Method for the preparation and improvement of horseshoes

A method of application of a horseshoe having a support surface attaching directly to a hoof of an ungulate and an exposed ground-facing surface contacting a ground surface when attached to the hoof, the horseshoe comprising:

• two legs, each of the two legs including nail holes arranged in a recess on the ground-facing surface;
• and
• a bridge between the two legs and having two free sides, the bridge comprising a first groove extending across the bridge from an inner circumference to an outer circumference of the horseshoe between the two free sides of the bridge on the support surface and a second groove extending across the bridge from the inner circumference to the outer circumference between the two free sides, the second groove being directly opposite the first groove on the ground-facing surface, wherein a thickness of the bridge is uniform in an area between the respective first nail holes of the two legs except at the first and second grooves, and wherein the horseshoe is composed of a metal;
• the method comprising the steps of:
• a. fitting the horseshoe as a single, unitary piece in a first configuration to the hoof of the ungulate;
• a′. responsive to the fitting, deepening the first groove in the support surface while the horseshoe is unattached to the hoof, by partially cutting or sawing the horseshoe starting at or along the first groove on the support surface across a width of the bridge without cutting completely through the bridge;
• b. responsive to the deepening, nailing the support surface of the horseshoe to the hoof such that a sole of the hoof remains uncovered by the attached horseshoe after the attaching;
• and
• c. responsive to the nailing, transitioning the attached horseshoe from the first configuration to a second configuration in which the attached horseshoe is divided into two separate parts, by cutting or sawing the horseshoe across the width of the bridge starting at or along the the second groove on the ground facing-surface and then completely through the deepened first groove on the support surface while the horseshoe remains nailed to the hoof and the sole remains uncovered by the attached horseshoe to produce a gap between the two separate parts, thereby permitting lateral and medial movement of the hoof along the ground surface.