On Fri, 07 Dec 2007 23:03:31 -0500, Bill Rider
wrote:

R.H. wrote:

"Lee Michaels" wrote in message
. ..
1164 is ice cleats for a horse??

I looked at those and thought they may be half crampons for mountain
climbers. But the cleat design was all wrong. It never occured to me
that they may be for a horse.

I wonder how common these things were at one time.


I looked on google patents for this one, never did find it but was
surprised at how many variations of it there were. They must have been
pretty common 100 years ago.


I can not imagine they are used much anymore.


Probably not as much, though I found a good article about winter riding
strategies he

http://www.equisearch.com/horses_car...tershoe013003/


Rob


Horse ice cleats occurred to me, but I thought, "Naaa..."

I think the blades on the bottom would soon be as slippery as dull ice
skates. Their depth could make them fragile if the horse stepped on a
rock. I don't see how the three studs on top would help secure them.

Could they be for brief use on a draft horse on soft ground? The
handles look useless. Might a farmer need them to lift a horse's foot?

Do you have evidence that's not clear in the photos? Do the blades form
a box that might be wedged over the end of a rectangular post?


I've seen winter shoes used in New England during the winter but they
were basically regular shoes with caulks in them. But I remember my
Grand dad talking about skidding timber across the lake after it froze
and the shoes shown would work well for that and you could tie them on
over the normal shoes.

Bruce-in-Bangkok
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