Find while Shed Hunting

[tracker12]

Well I went out a pulled a tree stand and did a little shed hunting.  No sheds but did have a pretty interesting find.  Noticed this old metal bucket lying on its side.  When I turned it over it was full of horse shoes.  I think I will send a few of these out as gifts as the years go by.  Wish I had them when I mailed out my White elephant.  


 

[elkhunter-27]

What a LUCKY find!  

[ron w]

Wow.......I wonder why someone did that and why they left it. Cool find......

[kat]

How lucky can you get.  

[Cavscout9753]

Wow, I wonder about the story behind that!

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Good One Ken.          

Ron,  Its not uncommon for spent shoes to be discarded but now most farriers will save them for scrap or projects.

My wife used a  few old shoes as picture frames.

[dhermon85]

Make sure you hang them so the luck doesnt fall out! Nice find

[tracker12]

I have a little history with horseshoes.  Back in the 80's I was elk hunting near Craig Colorado.  It was very hot and none of the 15 guys hunting on this ranch had killed anything.  I was sitting on a stump near what looked like an old homestead when I notice an old horseshoe laying on the ground.  I picked up the shoe and was looking at it when this rag horn came running by. I bagged that bull which was one of only two we took that season.  I carried that shoe the next few years with equal success.  

By the way I always hang the shoes open end up.  Not that I'm superstitious:)

[savagelh]

I would try to get one forged into a new lucky hunting knife. It just makes sense.

[mgf]

Long time former farrier here.

It's hard to tell for sure from the picture but they look like "modern" store bought shoes. I've got hundreds of various kinds  (both new and used) laying around the shop. I have a bunch of old handmade shoes too because that's what I put on the long footed show horses and a few special cases.

If you keep your eye out in some of the farm fields you can find old handmade draft shoes made from wrought iron.

Hanging a horseshoe for luck...hang it opened end up...except...at the smithy (blacksmith shop) where it should hang open side down.  \\

Does anybody know why a horseshoe was said to be lucky? Look it up. If you can't find it I'll try to find a link.

[mgf]

Originally posted by savagelh:
I would try to get one forged into a new lucky hunting knife. It just makes sense.

Horseshoes are mild steel or, in the old days, wrought iron. So, there's little or no carbon which means that it won't harden enough to make a decent knife.

A piece thin enough to look like a knife would bend about like a piece of aluminum foil and wouldn't hold any sort of edge.

Nothing "lucky" about a knife like that. LOL

[mgf]

Oh... The ones I can see fairly well don't look used. Note the even thickness especially at the toe.  

If you post some better pictures of individual shoes I might be able to tell more about them.

[tracker12]

This place is not far from a old horse racing track so I am sure these are associated with that place.  Over the tears I have found other neat items

[tracker12]

This place is not far from a old horse racing track so I am sure these are associated with that place.  Over the tears I have found other neat items

[mgf]

Something I've seen often at many different barns is that a trainer will have a collection of shoes in buckets or barrels.

Quite a few trainers can manage to get a shoe on in a pinch. If they need a shoe quick for temporary use, they go to the buckets.

Also some shoes are meant for short term use. Those shoes don't get much wear and they often go into the bucket for repeated use.

Barns and trainers come and go but I imagine some of the buckets of shoes remain.

[Jon Stewart]

We have found about a 5 gallon bucket of pony, mule and horse shoes out on the desert while metal detecting.

I brought them home over the years and they are displayed with other artifacts found on the desert.

[savagelh]

Originally posted by mgf:
 

Originally posted by savagelh:
I would try to get one forged into a new lucky hunting knife. It just makes sense.

Horseshoes are mild steel or, in the old days, wrought iron. So, there's little or no carbon which means that it won't harden enough to make a decent knife.

A piece thin enough to look like a knife would bend about like a piece of aluminum foil and wouldn't hold any sort of edge.

Nothing "lucky" about a knife like that. LOL [/b]

Well that's news to me. I thought any steel could be hardened enough for a knife. But then again I know nothing about knife making or for that matter metallurgy.