Help with ox knobs/shoes

Keith123

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Jul 7, 2013
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Does anybody have any info on dating ox knobs or shoes? Possibly a link? ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1422026426.768457.jpgImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1422026463.103408.jpgImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1422026502.354740.jpg
 

They have both been around for a long long time, with little change. Having never shod an ox, I'm no expert, but the shoe looks machine made to me, so that would date it probably from the mid 1800's. I don't know if you can buy machine made ox shoes anymore. Probably could through the 30's though, in fact in some places oxen were being used for work in the 1940's.
 

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Thanks for the info. I figured the ox knob was old due to the wear and patina. Wasn't sure if different styles were specific to different eras. I really have know idea about the ox shoe . All I know is they were most popular in the 1850s. What details give away that it is machine made? I ask cause I've got other iron items that appear to be worked by hand, but I don't know how to be sure.
 

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spin 1.jpgspin 2.jpgI found this one in Cheshire England , its made of lead .spin 3.jpgspin 4.jpg
 

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There is always a little blacksmithing work to fit shoes, heat in forge to bend a little.
I think the knob is a horn weight.
 

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I too have found a number of ox shoes over the years, these are often much more crude looking than horseshoes. I read somewhere that factories started casting different sizes of horseshoes for resale to farriers in the 1860s, but I've found very little information on ox shoes. It would only make sense, that these factories may have also cast ox shoes. I have yet to find an ox knob. :icon_scratch:

"Oxen can pull heavier loads and pull for a longer period of time than horses depending on weather conditions. On the other hand, they are also slower than horses, which has both advantages and disadvantages; their pulling style is steadier, but they cannot cover as much ground in a given period of time. For agricultural purposes, oxen are more suitable for heavy tasks such as breaking sod or plowing in wet, heavy, or clay-filled soil. When hauling freight, oxen can move very heavy loads in a slow and steady fashion. Working oxen usually require shoes, although in England not all working oxen were shod. Since their hooves are cloven, two shoes are required for each hoof, as opposed to a single horseshoe. Ox shoes are usually of approximately half-moon or banana shape, either with or without caulkins, and are fitted in symmetrical pairs to the hooves. Unlike horses, oxen are not easily able to balance on three legs while a farrier shoes the fourth. In England, shoeing was accomplished by throwing the ox to the ground and lashing all four feet to a heavy wooden tripod until the shoeing was complete. Such devices were made of wood in the past, but may today be of metal. Similar devices are found in France, Austria, Germany, Spain, Canada and the United States, where they may be called ox slings, ox presses or shoeing stalls."
 

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We call it trimming chute for 4H calves hooves. It works the same way..

The “battle of the blue water” sept 3 1855 was in retaliation of the “Gratin affair” a wood cutting party from ft Laramie, 29 souls were plucked because of a drunken interpreter. That whole incident was escalated when, Indians killed a sore footed Mormon oxen and the Mormons wanted payed for it. The blue water battle field is a few miles from me. Please check my numbers but that’s how it all came to be.
 

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