grasp to ensure that a somewhat narrow range of picking angles are employed by the bent metal pick tip. Acute picking angles within the range of 15 to 35 degrees are described, which allow highly controllable and effective leveraged cleaning action to be accomplished while reducing the need of large wrist twisting motions.