Horseshoe but with a strange attachment

[Tricia]

Honestly, I just feel sorry for that horse. The shoe is crude, probably home made by someone not very experienced in blacksmithing.

The horse probably had to pull or haul heavy loads over difficult terrain.

Whereas fine saddle horses were pampered as a symbol of wealth, the everyday workhorse got little respect and basic care.

Whatever this horse was doing, it was looked upon as a beast of burden and here's hoping it got to retire to a green pasture once it was past it's prime.

 

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[Gypsy Heart]

Honestly, I just feel sorry for that horse. The shoe is crude, probably home made by someone not very experienced in blacksmithing.

The horse probably had to pull or haul heavy loads over difficult terrain.

Whereas fine saddle horses were pampered as a symbol of wealth, the everyday workhorse got little respect and basic care.

Whatever this horse was doing, it was looked upon as a beast of burden and here's hoping it got to retire to a green pasture once it was past it's prime.

I think I am going to have to differ with your oppinion. Yes work horses carried heavy loads and over very rough terrain.....Everywhere was rough terrain in the early days of our country.Most work horses and oxen were treated very well by their owners. They had to be as the farmer depended upon them too much....to ill treat your animal would be suicide as the farmer knew in order to succeed, he needed that animal. Medicine and food for the animals often took first place before even the families needs. The Spanish Colonial and Morgan horses were bred specifically to be beast of burdens.

 

[diggummup]

trivet

another Horseshoe Trivet

More than likely.

 

[slowreaper]

What bothers me about this shoe, (and I still think it is a shoe intended for use, finished or not) is not the amount hanging over in front of the toe of the shoe, but the amount hanging inside the toe of the shoe. The inside of the hoof is relitively tender and does bruse easy. I can see small stones getting lodged in there and causeing real problems.

As for the back of the shoes, I have seen many used that are just folded over to form cleats.

gypsyheart, for the most part I agree with farmer caring for their animals, unfortunately then as today there were plenty that were not all that good to their animals.

Brad

 

[bill gent]

its a corrective shoe there are so many that farriars use they kind of make them up as they go along to apply to the needs of the horse and situation

 

[diggummup]

What bothers me about this shoe, (and I still think it is a shoe intended for use, finished or not) is not the amount hanging over in front of the toe of the shoe, but the amount hanging inside the toe of the shoe. The inside of the hoof is relitively tender and does bruse easy. I can see small stones getting lodged in there and causeing real problems.



Brad

I'll probably get lambasted for this but here goes-Sorry but I have to respectfully disagree-I believe you answered the reason why this "shoe" would be highly impractible to be shod on a horse in this state.Even if unfinished,why would the there be so much metal hanging over the inside of the front of the shoe? Seems like an awful lot to file down to make it wearable.Once upon a time it may have been on a horse but not in the state it's presented on here.Design versus function (stole that from diving doc ). The design of this "shoe" isn't functional for any practical horse.In my opinion it would be best served as a boot jack and scraper or a trivet as suggested by SWR versus anything i'd put on my horse. I mean look at this thing,you gotta be kidding me, i'd kick the crap out of my farrier/blacksmith for putting something like that on my horse,he'd be lame in a week or a day if I actually rode him. Maybe it was made and then discarded for this very reason,maybe it was made by a farrier in training,better yet maybe it was made by the owner of the horse and he thought better before putting his newly made contraption on his horse for which he relies on daily? Or maybe it was just an old used horseshoe that someone welded a piece of metal to,to make it something else entirely,like a trivet or a bootjack/scraper, times were tough back then and you made due with what you had. So yes, it is/was a horseshoe but no, it never made it to a hoof,not looking like that.

its a corrective shoe there are so many that farriars use they kind of make them up as they go along to apply to the needs of the horse and situation

Not this shoe,no way,unless he needed shoes to make the trip to the glue factory. JMHO

 

[Montana Jim]

What bothers me about this shoe, (and I still think it is a shoe intended for use, finished or not) is not the amount hanging over in front of the toe of the shoe, but the amount hanging inside the toe of the shoe. The inside of the hoof is relitively tender and does bruse easy. I can see small stones getting lodged in there and causeing real problems.



