Don't know much about hosers or their shoes but this looks.... interesting

They nailed it , calked for snow and ice . Hard on the horse if you don't know what your doing.

Had a cantankerous old 3/4 Arab that could put those to good use.

He was bad to reach over and place his foot on the toe of your boot if he was in one of his moods. No pressure just put his foot there and eyeball you to see that you got the message.

Me and him got into a fist fight once over just who was the most hard headed about the toe stepping crap. Still lost a toenail though, lol.

I miss that old guy, he was a character.

Massive amounts of ice used to be cut on lakes and ponds and then stored in large warehouses, packed in sawdust. People harvested enough ice to keep food and milk cold, until the following Winter. Horses, that pulled the massive slabs of cut ice out of the water onto sleds and then pulled the sleds, wore shoes like that.

Massive ice saws like this one of mine were used to cut the ice.



Ice axes and hatchets, like this one, were used to cut pieces off of the slabs for use or sale.



I have about a dozen ice gaffes and a smaller, dual purpose ice/hay saw, I should take pictures of.

Keith

That's a pretty cool shoe!

It’s been a while since I’ve seen one like that, many were made differently, according to custom style of the farrier . Nowadays , borium is affixed to portions of shoes, along with toe and heel cleats.

I've seen a number of calked horseshoes, but none quite that aggressively. The others are correct, those are no doubt designed for use on lake ice, while the calked shoes in this country are designed for use on icy ground, slick rock, and tree roots.

They were used Once to win the Kentucky derby

so cool ice cleat, I just found one the other day on and old ice road.

Very interesting everyone !

My dad had aggressive corks like that on on the horse that he used to skid logs.

I was wondering what the Amish put on their shoes, to me it looks like something brazed on. I think I have one hanging around the shifter in my truck...I'll check and post a pic if I do.

Yep, I had one.





Its black looking chips and it looks like they braze it on. I stop and pick up horseshoes when I see them on the road, a couple a year probably. Saves on tires!

Is this what you're talking about Sharon?

Yes sir, that's Borium weld , looks like.

Police use that year round if their beat is all day on the streets . Even in summer, asphalt and concrete is slick , with no traction at anything more than a walk. Even walking down hill they can slip. I imagine, nowadays, the hard rubber boots , similar to those used in endurance racing, when a shoe is lost, is what many use instead. That hard rubber is thick padded and helps in a big way against shin splints and other leg ailments.

Thanks, I think they use it all year round like you say. I do find some without it tho, but not very many.

I would get a kick (no pun )....out of having farms like what you have in your area, here. Lots of homemade goods and produce sold in local food stands and markets, and just seeing lines of drafts plowing and cutting fields would be enjoyable.

I had to pull over and let an Amish team of Belgium horses go by.....they were 6 wide! 4 were on the road and 2 walking the berm and still took up most the road.

Quite a sight but 4 is most common.

Whoopi pies! All year round......