"Horseshoing, very likely, was invented by different nations about the same period...."
Scientific American (1891)
Horses have played central roles in the histories of various powerful empires, and their employment was boosted by the invention of the horseshoe. Protecting horses' hooves from wear and tear on hard or rough surfaces allowed for longer journeys when the horse was the common mode of transport and a domestic working animal. It also made them more effective when used in the cavalry as part of a military campaign.
The precise date of its invention is unknown, but the Roman poet Catullus mentions a mule losing its shoe in the first century B.C.E. Evidence from Roman regions to the north of the Alps suggests that horses from what is now Germany may have been the first to use horseshoes regularly, from around 100 C.E.
Over the years horseshoe design has improved from the "hipposandal" used by the Romans—which had a solid bottom and was strapped to a horse's hoof—to the U-shaped metal plate used today. The earliest known mention of the iron horseshoe is in 910. The weight and shape of early horseshoes varies on their provenance, and the climate and terrain in which the horses had to move. Blacksmiths and farriers made and fitted horseshoes using nails, and their skills helped develop metallurgy during medieval times. Today, horseshoes are often made from steel and aluminum, but also come in copper, titanium, rubber, or plastic depending on what the horse is used for.
