We propose to take advantage of the wear resistance of aluminum matrix composites to make horse shoes. The aluminum matrix composites were developed in the automotive and aeronautic fields in the 80's. From now on, the equestrian field should be a good opportunity if a viable material and manufg. process is found. Aluminum alloys are thought about due to their lightness, their damping capacity, and their casting at a lower temp. than iron. These alloys can be reinforced by tough ceramic particles. Mainly Alcan, in Canada, produces these composites. A casting alloy AS7G06 (A356) reinforced by SiC particles (15-20 mm in size and 15% vol.) was chosen for this work. Ingots of this composite were melted and cast in an adapted mold. Using the CAO software and 3D viewing, the shoeing smith managed to "carve" his piece of work on a computer screen as he could have done with a model. Computer files have then been used to direct a prototyping machine and achieve directly the metallic mold. These horse shoes were then placed when still hot on the horse hooves as it is done for iron. The composite horse shoes were painted with a thermochromic paint (used to control the temp. in jet engines) to control the setting temp. This paint becomes blue, then purple, then yellow at 400° and this is when the horse shoe must be placed. This composite shows the advantages of both aluminum and titanium light alloys together with a wear resistance similar to some traditional iron alloys.
