Wednesday, March 11, 2009

ABC Wednesday - H is for Horseshoe



H is for Horseshoe.............



a horse shoe on a stone fireplace mantle



A rusty old horseshoe was placed in the wet cement of this huge fireplace back in the late 1800's.

This fireplace now stands in an open field, as a fire destroyed the wood lodge that it was a part of many, many years ago.

The field and surrounding log cabins are now owned by the town and the grounds are considered public now, with marked trails through the woods, and fishing in the pond.

Seeing this shoe in the old field stone fireplace made me wonder what the story behind it is.

I am thinking that since horseshoes are known for good luck, perhaps that is what the owners were thinking when they put it there.

Perhaps it was a shoe from a beloved horse, or since it is a rather odd shaped one, perhaps that's the reason why it was placed there.

None of the original owners or their descendants are alive as this land was given to the town years ago, so I don't think we will ever know the story.

What do you think the story might be?



This is the fourth round of ABC Wednesday. If you would like to join in please visit this site for the details.










15 comments:

  1. I don't know what it could mean but it is very interesting to ponder. Does the library have any resources to look up the answer?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice find, Kathy! I'll go along with the idea of a beloved horse being commemorated, in the name of good luck!

    It's a shame that so much of human history becomes grown over, obscured, lost to time...

    ReplyDelete
  3. A very intriguing concept for ABC, and well executed - but theories for putting the horseshoe there? Maybe only for pure decoration? Maybe for fun?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi onangelswings - i have been able to find a bit of info regarding the family and the land, but not much about the buildings. Just a small town so the info is limited.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I like that thought Lynda! It's hard for small towns to keep all the info, and it is such a shame.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Rune - I hadn't thought about decoration only. The dreamer in me tends to romanticize everything, but logic also works well here!

    ReplyDelete
  7. So strange and sad to see a fireplace without a house. It's always unsettling. I've never seen a horseshoe like that, though. Fascinating.

    ReplyDelete
  8. It certainly is a mystery but that horseshoe is shaped funny. A nice ABC choice. (BTW--- the hotel is old and has been the same way for years.)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Interesting post! Photo is excellent!

    ReplyDelete
  10. The idea of putting a horseshoe on a fireplace sounds familiar to me, but I don't really know why. I think there must be some kind of tradition there or something.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think the story is most likely what you said it was, now that you said it, though I would have never thought of that. My thinking was someone just went & stuck it in there. I like your story better.
    ; )

    ReplyDelete
  12. I would think it's a beloved horse. It is an odd shape, and I'm sure I read somewhere about remedial shoes which were made like that for certain work or for certain foot conditions.

    Having a bar across the back of the foot would distribute the weight better so maybe it was for a horse with navicular disease or laminitis? Although maybe working in certain conditions would need that extra traction, too?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yes, this is wonderful image. I am working on a project called "texture" and this one would have qualified it well!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment - it is appreciated! I will do my best to return it with a visit to your blog. Take care, and enjoy!

Google
 

Visitors Since 09/05/07