Megan Qualkenbush

Prof. Presnell
UWRT 1103
20 Oct. 2014

Evaluative Works Cited: Why Horseshoes Are Considered Lucky

Cohen, Rachel. "The History of Horseshoes." Dressage Today. 1 Feb. 1996. Print.
In the magazine article, Cohen explains how in the wild, horses obviously dont have
horseshoes, but still do pretty well on the terrain. However, without shoes, horses must move
at a slower pace so that they dont hurt their feet. Its like when youre walking around
outside with shoes on versus being barefoot. When you have shoes on, you can easily run
across grass, dirt, rocks, asphalt, etc. but when youre barefoot, you must go slower across the
terrain to keep from hurting your feet as bad. Typically, if we must be outside while barefoot,
we choose to walk versus running. The same goes for horses without shoes, they can walk
across the terrain, but when forced to run or walk for long periods, their feet become sore.
When man began to domesticate horses, he began protecting their feet in order to get the
maximum use out of his horses. However, the iron horseshoes that we see today werent the
first protection of horses hooves. In the beginning in Asia, horse owners used hides and
woven plants to make booties to protect their horses hooves and prevent injury. After the
first century in ancient Rome, horse owners made leather and metal hipposandals (sandals for
horses) that strapped with leather straps, resembling the sandals that they wore themselves. In
the sixth and seventh centuries, bronze horseshoes were invented when travelers in colder

climates began to notice that the damp ground softened horses hooves, causing them
problems with walking. However, in England, horseshoes were made from iron rather than
bronze, making them heavier and also more valuable. In the 12th century, horseshoes became
associated with good luck. Before a parade, a silver horseshoe was slightly nailed into a
horses hoof and whoever retrieved it won a prize as well as the associated luck. Horseshoes
were also used to ward off the devil. In the 16th century, from Latin roots came the word
farrier, which is used to describe the person who shoes horses.
This article provides background and history on horseshoes, explaining where and
how they originated, as well as their purpose. This provided a lot of insight for me; although I
have had horses all of my life and know a lot about horseshoes, I did not know how or why
they were first invented and I didnt know that they were not originally made of iron. The
article also goes into a bit of detail about uses of horseshoes other than for just protecting
hooves, such as its use to ward off the Devil. An interesting story of finding the lucky
horseshoe as a sort of game before a parade in England is an example of why horseshoes are
considered lucky, for it was lucky to find the silver shoe nailed to the horses hoof.
Rachel Cohen worked as an intern for Dressage Today, the magazine that this article
is published in, during the time in which she wrote the article. She has written essays and
books, including A Chance Meeting: Intertwined Lives of American Writers and Artists and
Bernard Berenson: A Life in the Picture Trade. Her essays have been in Best American
Essays and in Pushcart Prize Anthology, one of her books won the PEN/Jerard Fund Award
and was a finalist for the Guardian First Book Pirze and the PEN/Martha Albrand Award, as
well as being named a book of the year by the Los Angeles Times and on National Public
Radio.

Godbeer, Richard. The Devil's Dominion: Magic and Religion in Early New England.
New York: Cambridge UP, 1992. 253. Print.
The Devils Dominion explains magic and religion in early New England, including
witchcraft. From other sources, I learned that horseshoes were used to keep witches away in
earlier times by hanging the shoe over the doorway entering the house. In The Devils
Dominion, the author tells a story involving not only witches, but the use of horseshoes to
repel them. The story takes place in Newbury Massachusetts in 1666, when a woman by the
name of Goody Chandler came down will a severe illness. She thought her neighbor,
Elizabeth Morse, was a witch and was causing her sickness, so Goody hung a horseshoe over
her front door to keep Elizabeth out. Supposedly, it actually worked and Elizabeth stayed
away until another neighbor, William Moody, came and took it down. He believed that the
horseshoe was causing as much bad as witchcraft. With the horseshoe gone, Elizabeth was
able to come to the house again, while Goody became sicker and sicker. She convinced yet
another neighbor to rehang the horseshoe to keep Elizabeth away, but to no avail, William
reappeared, taking the horseshoe with him this time. Without the horseshoe to repel her from
the house, Elizabeth was able to come as she pleased and it wasnt long before Goody died
from her illness. Later on, Elizabeth was tried and convicted of witchcraft.
According to this story, horseshoes are truly lucky in that they have the ability to repel
witches. Whether the reasoning behind it is because it is shaped like the Celtic crescent moon
or because it is made of iron and supernatural creatures, including witches, fear iron, I am
unsure. This is a different reason than the ones offered in other sources, such as the beliefs of
the St. Dunstans Episcopal Church, who believe that horseshoes are lucky because they keep

the Devil away. I really liked this story because it provided an actual example of when a
horseshoe was used to keep a witch away and it worked (according to the story, that is).
Richard Godbeer is a professor who specializes in colonial and revolutionary America
who received his Ph.D. from Brandeis University in 1989. For his book, The Devils
Dominion, he received the American Historical Association Pacific Coast Branch Award for
the Best First Book. Other than The Devils Dominion, Godbeer has also published four other
books, including Sexual Revolution in Early America, Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt
of 1692, The Overflowing of Friendship: Love Between Men and the Creation of the American
Republic, and The Salem Witch Hunt: A Brief History with Documents.

