Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-05-10
THE HISTORY OF HORsEsHOEs.
The English Used Them More Than q
Thousand Years Ago.

Ine EnK11Sh Used Them More Th0n a
Thousand Years Ago.
From the Horseman.
A horse was ridden long before he was
shod, and until it was learned how to put
shoes upon him his greatest usefulness was
not achieved. 1t is cause for comment that
the ancients did not really learn to shoe
him long before they did. They did put
coverings upon the feet Of animals used for
draught or burden. These coverings were
made of leather. and even plated shoes of
hemp were put upon mules, which, by the
way, were oftener ridden in olden times
than horses were. By and by these were
made of metal, not as the animals foot is
faced with iron today, but metal shoe
was made, into which the horses foot was
placed. The mules that drew Nero's char
lot were shod with silver Shoes while those
for his wife's turnout were of gold The
shape thereof "deponent saith not" An old
historian tells US that q people living in
Asia used to draw socks over the feet of
the horses when the snow lay deep upon
the ground. and way off in Kamchatka they
cover the feet of the dogs in the same
way. 1t seems as if all ancient shoes were
put upon the horse and held there by some
sort of lacing or strapping. War horses
were not Shod In any way, for Alexander
once is said to have marched until the feet
of his horses were broken while in another
expedition of ancient days the cavalry
was left behind because the hoofs of the
horSeS were IN bad condition"
The nearest thing we find to the horse
shoe of today was found in the grave of an
old king of France who died in ASH. There
were four nail holes in the shoe, and this is
the hrst mention of mailing on a shoe. 1t
might be well to notice just here the fact
that the horseshoe kept evil spirits away
even as long ago as in the days of this old
king, 1850 years ago, and was doubtless
placed on his grave for this purpose. a
writer in the Philadelphia Times says:
THE superstition that associates the horse
shoe with luck is very old, and prevails all
through Europe and in southern Asia. No
body can Seem to settle whether il is the
iron of which it is made or its shape that
brings good luck. The ancients believed
that iron had wonderful powers, and when
Arabs are overtaken by great storms they
cry: Iron! 1ron!' which they do to pro-
pitiate the evil spirits in charge of the
storm. AS to its shape a crescent
was form much favored by all nations.
The Chinese build tombs in this shape and
so do the Moors." 1t was lucky to have a
horse around in olden times, and so the
writer sums up the luck of horseshoe as
found in three qualities which it possesses:
1T is made of iron. 1t is the shape of a
crescent and it has been worn by horse"
So We find them gilded and beribboned in
my lady's parlor" and rusty and red above
phantom luck" or to drive away the
spirits" of our own invention. A shoe for
luck should never be hung up with tire
open end Town, because then the luck will
run out"
In the ninth century they began to shoe
horses, but, strange to say. only in time of
FROST King William / introduced horse
shoeing into England, and six horseshoes
are on the coat of arms of the descendants
OF the man to whom he gave vast estates
for caring for his horses in this way No
| improvement has been made in horseshoes
for years. Better iron has been used and
better nails. but no change has come in
shape or manner of putting them on. The
smithy'' is dingy-lookiIg place, with it's
rows of shoes along the rafters its big
bellows, and its fire and anvil; but the
smith-he's fine, sturdy fellow" full of
| arecdote and news.
"Horseshoes made of? Made of horse
shoe iron. A better class Of iron than is
| used for other things, and is often made of
old horseshoes melted down. Good nails?
Yes the Standard and the Ausabfe are
what We like. Size? There's a quarter of
an inch in difference. That? That's
mules shoe. Mr.. Mule has a narrower and
smaller foot than horse. Everybody
knows that. Cut their toe nails? Yes
every time we shoe 'em. A man that owns
a good horse don't trust much to q roadside
blacksmith. He ought to have his own
shoer just as he has his own barber And
that's the way big guns do with boss
horses. like to shoe the same horse
rather than shoe after some one else We
fellows never shoe just exactly alike, and
when get horse trimmed like to keep
him."