A Short History of Horseshoes

In the 1897, a set of bronze horseshoes with nail holes was discovered in an Etruscan tomb which was dated to have been used around 400 BC. These were the oldest set of horse shoes discovered, when it was thought before that the Romans invented horseshoes around 100 BC--but those were a sandal-like boot made of leather with a metal reinforced bottom.

Although there are a few references in history of nail-on metal shoes being used by war horses in the 900's, they weren't commonly used by Europeans until around the time of the Crusades, a hundred years later. Over the next two hundred years, the horse shoe went from being made of bronze to being made of iron, undergoing the same evolution as metals used for swords, and by the 1600s, blacksmiths could buy ready-shaped horse shoes that they could heat up and finish to the exact size and shape of the horse's foot.

It wasn't until the Industrial Revolution, that a machine capable of making up to 60 steel shoes per hour was patented. Because of the use of these manufactured shoes, the North was given an advantage over the South in the Civil War.

Surprisingly to some, the shape and manufacture of horse shoes hasn't changed much since the 19th Century. The blacksmith still adjusts the shape and fit of the shoe to the horse, even when he uses a factory "keg" shoe. Shoes come in several different sizes to start with, but no two horses have the exact same shape to their hoof, so the farrier must adjust the shoe and change its factory shape to one that fits the horse most comfortably.

Because the shape of each horse's hoof is different, it truly was easy for trained scouts to track horses and know the horse's size and how much weight they carried. Many blacksmiths put a mark on the shoes they made as a signature on their work. This also could have been used by trackers to know which town the horse came from as well.

I've always had an affinity and great respect for the work of trained farriers and blacksmiths. When I was in college, it was one of the careers I considered for a while, but put the side because of the great amount of strength and stamina these metal workers need to be able to do their job. However, it turned out that I married a farrier, instead.

P. Creeden is the Sweet Romance and mystery pen name for USA Today Bestselling author, Pauline Creeden. Animals are the supporting characters of many of her stories, because they occupy her daily life on the farm, too. From dogs, cats, and goldfish to horses, chickens, and geckos -- she believes life around pets is so much better, even if they are fictional. 

Get her latest historical romance set in 1867 North Texas:

http://bit.ly/ABrideForHenry

Caring for Horses in the 1800's Winter

Besides writing full-time, my husband and I also run a horse riding stable in the middle of a suburban/city area. We are surrounded by concrete and businesses and most people don't know about our seven acres nestled right off a major highway in Virginia. Right now, in modern times, taking care of the animals on a farm is a full time job, and they are our livelihood, not just a hobby, like they might be for others.

According to the American Horse Council, there are currently about 9 million horses in the US, but in 1869 the number was closer to 13 million. Horses were much more common, used for transportation and work. So their daily care was of great importance to farmers and ranchers.

In the winter time, the most important precaution that horse owners needed to take during the harsh winter months was to make sure that horses had fresh water available. This often meant heating buckets on their wood stoves and then carrying them out to pour into troughs that were iced over, unless they had a running stream on the property.

Most horsemen and farmers fed their horses oats and barley, as those two feeds were higher in nutrient value and safer for the horses than straight corn or bran. In the summer months, they had to collect and bale hay to store for the winter months, because in order to maintain their weight, horses need to eat 1.5-2% of their body weight daily (depending on their level of work). And horses are grazers, which means that they eat little amounts all day long. So when the grasses they normally ate were unavailable, ranchers would need to drop bales of hay out for the horses to eat

When it snows, things get a bit trickier for horse owners. Many owners, during the harshest parts of the winter, would pull their horses' shoes off, so that the horses didn't collect ice and snow balls in their shoes which would make it difficult for the horses to move about without possibly pulling a tendon or ligament.

Even when horses were not able to fulfill their duties for traveling or working the farm, their caretakers still had to provide food, water, and care for them daily. (Reference for this article: The Horse: Its Keep and Management by William Cook 1891)

P. Creeden is the Sweet Romance and mystery pen name for USA Today Bestselling author, Pauline Creeden. Animals are the supporting characters of many of her stories, because they occupy her daily life on the farm, too. From dogs, cats, and goldfish to horses, chickens, and geckos -- she believes life around pets is so much better, even if they are fictional. 

Get her latest historical romance set in 1880 Wyoming:

http://bit.ly/APonyForChristmas

Feeding An Orphaned Baby

In a story I’m working on that's set in 1878 Texas, I created the situation of a ten-month-old baby being orphaned in a stagecoach accident and a single woman taking responsibility for the child. For any of us who are mothers, we know babies don’t easily go from the breast to soft foods. A transition needs to occur, which sent me on a research trail to learn more about baby bottles.

Unfortunately, what I discovered varied from sad to tragic. Throughout the ages, a need has existed for an artificial way to feed a baby who has lost its natural mother. In instances following a mother’s death and the family lived among a populated area like a king’s castle or a shop within a town, often the recourse was a wet nurse—an already lactating mother who added the new infant into the nursing cycle. This solution would involve compensation of some type—either payment or the wet-nurse would move to the location of the family who had the need.

When that situation wasn’t possible, other solutions were developed. In ancient times, animal horns were used with a patch of leather tied to the tip with twine. Holes cut the tip allowed liquid to drip out. Alternately, a finger of a leather glove would be used. But most leather tanning methods used items we wouldn’t want in a baby’s mouth like urine or brain matter. A twist of fabric could be dipped in milk and the baby sucks it, but that would take a long time to transfer sufficient nutrition. In the 1700s, pewter bottles with metal tips were used but those caused many deaths from metal poisoning. In countries where the glassblowing craft was practiced, thin-necked bottles were created so a screw-on metal lid with a tip was attached. A sponge was laid over the tip to make for a softer place to suck. Still a problem because of the metal.

Ceramic or pottery bowls with spouts on one end were used to feed milk or thin cereal. The safety factor was reliant on the contents of the glazing used—and sadly many contained lead.

In 1845 when India rubber was used to make the first nipple, many thought the problem solved. But the rubber was stiff and had a horrible smell. Forty-five years would pass before the invention of vulcanized rubber and a nipple that withstood hot water washings. I did find an advertisement for Little Cherub Feeding Bottle which had a long rubber tube with a pacifier-like plug on the end. Unfortunately, a popular guide, The Book of Household Management by Isabella Beeton (1861), used by many women running Victorian households advised washing the tubing only every 2-3 weeks(do you believe that?). Sadly, bacterial infections cost many lives.

Lucky, too, was the existence of canned milk. Since 1857, condensed milk was commercially prepared and sold by Gail Borden Jr and Company. (Process was first perfected in France in 1820) The company sold big quantities to the Union Army during the Civil War, and wider consumer distribution was achieved by 1875.

Although I realize a spoon could be used to feed the milk, I wanted the baby in my story to retain the comfort of sucking. So I combined a couple of the above items to use a thin-necked bottle with a piece of sponge covered with a scrap of toweling inserted into the opening. The invention seemed like a plausible method that people with limited resources would have put together in a pinch. Especially when faced with a pressing need to feed that hungry and cranky infant.

~~~

Linda writes for several small presses, as well as indie publishes her historical novellas and novels. The book mentioned in this article is tentatively titled Mail-Order Haven will be released in early fall. To keep updated on her releases, consider joining her quarterly newsletter list. Or follow her Amazon author page or on Facebook.