The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1895-06-07
-ue1oRY OF HORSE SHOES.
r,elIsh Used Them More Than
tho ENC Thousand Years Ago.

u,,.n Used Them More Than q
The hns Thousand Years Ago.
Lao was ridden long before he
nod and until it was learned how
wa0 ,,t shoes upon him his greatest use,
wpa was not achieved. It is cause
luz ~. comment that the ancients did not
iO rnU learn to shoe him long before
r ean Ala They did put coverings upon
~. ~ feet Of animals used for draugf
lhrrden. These coverings were made
9.,sather. and even plated shoes OF
Samn were put upon mules, which, by
.hs wa,. were oftener ridden in olden
. ~ than horses were. BY and by
.sase we're made of metal, not as the
-;m.rs foot is faced with iron to-day,
s s metal shoe was made into which
~. u horses foot was placed The mules
.hot drew Nero's chariot were shod
s silver while those for his wife's
"turnout" were Of gold. The shape
.hsreof 'deponent saith not" An old
historian tells us that people living in
Asia used to draw socks over the feet
- me- horses when the snow lay deep
mon the ground, and way of in Kan
trhatka 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 an
other expedition Of ancient days the
acavalry was left behind, because the
hoofs of the horses were in bad condi-
ton"
The nearest thing we find to the
horse shoe of to-day was found In the
grave Of an old king of France, who
died in 4sl. There were four nail
holes in the shoe, and this is the first
mention of mailing on shoe. 1t might
be well to notice just here the fact
that the horse shoe kept evil spirits
away" even as long ago as in the days
Of this old King, 1900 years ago, and
was doubtless placed on his grave for
this purpose A writer in the Phila-
delphia Times says: The superstition
that associates the horse shoe with
luck is very old and prevails all
through Europe and Southern Asia.
Nobody can seem to settle whether it
is the iron of which it is made or It's
shape that brings good luck. The
ancients believed that iron had wonder
full powers, and when Arabs are over
taken by great storms they cry, "Iron!
Iron" which they do to propitiate the
evil spirits in charge of the storm.
. y AS to its shape 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 horse around in olden times,
and so the writer sums up the luck Of
horse shoe as found in three qualities
which it possesses: 1T is made of iron,
it is the shape Of crescent, and it
has been worn by a horse" So we
find them gilded and beribboned in
my lady's parlor," and rusty and red
above the stable door, all for the sake
OF the phantom luck" or to drive
away the spirits" of our own inven-
ton. shoe for luck" should never
be hung up with the open end down,
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 l. in
PRODUCED horse shoeing into England,
and six horse shoes are on the coat of
arms of the descendants of the man to
whom he gave vast estates for caring
'or his horses in this way. No improve
nent has been made in horseshoes for
ears Better iron has been used and
letter nails, but no change has come
. the shape or manner of putting
mem on. The 'smithy" is dingy-
ooklng place with its rows of shoes
long the rafters, its big bellows and
Is fre and anvil; but the "smith-he's
me- sturdy fellow" full of ancedote
nd news
Horse shoes made of? Made of
orse shoe iron. A better class of iron
nan is used for other things, and is Of
IN made of old horse shoes melted
own; Size? There's quarter of an
len difference. That? That's mules
zoe, Mr.. Mule has q narrower and
mailer foot than horse. Everybody
nows that. Cut their toe nails? Yes,
'ery time we shoe 'em. A man that
WINS good horse don't trust much tc
roadside blacksmith. He ought to
I'VE his own sheer just as he has his
va barber. And that's the way big
ms DO with boss horses. like to shoe
: same horse rather than shoe after
me one else. We fellows never shoe
- exactly alike, and when l get a
.sse trimmed l like to keep him.