The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1869-02-20
A CHAPTER ON HORsESHOES.


A CHAPTER ON HORSESHOES.
The Romans shOd their horses,
though not in the same way as we do.
Their pedillum Tapped over, and there
fore occasloned Il rafting sound.
Wineklcmann has published a drawing
of a Roman gem, showing one man
holding up the foot Of the horse, and
another man shoeing it. IN iron horse
shoe is mentioned by Appian; but
shoes (carbatin;e) made Of raw hides
were, as Aristotle and Plinv attest,
put upon camcls in the time OF war and
during long journeys. Nero is said by
Seutonius, to have shod his mules with
. silver. Pliny records of Poppaa, the
empress of Nero, that she used gold
for the same purpose. These shoes
had probably the upper part only form
ed Of the precious metals, or perhaps
they were plated out of thin slips.
In the horscshoes found in the Ger
man harrows, says Fosbroke, the shoes
project not downward, but upward.
At Colnev, in Norfolk, were found Ro-
man urns, and a horseshoe of uncom-
mon form.-round and broad in front.
narrowing very much backward, and
having its extreme ends almost brought
close behind and rather pointing in
ward, with the nail-holes still perfect
An early instance of nails in horse
shoes is furnished by one of a horse
buried with Childeric l., who died 4sl,
which was fastened with nine nails
(Archpologia, ill., 35). Du Gauge and
/ Carew mentioned the custom of only
shocing the forc-fect La Brocquiere
describes the Oriental horscshGes as be-
ing very light, rather heightened to-
wards the heel, and thinner there than
at the toe They were not turned up,
and had but four nail-holcs, two upon
each side. The nails were square, with
thick and heavy head.
The present mode of shocing horses
was introduced into this country by the
Normans, at the time Of the Conquest.
The Britons had been taught the use
of them by the Romans, but their pcdo-
Ian We're probably considered too clum-
sy to he adopted by the Saxons The
Franks in the ninth century, and prob
ably also the Normans, shod their
horses in winter only.
1t may be mentioned, en- PEASANT,
, that the male horse only was ridden bv
knights and people of any distinction
in the Middle Ages; and that to ride
made was always looked upon as a
degradation. This was either a reli-
gious superstition, or an old Teutonic
prejudice. In the thirteenth century,
horses were obtained from Turkey and
| Greece, and at later period from Bar
barry. The lord rode the dcstrier, or
war-horse; the lady, the palefroi, or
palfrey; the servant, the roncin and
the luggage was carried by a sommier,
or sumpter.
White horses were most priced, after
them dapplc-gray, and bay or chestnut
1t is curious to find that, in 1885, the
queen of Navarro gave carrots to her
horses. The ordinary price of horses
in England, in the reign of Edward l.,
was from one to ten pounds When
St. Louis returned to France from his
captivity, the Abbot of Cluny presented
to the king and queen each a horse, the
value of which Joinville estimated at
five hundred livres,-equal to about
four hundred pounds of our present
English money. Feats of horseman-
ship were much practiscd; one of these
was to jump into the saddle in full ar
NOR:
No foot Fitzjames in stirlup staid.
No grasp upon the saddle laid,
But wreathed his left hand in the name,
And lightly bounded from the plain.
Horses We're frequently given as
brides. The widow of Herbert dc Mes
nil gave King John of England pal
frey to obtain the wardship of her chill
dren; and one Godfrey Fitz-Richard
gave the same monarch palfrcy for a
! concession in the forest of Bcaulieu.
A large pitcher ornamentcd with
horseshocs, was found in q Norman
pottery, discovered on the estate of
Lord Scarsdalc, near Derby 1t is fig
urcd in The Reliquary, and is a very
interesting example of the period The
decoration is the badge Of the ancient
lords of the soil ,on which the vessel
was made, and it was probably de-
signed for castle use The badge is
that of the family of Ferrars, Earls of
Derby, Ferrars, and Nottingham, who
held Duf1ield Castle from the time of
Henry Ill, when the lands were con-
fiscated
The out-ofthe-way little capital,
Oakham, has a unique prerogative: it
claims horseshoe from every noble or
royal parsonage who lodges within its
walls, or passes through its streets.
In its ancient Norman hall may be
seen these iron souvenirs of distinguish
cd visits, some adorned with coronet,
and marked with the names of donors
from Queen Elizabeth down to Princess
Victoria. The castle was built bv
Wakelin de Ferrariis, temp. William I.
The Smiths Company at Chester was
in existence there long prior to 1893,
in which year Prince Arthur, son and
heir of King Henry VII, paid visit
to the quaint old city. The princes
horses required to be re-shod, and the
! services of Thomas Edyan, master
smith, and senior alderman of the
Smiths Company, We're called into re-
| QUESTION on that duty This work was
completed so entirely to the princes
satisfaction, that he then and there pre-.