🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Unusual Horseshoe

[MDReed]

Found this horse shoe while regrading an old farm lane, that ran beside an old railroad. I'm curious as to the shape. What was the purpose of the extra bend? And what was the purpose of the piece attached to it?

 

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[cudamark]

Corrective shoe?

 

[crashbandicoot]

Corrective shoe?

Cudamark has the straight of it I believe! There,s been several examples of corrective horse shoes on here at times.Search for horse shoes or corrective horse shoes and you can probably find the old posts. nice!

 

[MDReed]

I searched the old threads, a few other groups, and google, found lots of pics of various types of corrective shoes. But in all that searching, I've not found one with the outward extension this one has. That's the part I'm really curious about.

 

[crashbandicoot]

I searched the old threads, a few other groups, and google, found lots of pics of various types of corrective shoes. But in all that searching, I've not found one with the outward extension this one has. That's the part I'm really curious about.

Silly me! I actually went and looked at your pics like I should have.Are you sure it,s a horse shoe? What about nail holes? Just a thought but maybe it,s not a horse shoe,in the interest of IDing it.

 

[crashbandicoot]

I,ve gotten stuck like this before by getting to invested in my first guess. I don,t have any alternative except some kind of hook,call me Capt.Obvious!

 

[MDReed]

Silly me! I actually went and looked at your pics like I should have.Are you sure it,s a horse shoe? What about nail holes? Just a thought but maybe it,s not a horse shoe,in the interest of IDing it.

Definite nail holes, rectangular, in the right alignment for a shoe. One is visible in pic 5. I took a scrub brush & water to it, 2 more opened up, others visible, but clogged with rust. By the looks of the wear, whatever was attached to it, was on the bottom, and appears to be hammered rather than modern weld. The one leg of it appears to be hammered layers. I'm sure it was made on an anvil. I found it buried in a farm lane, that went from road to barn along side a RR, under the fill that had fallen from the bank. The farm dates from late 1860s, RR mid 1870s. Last use as a farm & last trains were both 1970s. I'll try to take some better pics once it dries.

 

[pa plateau hiker]

I have found shoes like that. A couple had both ends bent at a right angle. Repurposed for some reason, but what for? Maybe the bent part was pounded into wood and something was placed in the U part of the shoe.

 

[GDub62]

Could be corrective shoe for injured hoof but can you imagine it getting hung on something or stepped on. Disaster. Who knows what they did back then though. My guess is with pa hiker

 

[pa plateau hiker]

Here are a few I found, repurposed.

 

[Gare]

I asked my Amish blacksmith today about that shoe. he told me it was a corrective type shoe to make the horses feet stand closer together .
Showed me a picture of it Went on the outside

 

[MDReed]

I asked my Amish blacksmith today about that shoe. he told me it was a corrective type shoe to make the horses feet stand closer together .
Showed me a picture of it Went on the outside

Thankyou!