The evolution of the modern horse-shoe from the primitive foot-gear for
draught animals used in ancient times furnishes an interesting subject
for investigation. Xenophon and other historians recommended various
processes for hardening and strengthening the hoofs of horses and
mules,[1] and from this negative evidence some writers have inferred that
the ancients were ignorant of farriery. It seems indeed certain that the
practice of protecting the feet of horses was not universal among the
Greeks and Romans. Fabretti, an Italian antiquary, examined with care
the representations of horses on many ancient columns and marbles, and
found but one instance in which the horse appeared to be shod;[2] and
in most specimens of ancient art the iron horse-shoe is conspicuous by
its absence. But in the mosaic portraying the battle of Issus, which was
unearthed at Pompeii in 1831, and which is now in the Naples Museum,
is the figure of a horse whose feet appear to be shod with iron shoes
similar to those in modern use;[3] and in an ancient Finnish incantation
against the plague, quoted in Lenormant’s “Chaldean Magic and Sorcery,”
occur these lines:—
O Scourge depart; Plague, take thy flight … I will give thee a
horse with which to escape, whose shoes shall not slide on ice,
nor whose feet slip on the rocks.
No allusion to the horse-shoe is made by early writers on veterinary
topics. But, on the other hand, there is abundant testimony that the
ancients did sometimes protect the feet of their beasts of burden.
Winckelmann, the Prussian art historian, describes an antique engraved
stone representing a man holding up a horse’s foot, while an assistant,
kneeling, fastens on a shoe.[4] In the works of the Roman poet Catullus
occurs the simile of the iron shoe of a mule sticking in the mire.[5]
Contemporary historians relate that the Emperor Nero caused his mules
to be shod with silver,[6] while golden shoes adorned the feet of the
mules belonging to the notorious Empress Poppæa.[7] Mention of an iron
horse-shoe is made by Appian,[8] a writer not indeed remarkable for
accuracy; but the phrase “brasen-footed steeds,” which occurs in Homer’s
Iliad, is regarded by commentators as a metaphorical expression for
strength and endurance. Wrappings of plaited fibre, as hemp or broom,
were used by the ancients to protect the feet of horses.[9] But the most
common form of foot covering for animals appears to have been a kind of
leathern sock or sandal, which was sometimes provided with an iron sole.
This covering was fastened around the fetlocks by means of thongs, and
could be easily removed.[10]
Iron horse-shoes of peculiar form, which have been exhumed in Great
Britain of recent years, have been objects of much interest to
archæologists. In 1878 a number of such relics shaped for the hoof
and pierced for nails were found at a place called Cæsar’s Camp,
near Folkstone, England.[11] In the south of Scotland, also, ancient
horse-shoes have been found, consisting of a solid piece of iron made to
cover the whole hoof and very heavy. In the year 1653 a piece of iron
resembling a horse-shoe, and having nine nail-holes, was found in the
grave of Childeric I., king of the Franks, who died A. D. 481. Professor
N. S. Shaler believes that the iron horse-shoe was invented in the fourth
century, and from the fact that it was first called _selene_, the moon,
from its somewhat crescent-like shape, he concludes that it originated in
Greece.[12] But even in the ninth century, in France, horses were shod
with iron on special occasions only,[13] and the early Britons, Saxons,
and Danes do not appear to have had much knowledge of farriery. The
modern art of shoeing horses is thought to have been generally introduced
in England by the Normans under William the Conqueror.[14] Henry de
Ferrars, who accompanied that monarch, is believed to have received his
surname because he was intrusted with the inspection of the farriers; and
the coat-of-arms of his descendants still bears six horse-shoes.[15]
On the gate of Oakham Castle, an ancient Norman mansion in Rutlandshire,
built by Wakelin de Ferrars, son of the first earl of that name, were
formerly to be seen a number of horse-shoes of different patterns.
The estate is famous on account of the tenure of the barons occupying
it. Every nobleman who journeyed through its precincts was obliged as
an act of homage to forfeit a shoe of the horse whereon he rode, or else
to redeem it with a sum of money; and the horse-shoes thus obtained were
nailed upon the gate, but are now within on the walls of the castle.
These walls are covered by memorials of royal personages and peers, who
have thus paid tribute to the custom of the county.[16]
Queen Elizabeth was thought to have initiated this practice, though this
opinion is incorrect. According to tradition she was once journeying on
a visit to her lord high treasurer, William Cecil, the well-known Lord
Burleigh, at his residence near Stamford. While passing through Oakham
her horse is said to have cast a shoe, and in memory of the mishap the
queen ordered a large iron shoe to be made and hung up in the castle, and
that every nobleman traveling through the town should follow her example.
A similar usage prevails to-day, new shoes being provided of shapes and
sizes chosen by the donors.[17]
While John of Gaunt (1339-99), son of Edward III. of England, was riding
through the town of Lancaster, his horse cast a shoe, which was kept as
a souvenir by the townspeople, and fastened in the middle of the street.
And in accordance with a time-honored custom a new shoe is placed in the
same spot every seven years by the residents of Horse-Shoe Corner.[18]
The practical value of the horse-shoe is tersely expressed in the old
German saying, “A nail preserves a country;” for the nail keeps in place
the horse-shoe, the shoe protects the foot of the horse, the horse
carries the knight, the knight holds the castle, and the castle defends
the country.
The following story from Grimm’s “Household Tales” (vol. ii. p. 303) may
be appropriate in this place, as illustrating the same idea, besides
pointing a moral.
_The Nail._
A merchant had done a good business at the fair; he had sold
his wares and lined his money-bags with gold and silver.
Then he wanted to travel homeward and be in his house before
nightfall. So he packed his trunk with the money on his horse
and rode away. At noon he rested in a town, and when he wanted
to go farther the stable-boy brought out his horse and said:
“A nail is wanting, sir, in the shoe of its left hind foot.”
“Let it be wanting,” answered the merchant; “the shoe will
certainly stay on for the six miles I have still to go; I am
in a hurry.” In the afternoon, when he once more alighted and
had his horse fed, the stable-boy went to him and said, “Sir, a
shoe is missing from your horse’s left hind foot; shall I take
him to the blacksmith?” “Let it still be wanting,” answered the
man, “the horse can very well hold out for the couple of miles
which remain; I am in haste.” He rode forth, but before long
the horse began to limp. It had not limped long before it began
to stumble, and it had not stumbled long before it fell down
and broke its leg. The merchant was forced to leave the horse
where it was, and unbuckle the trunk, take it on his back, and
go home on foot. And there he did not arrive until quite late
at night. “And that unlucky nail,” said he to himself, “has
caused all this disaster.” Hasten slowly.