German army draft horse horseshoe markings?

[Hepkat]

Hi everybody,
This is my first post, but I've already learned a lot through this forum. My question is what type of markings would be found on a set of German draft horse horseshoes?
I ask because I am a WWII collector and Reenactor and a horse owner and I've recently started getting kit for a German rider. Ironically as I went through my parents barn, I found a set of draft horseshoes that I never thought much about before, but the shape of the shoes and the cleats are exactly like those pictured in the book Horses of the German Army in World War II by Paul L Johnson, on page 101. I had always assumed these were just civilian and old. There is a large Amish community near us and I figured that's where they came from. Now I think they may be from the war
I've searched the web and only see standard horseshoe markings, no examples of German draft horse sized shoes. This set looks to be a set of 4 shoes for one horse. 2 are marked with a raised F (front shoes) and they all seem to have a 7 on them. It's hard to make much else out. I'll post some pictures later.

I look forward to your replies. Thanks!
Josh

[Hepkat]

http://s1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff4 ... er=noflash

http://s1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff4 ... er=noflash

http://s1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff4 ... er=noflash


I finally got some pictures of the markings, please let me know what you guys think. Thanks!

[Pat Holscher]

By off chance have you compared these to the photographs of shoes on Panzerarchiv?

[Hepkat]

I've searched the panzerarchive but didn't find anything. They do look identical in shape to the shoes pictured in Horses of the German Army in World War II by Johnson.
I decided to verify their origin the opposite way and did a search for pictures of draft horseshoes in general and none of the pictures I found were close to the shoes I own. I figured maybe that shape was fairly common, but I didn't find a single match.

I'll do a deeper search of the panzer archive tonight if I get a chance.

Thanks
Josh

[Pat Holscher]

Take a look at this thread:

http://forum.panzer-archiv.de/viewtopic.php?t=7040

[Pat Holscher]

Note also, from our forum:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7285&hilit=german+horseshoe

[Hepkat]

Thanks! I'll dig through that link on the panzer archive. I've read through the link on this forum, but it seems they are only showing standard horseshoes and not draft horseshoes.

[Steve Haupt]

Greetings Josh,
Welcome to a fascinating forum.
I don't think that the shoes you have are German from WWII era. They appear to be American from the fact they have a slot or fuller in which to protect the nail heads. Also they are shaped for hind feet. The studs also appear to be of the type I have seen over the years here in the U.S..These shoes are generally seen on pulling horses. I think if they were German the heels would have been turned at 90 degrees rather than studs placed.
Just my observations
Cheers,
Steve Haupt
http://HauptsValleyFarm.mystarband.net