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+--- Thread: Horseshoes (/showthread.php?tid=20999)
Horseshoes - Macedon - 06-30-2012
When were horseshoes invented? I had never really occupied myself with this question until I saw that in the Iliad (8.41, 13.21) horses were called "bronze-legged" (or bronze-hoofed), which, to me, sounds as direct evidence that some kind of horseshoes were used at least at the time of Homer if not long before that. A very unthorough and quick googling up brought up nothing about horseshoes that far into the past. Any ideas?
Re: Horseshoes - Dan Howard - 06-30-2012
Proper metal horseshoes nailed to the hoof? I thought around 1000AD. Other hoof protection may have been used earlier such as rawhide shoes.
Re: Horseshoes - Vindex - 06-30-2012
Does 8: 41 necessarily mean the horses were shod? My translation (Edward Earl of Derby 1868) says:
"...and straight the brazen footed steeds,
of swiftest flight, with manes of flowing gold..."
We know horses don't literally have golden manes so is it not more a stylistic description of the animals rather than a literal meaning of shod with bronze?
13:27 (ish) is a repetition of the same descriptive formula, but again I only have it in translation and not the original Greek.
But if you want a VERY vague idea of the oldest horseshoes try this:
http://www.wcf.org.uk/history
of this
http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/health/hoof_care/eqhorsesho610/
Re: Horseshoes - richsc - 06-30-2012
I have a very short 1894 monograph from the British Archaeological Assoc. by S Wells on "hippo-sandals". There are a number of sandal looking iron contraptions that have been found with a number of interpretations, one being that they were wrapped around the hoof. I have no other reference about them.
Re: Horseshoes - Medicus matt - 07-02-2012
Quote:Proper metal horseshoes nailed to the hoof? I thought around 1000AD. Other hoof protection may have been used earlier such as rawhide shoes.
Earliest nailed ones I know of from England are 9th century, becoming widespread in early 10th.