How to identify horse shoes

[allison86]

This is my first one I know it's broken the other one was given to me a while back one seems bigger than the other and a little thicker any ideas ? this one was the one I dug up here.both of them

 

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[FreeBirdTim]

The size of the horseshoe is based on the size of the animal. Thickness will vary, depending on how worn the shoe was when the horse lost it.

Trying to put a date on horseshoes is frustrating. Even tougher if you only have part of one.

 

[sawmill man]

No, horse shoes are not one size fits all, they are all diff types ,sizes and styles out there from pony shoes a couple inches across to shoes for mules and draft horses on up.

 

[sawmill man]

someone correct me if im wrong but my take on finding half of shoes are the end wears thin over alot of use making it rust away quicker ,leaving the sides for us to find. i have made some for other loggers with cleats welded to the bottoms mostly on the toe .so if you find one like that its been used on a log woods work mule . you might look up horse shoes and find a list of types of shoes.

 

[allison86]

Thanks I know it's a stupid question I am still learning this type of.stuff

 

[CoilyGirl]

Here's a little chart that may or may not be accurate. Don't feel stupid, a lot of us here are still learning everyday.

 

[sawmill man]

Absolutely ,theres never a stupid question .

 

[Limitool]

Thanks I know it's a stupid question I am still learning this type of.stuff

I don't think it's a stupid question.... and if it is I beat you to it awhile back. I have found A LOT of partial shoes (like yours) and some whole ones. This old dirt road behind my house winds through the woods to the Duck River about a mile away. Just about all I find is horseshoes, wagon parts and chain links. I believe it was the main road between Centerville and Columbia TN. way back in the day. Then they ferried across the river. I've never MD'd back there yet but I bet it would be a great spot too.

I think you or I could get the first BANNER horseshoe if we keep plugging buddy.... BEST OF LUCK TO YA!!!!

 

[FreeBirdTim]

No, horse shoes are not one size fits all, they are all diff types ,sizes and styles out there from pony shoes a couple inches across to shoes for mules and draft horses on up

Yup, I've found all different sizes over the past three years. Still haven't figured out a way to hang them with the points facing up, though! LOL!

 

[relic nut]

Yup, I've found all different sizes over the past three years. Still haven't figured out a way to hang them with the points facing up, though! LOL!

View attachment 1347950

Dude, you're dumping out all the luck!! Clean the rust out of the holes on each side and use two brad nails.
Seen a guy at a show once who was displaying his detector finds. He had a five gallon bucket full of horse shoes and was given them to the kids that came by. They loved it. Not so sure about Mom and Dad. Lol

HH RN

 

[BosnMate]

A brief lesson on horse shoes. First -- the above picture that is attempting to date horse shoes. All those style of shoes are being used today. Any horse shoer that does corrective work, and makes hand made shoes will make shoes that resemble the ones pictured. The best way to date a horse shoe is what else did you find in the area that is date-able.
The hoof wall of a horses foot will grow an average of 3/8's inch a month. Wild horses will wear their feet off at about that rate, however horses kept on nice soft pasture will need their feet trimmed to keep them from getting too long and breaking up. Horses being ridden or driven will be forced to wear their feet down at a faster rate than they grow, and their feet get tender and the horse goes lame. The answer to that is to put iron shoes on the animal. When the horse or mule is shod, the hoof wall is trimmed back and the foot leveled, the shoe is shaped to fit the foot and nailed on. Now the hoof wall is protected and is going to grow 3/8's inch per month. If the foot is allowed to grow to long, there are a number of things that can go wrong, which I won't go into, but worse case, the end result can end up with a lame horse. Therefore the Army required the cavalry horses be shod every six weeks. The horse would get new shoes, 6 weeks later the farrier would cut the clinches off the nails, and pull the shoe. He would then trim the excess hoof wall, and nail the same shoe back on, which is call "resetting the shoe." Then 6 weeks after the shoe has been reset, they are usually so worn and thin that those shoes are pulled and new ones put on. Now, just because the army did it that way doesn't mean everybody does it that way, and in fact most people don't. Shoeing a horse is expensive, and people tend to leave them on the horse as long as possible. Depending on the hardness of the ground, and the length of time the shoe is left on the foot, or if the shoe has been reset, an iron horse shoe can wear in two at the toe. In another life I packed animals and rented saddle horses into an area in the High Sierra Nevada called Desolation Valley. The trails had no dirt on them, the country was solid granite, and the horses got lots of miles. Many times the new shoes on the horse would wear in two in a month. One more thing, horses and mules have different shaped feet, the mule foot is narrower and the hoof wall straighter than a horse. Also, the front foot of a horse is shaped different than a back foot. There are many different shapes and styles of horse shoes, and different traction devices used, that I'm not going to get into, it's just to much. Different shoes are used to correct certain things about the way the horse travels, or help heal an injured foot, or for traction on ice or in mud or when pulling a heavy load. I'll include a couple of pictures to show the difference shape of the front, back and mule feet.


The shape of the front foot.


The shape of the hind foot, and a mule shoe for comparison.