How to Shoe a Horse as in Colonial Times

Blacksmiths used wood-burning furnaces to turn ore into horseshoes.

Shoeing a horse during the colonial era was a difficult and time-consuming task, sometimes taking more than a week to complete. A blacksmith was responsible for crafting the horseshoes out of charcoal iron, and until the early 1800s it is not certain who was responsible for putting the shoes onto the horse's hooves. The term and profession of farrier originated during the early 1800s and the process for shoeing horses has changed very little since. Replicating a colonial horseshoeing process is challenging and having expertise in the field of horse shoeing is recommended.

Things You'll Need

• Ore
• Wood Burning Furnace
• Farrier Chaps
• Nippers
• Clippers
• Pullers
• Cutters
• Rasp
• Hammer
• Farrier's Knife
• Anvil
• Tongs

Instructions

Instructions

1. Melt ore in a wood-burning furnace until the iron has been purified and becomes a bloom, or pig, which can then be hammered and reheated until all impurities have been separated from the iron and the pig or bloom can then be shaped.

2. Shape a horseshoe by beating the bloom or pig until it's flattened and then use your anvil to shape the metal into a horseshoe shape.

3. Reheat and hammer the iron until it has been crafted into a horseshoe, being sure to create opening for the nails. Then, using the horse's hoof as a guide, ensure that the finished shoe fits. The shoe should outline the outside of the hoof, without going past it. If the shoe goes past the hoof, the horse will be able to step on it with another foot and pull the shoe's nails out of the hoof, which can be damaging. Continue heating and shaping the horseshoe until it fits the hoof properly.

4. Shape the hoof so that the ends are smooth. Use your farrier's knife to trim overgrowth, cutting unruly ends off completely. You can use the clippers, nippers or cutters to cut large chunks of hoof off as you would trim fingernails. Then use the rasp to smooth the hoof's outline, using it as you would to file down fingernails.

5. Heat the shoe. Them using tongs, remove the shoe from the furnace and then drive the shoe's hoof onto the surface of the horse's hoof to burn an indentation into which the shoe will be able to rest within. This will not hurt the horse in any way. Always be wary that your horse may kick out, but this action itself should not cause the horse to kick out in pain. Then, using your hammer, drive nails through the shoe and the hoof to hold in place. Then hammer the protruding section of the nails downward on the outside of the hoof. Use your clippers to trim the excess nail sections off.

Tips & Warnings

• This is merely an explanation of how horses were shod in the colonial times, while touching on current practices. It is highly recommended that a professional farrier complete these tasks for you. It takes years of study and apprenticeship to become a farrier, and it is in your horse's best interest that a trained professional perform this task for you.

References

• Hony's WebStable: History of a Farrier
• Horseshoe: Early Blacksmiths of Lancaster County