The History of th style=”color:white”e Horse Shoe

The History of the Horseshoe

It is amazing how we so easily assume that common implements have always been with us. Take the horseshoe, for example. It was long ago (about 3500BC) when humans figured out that these magnificent creatures were more useful for transportation than for food. Out of necessity and almost immediately, riders realized that hooves had to be protected. Horses in the wild are not likely to go where their human riders want. That is over rocks and tough terrain. Nor do they normally travel more than a hundred miles a day and at a rapid pace no less.

The earliest form of foot protection came from Asia. People made booties from hides woven together with plants. It wasn’t till 2500 BC that the technology progressed. Chariot riders equipped their animals with strap-on leather contraptions. The Romans (approximately 1st century AD) further improved this, using solid, grooved, oval-shaped, metal-bottom hoof boots, which they referred to as hipposandals (Figure 2). These were fastened with metallic rings and leather laces.

It wasn’t till about 1000 AD that horseshoe making became a trade (mostly in Europe). They utilized forged, light bronze metal. These were first ones that were actually nailed into the hooves. Gradually the scallop shaped early forms of shoes went out of fashion. These were replaced by those that we might recognize today. Mass production of horseshoes began just prior to the US civil war and was one of the factors leading to a victory by the North.

Oddly enough, in some circles, we are returning to the boots. Modern hoof boots (Figure 1) are made from polyurethane. They serve to protect the hoof wall from hard, rocky terrain and prevent the hooves from splitting. They are especially useful on slick surfaces. Pete Ramey, co-founder of the American Hoof Association writes:

Horses can be booted for riding and left barefoot the rest of the time. This is arguably healthier for the horse and can save the owner money.

References

The History of the Horseshoe
https://americanequus.com/history-of-horeshoes/
The History of Horseshoes, Rachel Cohen, February 1996, Dressage Today
Strategies for Going Bare
https://www.equisearch.com/articles/strategies-bare-27275
An Intro to Horse Boots
https://www.horseillustrated.com/horse-health-an-intro-to-hoof-boots
Many articles on the care of horse hoofs
https://web.archive.org/web/20120306072949/http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/health/hoof_care/

Dan Harvey, author of Wrestling with Faith, secondlooknow.com

The History of the Horseshoe

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