Brad

I'll probably get lambasted for this but here goes-Sorry but I have to respectfully disagree-I believe you answered the reason why this "shoe" would be highly impractible to be shod on a horse in this state.Even if unfinished,why would the there be so much metal hanging over the inside of the front of the shoe? Seems like an awful lot to file down to make it wearable.Once upon a time it may have been on a horse but not in the state it's presented on here.Design versus function (stole that from diving doc ). The design of this "shoe" isn't functional for any practical horse.In my opinion it would be best served as a boot jack and scraper or a trivet as suggested by SWR versus anything i'd put on my horse. I mean look at this thing,you gotta be kidding me, i'd kick the crap out of my farrier/blacksmith for putting something like that on my horse,he'd be lame in a week or a day if I actually rode him. Maybe it was made and then discarded for this very reason,maybe it was made by a farrier in training,better yet maybe it was made by the owner of the horse and he thought better before putting his newly made contraption on his horse for which he relies on daily? Or maybe it was just an old used horseshoe that someone welded a piece of metal to,to make it something else entirely,like a trivet or a bootjack/scraper, times were tough back then and you made due with what you had. So yes, it is/was a horseshoe but no, it never made it to a hoof,not looking like that.

its a corrective shoe there are so many that farriars use they kind of make them up as they go along to apply to the needs of the horse and situation

Not this shoe,no way,unless he needed shoes to make the trip to the glue factory. JMHO

I agree... no way in heck.

 

[DCMatt]

Equine disco shoe...

Do the Hustle!

DCMatt

 

[stefen]

Honestly, I just feel sorry for that horse. The shoe is crude, probably home made by someone not very experienced in blacksmithing.

The horse probably had to pull or haul heavy loads over difficult terrain.

Whereas fine saddle horses were pampered as a symbol of wealth, the everyday workhorse got little respect and basic care.

Whatever this horse was doing, it was looked upon as a beast of burden and here's hoping it got to retire to a green pasture once it was past it's prime.

I think I am going to have to differ with your oppinion. Yes work horses carried heavy loads and over very rough terrain.....Everywhere was rough terrain in the early days of our country.Most work horses and oxen were treated very well by their owners. They had to be as the farmer depended upon them too much....to ill treat your animal would be suicide as the farmer knew in order to succeed, he needed that animal. Medicine and food for the animals often took first place before even the families needs. The Spanish Colonial and Morgan horses were bred specifically to be beast of burdens.

Hey guys, listen up...Gypsy is talking from experience...and I must agree ...Typically most farmers and ranchers did thier own shoeing and rarely depended on using a blacksmith or farrier.

Depending on the terrain (rocky) and the possibility that the horse has a split hoof, the shoe corrected the situation. Most likely, if you were fortunate enough to find the complete set of shoes, only one would have this correction and maybe two for balance...both most likely on the front hooves. A horse tends to power drive with the front legs and which usually suffers more damage than the rears.

Not all horses require shoes...some like the Peruvians have hooves that are like flint and if thet have enough moisture, will not splt of chip severely.

On the ortherhand, I had an Appy that had a white stripe on the front offside hoof which was extremely soft like ivory soap and required corrective shoes. This horse was shod on the fronts only due to power driving with the fronts and flat stepping on the rears.

As to terrain, rocky terrain will damage a hoof shell (outer) while muddy areas will typically suck shoes off consistantly. Shoes will last 4 to 6 weeks for a trail horse before requiring replacement...the walking pattern will also be a determaning factor for replacement.

Interesting sidelight...Native Americans horses were never shod and the hooves actually looked like patties...they seldom had problems and were some of the finest horsemen in history.

More trivia...a horse standing on moist ground will have healther feet than a horse standing in dry sand...the hoof is no different than a fingernail...when dry its brittle...need i Say more

 

[Tricia]

Have equine experience too.

But I agree, most people who used horses for labor treated them well because without the horses...the human couldn't handle the workload. It was economically sound to care for the horse well. They needed that horse.

On the other hand, there were many people who saw their work horses as nothing but beasts of burden and when that one couldn't do the job any longer, a new one was easy enough to get.

This particular shoe with this odd attachment made me think about THIS horse and it's life. It was probably a hard life and like I said originally, hope THIS horse had a good leisurely retirement and was appreciated for all it's hard work.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Found this behind a house (1860) being restored. Anyone have any ideas for a rookie? Thanks everyone!!!! Good luck hunting.

Horse shoe with toe-clip for cross country skis.

