I found this horse shoe

[kimonswanson643]

I found it at a civil war cite do you think it is civil war era

 

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[kimonswanson643]

Here are pics

 

[taz42o]

There are guys that can tell you if its right , left,front or back by the wear but I dont there is any way to tell the age of a shoe.

 

[tamrock]

Some added measurements will help as they do come in various sizes. I'm no horseshoe expert, but I do find them. The big one I found in the field behind where I live and believe it to be from a large work horse, that pulled farming implements. The other smaller one I found at an old coal mine site and believe it to have come from a Mule working as traction for mine cars. Kind of like tires for a 2 ton truck over tires for a 1/2 truck.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

It looks machine made and more recent to me, but I've never seen a white patina on any of the ones I've found. I guess it could be possible that's it's that old.

The oldest horseshoe I ever found was hand forged. But I don't think it's from the Civil War era. Here's what a hand forged one looks like compared to a machine made horseshoe:

 

[stefen]

Generally PRE-1900 shoes had nail holes punched at intervals along the leading edge.

However, newer factory made shoes have a groove with punched nail holes.

A shoe that is made by a ferrier, farmer or rancher could be either way...mor'n likely without a groove.

A shoe with cleats at the toe or heal are generally from a work animal...used for traction purposes.

And a shoe with a cross bar or plate is for corrective purposes such as a split hoof...or hoof rot. The steel plate or a leather plate is sometimes used to retain hemp packing which may contain tar or possibly iodine crystals.

The land has been farmed fir hundreds of years, so the odds that the shoe is from the Civil War era are pretty slim. However if there was an encampment at that exact spot, then the odds increase.

 

[streakert]

BOTH ARE HAND MADE SHOES YOU HAVE A DRAFT HIND THAT IS CREASED FOR NAILS YOU CAN TELL ITS HAND MADE BY THE WAY THE CREASE TAPERS TO OUT, AND A FRONT SHOE, HARD TO SAY HOW OLD THEY ARE, IV BEEN A FARRIER FOR FAR TO LONG THIRD GENERATION,

 

[Texas Kid]

If you are a third generation farrier you must have known Bernie Chapman!

 

[FreeBirdTim]

BOTH ARE HAND MADE SHOES YOU HAVE A DRAFT HIND THAT IS CREASED FOR NAILS YOU CAN TELL ITS HAND MADE BY THE WAY THE CREASE TAPERS TO OUT, AND A FRONT SHOE, HARD TO SAY HOW OLD THEY ARE, IV BEEN A FARRIER FOR FAR TO LONG THIRD GENERATION,

Are you referring to my two horseshoes? If so, STOP YELLING AT ME! GEEZ!

 

[BosnMate]

The first shoe is pretty gungy to tell much from the pictures, but it looks to me like it's machine made. The heels caulks were
turned by the farrier, as was the toe grab either forge welded or forge brazed onto the toe of the shoe. It's a front shoe, and
looks like it might have been lost because a heel was a little long and the animal stepped on it with a back foot, either that or
it got hung in a fence, something that caused it to bend when it came off the foot.
The second set of pictures shows a hind shoe for a draft horse. That shoe also looks to me like it's machine made, and the caulks
(pronounced "corks") were turned by the blacksmith/farrier at the time of shoeing. The shoe next to that one is for a front foot,
and the photograph shows the foot side of the shoe, so can't tell much more about it. I don't know why the crease tapering
out would signify hand made, I have machine made shoes out in the shop right now that the crease tapers out on.
On the third set of pictures, at first glance the one on the left looks like a mule shoe, but then you see that a blacksmith has
tapered the ends to a point. Looking at the wear on the toe grab, the shoe has been on an animal, either horse or mule, but
way the heels are pointed the person doing so had a different use in mind for the shoe, other than nailing it back on a foot.
I've done exactly the same thing in the past, and then driven the shoe into a tree to use to tie the horse to. Basically it was
made into a giant staple. And the last shoe very definitely looks like a machine made for a hind foot, and again the caulks and
grab were done at the time the horse was shod. Very difficult to look at a picture of a horse shoe and put a date on it. Hand
made shoes are still being used today, I've done it myself, and machine made shoes were manufactured as far back as the Civil
War. There are some shoes that a person can tell is newer, Diamond horse and mule shoes comes to mind, and the imported
shoes from Japan look a little different than the earlier ones made in America, but basically it comes down to a horse shoe is a
horse shoe, is a horse shoe. There isn't much difference.

 

[tamrock]

I learned a little here.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

On the third set of pictures, at first glance the one on the left looks like a mule shoe, but then you see that a blacksmith has tapered the ends to a point. Looking at the wear on the toe grab, the shoe has been on an animal, either horse or mule, but way the heels are pointed the person doing so had a different use in mind for the shoe, other than nailing it back on a foot.
I've done exactly the same thing in the past, and then driven the shoe into a tree to use to tie the horse to. Basically it was made into a giant staple.

Thanks for the great information! I did wonder why the ends were so pointed. It's a really cool horseshoe and now you're info has made it even cooler to me.

 

[streakert]

Didn't mean to yell at ya

 

[Davers]

Great info,.
I tend to keep the ones I find in Civil War Areas & leave the others out for someone else to find.
I also tend to leave behind all the Pieces of Broken Shoe's I find behind as well..

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Didn't mean to yell at ya

I know, I was just busting your chops a little! I have a weird sense of humor, I guess.

 

[NEPADIGGER7]

Looks like general lee's lol...nice fins I found one like that this year too near an old blacksmith shop