"Horseshoes." Superstition Bash. The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Web. 21 Oct.
2014.
According to the website, horseshoes are considered to be very lucky for many
reasons. Many people hang horseshoes above their doorways entering their house for it is
said to not only provide luck for the family inside, but to also protect them. There is
controversy over what way to hang the shoes. Some say the horseshoes should be hung with
the points facing upward in order to collect the luck within it. Some people think that to hang
the horseshoe with the points facing downward is bad luck, for it lets the luck fall out;
however, some believe that downward is the way horseshoes should be hung because then it
lets the luck flow out onto those walking through the doorway. Because of both beliefs, some
people actually believe that the shoe should be rotated, so that it can first collect the luck and
then spill it out onto those walking in. Blacksmiths are considered lucky because they work
in a lucky trade working with magical iron and elemental fire. They used to be said to have

special powers. Since the makers of horseshoes are considered lucky, this is one claim as to
why horseshoes are considered lucky. Horseshoes are made from iron, which supernatural
powers and evil spirits fear, so horseshoes have been used for centuries to ward off these
supernatural powers and evil spirits. Horseshoes are also nailed using seven nails seven is
considered a lucky number.
All of the explanations on this website give very different claims as to why horseshoes
are considered lucky. Perhaps there isnt just one reason for the luckiness of horseshoes, but
instead a combination of different reasons, such as all of the ones listed above. This website
provides very possible and believable reasons as to why horseshoes are considered lucky and
gave me a lot of understanding as to their luckiness and the stories involving these claims in
other sources. When I read the stories from other sources, I now know the background as to
why horseshoes are considered lucky.
CSI, the website which this excerpt is from, is the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
The Committee is an educational organization that began in 1976 to promote scientific inquiry
and investigation. The members of CSI include scientists and academic writers who also
publish a Skeptical Inquirer magazine.

Melina, Remy. "Why Are Horseshoes Considered Lucky?" LiveScience. TechMedia Network,
15 Mar. 2011. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
According to the article, in ancient folklore, horseshoes were used to ward off
supernatural powers and evil spirits. Faeries existed during the Stone Age and when Celtic
tribes moved in the area in 400 BC, the faeries hid. In the forest, not only were there faeries,
but there were also stories of elves and goblins. These creatures were accused of all kinds of

misfortunes and therefore people used horseshoes to keep them away. Supernatural powers
and evil spirits were said to fear iron as well as the Celtic moon gods crest (which is the same
shape as horseshoes), therefore they stayed away from any home in which horseshoes were
hung over the doorway.
This article provides background information on why horseshoes are considered
magical and lucky. This explains how horseshoes were used to ward of supernatural powers
and evil spirits and provides background on the story in the Devils Dominion of how a
horseshoe was used to ward off a neighborly witch.
Remy Melina is a writer and published author. She writes for online journals, printed
journals, the media and social media marketing, works in publishing, editing, and public
relations. She has been a reporter and staff writer for TechMediaNetwork, a contributing
author for TechMediaNetworks Lifes Little Mysteries, an editor and staff writer for Gradient
Magazine, a writer, reporter, and editor for Long Island Press, and is now a marketing writer
and social media specialist at MedNet Technologies.

"St Dunstan's - Who Was St. Dunstan." St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church. Web. 21 Oct.
2014.
On St. Dunstans Episcopal Churchs webpage is a short biography about who their
saint was. Dustan lived from 909 until 988 and was a blacksmith by trade. There are many
stories involving Dunstan defeating the devil, with one the most relevant to my topic. One
day, as he was playing his harp, the Devil paid him a visit, in need of new shoes. Dunstan
nailed a horseshoe into the Devils hoof wrongly, causing him immense pain. Inevitably, the
Devil asked him to remove it, to which Dunstan refused unless the Devil agreed to never enter

a house in which a horseshoe is hung over the doorway. To relieve himself of the pain, the
Devil agreed and therefore has been unable to enter a house with a lucky horseshoe hung up
since.
This is a story as to the origin of why horseshoes are considered lucky. Originally, I
thought it to be a completely different story than the others involving faeries, witches, goblins,
and evil spirits, but now I realize that those stories claimed that horseshoes repelled
supernatural powers and evil spirits, which in my mind, includes the devil. Therefore, this
story provides background for the claim that horseshoes repel supernatural powers and evil
spirits.
St. Dunstans is an Episcopal Church located in Atlanta, Georgia. A group of eight
families, as a mission of the Diocese of Atlanta, founded it in 1964. In 2003, the church
received its new rector, Rev. Patricia Templeton. The church believes in spreading the word
of Christ and Gods love for all people.