I don't think it is a shoe by design. Looped ends work cross-purpose with the rectangular lip. I'd go with boot jack or andiron project that wasn't finished.

 

[Tricia]

Horses on skis. I love it. HaHaHaHa

Good one.

 

[slowreaper]

What bothers me about this shoe, (and I still think it is a shoe intended for use, finished or not) is not the amount hanging over in front of the toe of the shoe, but the amount hanging inside the toe of the shoe. The inside of the hoof is relitively tender and does bruse easy. I can see small stones getting lodged in there and causeing real problems.



Brad

I'll probably get lambasted for this but here goes-Sorry but I have to respectfully disagree-I believe you answered the reason why this "shoe" would be highly impractible to be shod on a horse in this state.Even if unfinished,why would the there be so much metal hanging over the inside of the front of the shoe? Seems like an awful lot to file down to make it wearable..

Well, you didn't say anything about my mother or the way I dress so no reason to lambast ya for anything. You could very well be right. And about the only reason I can think of that this shoe makes sence the way it is, is if there was something wrong with the front of the hoof, in which case the area between the plate and the hoof would be packed with cloth, cotton or some other similar item. But, if that were the case they would most often pad the entire hoof under the shoe with a piece of leather or in later years with a piece of rubber. Remember way back when, they didn't have the option of letting a work animal take a few days or weeks off to heal.

Brad

 

[slowreaper]

Honestly, I just feel sorry for that horse. The shoe is crude, probably home made by someone not very experienced in blacksmithing.

The horse probably had to pull or haul heavy loads over difficult terrain.

Whereas fine saddle horses were pampered as a symbol of wealth, the everyday workhorse got little respect and basic care.

Whatever this horse was doing, it was looked upon as a beast of burden and here's hoping it got to retire to a green pasture once it was past it's prime.

I think I am going to have to differ with your oppinion. Yes work horses carried heavy loads and over very rough terrain.....Everywhere was rough terrain in the early days of our country.Most work horses and oxen were treated very well by their owners. They had to be as the farmer depended upon them too much....to ill treat your animal would be suicide as the farmer knew in order to succeed, he needed that animal. Medicine and food for the animals often took first place before even the families needs. The Spanish Colonial and Morgan horses were bred specifically to be beast of burdens.

Hey guys, listen up...Gypsy is talking from experience...and I must agree ...Typically most farmers and ranchers did thier own shoeing and rarely depended on using a blacksmith or farrier.

Depending on the terrain (rocky) and the possibility that the horse has a split hoof, the shoe corrected the situation. Most likely, if you were fortunate enough to find the complete set of shoes, only one would have this correction and maybe two for balance...both most likely on the front hooves. A horse tends to power drive with the front legs and which usually suffers more damage than the rears.

Not all horses require shoes...some like the Peruvians have hooves that are like flint and if thet have enough moisture, will not splt of chip severely.

On the ortherhand, I had an Appy that had a white stripe on the front offside hoof which was extremely soft like ivory soap and required corrective shoes. This horse was shod on the fronts only due to power driving with the fronts and flat stepping on the rears.

As to terrain, rocky terrain will damage a hoof shell (outer) while muddy areas will typically suck shoes off consistantly. Shoes will last 4 to 6 weeks for a trail horse before requiring replacement...the walking pattern will also be a determaning factor for replacement.

Interesting sidelight...Native Americans horses were never shod and the hooves actually looked like patties...they seldom had problems and were some of the finest horsemen in history.

More trivia...a horse standing on moist ground will have healther feet than a horse standing in dry sand...the hoof is no different than a fingernail...when dry its brittle...need i Say more

Under a full load a work horse will pull with its front feet like a saddle horse, but they also squat low to the ground and push with the hind quarters moving their load with brute force. They do not move heavy wieght with their front, but with their back end. Prior to americanizing the draft horse they were short both in hieght and body length. By short I mean in comparison to modern draft horses. Horse such as the clysdale and shire were not used for heavy work because their hoofs were too large and fragile for it.

Moist ground is good for a hoof, but wet ground will rot a hoof right off.

I believe back then as today, you had people who took exceptionally good care of their horses, those who did what they had to and those who figured they were just dumb animals to use as they liked. Most farmers didn't make it for any of a thousand reasons, maybe not taking care of their animals was the reason for some of them.

Brad