<P> When kept as a talisman, a horseshoe is said to bring good luck . Some believe that to hang it with the ends pointing upwards is good luck as it acts as a storage container of sorts for any good luck that happens to be floating by, whereas to hang it with the ends pointing down, is bad luck as all the good luck will fall out . Others believe that the horseshoe should be hung the other way (with the ends pointing down), as it will then release its luck to the people around it . A stylized variation of the horseshoe is used for a popular throwing game, horseshoes . </P> <P> Since the early history of domestication of the horse, working animals were found to be exposed to many conditions that created breakage or excessive hoof wear . Ancient people recognized the need for the walls (and sometimes the sole) of domestic horses' hooves to have additional protection over and above any natural hardness . An early form of hoof protection was seen in ancient Asia, where horses' hooves were wrapped in rawhide, leather or other materials for both therapeutic purposes and protection from wear . From archaeological finds in Great Britain, the Romans appeared to have attempted to protect their horses' feet with a strap - on, solid - bottomed "hipposandal" that has a slight resemblance to the modern hoof boot . </P> <P> Historians differ on the origin of the horseshoe . Because iron was a valuable commodity, and any worn out items were generally reforged and reused, it is difficult to locate clear archaeological evidence . Although some credit the Druids, there is no hard evidence to support this claim . In 1897 four bronze horseshoes with what are apparently nail holes were found in an Etruscan tomb dated around 400 B.C. The assertion by some historians that the Romans invented the "mule shoes" sometime after 100 BC is supported by a reference by Catullus who died in 54 BC . However, these references to use of horseshoes and muleshoes in Rome, may have been to the "hipposandal"--leather boots, reinforced by an iron plate, rather than to nailed horseshoes . </P> <P> Existing references to the nailed shoe are relatively late, first known to have appeared around AD 900, but there may have been earlier uses given that some have been found in layers of dirt . There are no extant references to nailed horseshoes prior to the reign of Emperor Leo VI and by 973 occasional references to them can be found . The earliest clear written record of iron horseshoes is a reference to "crescent figured irons and their nails" in AD 910 . There is very little evidence of any sort that suggests the existence of nailed - on shoes prior to AD 500 or 600, though there is a find dated to the 5th century A.D. of a horseshoe, complete with nails, found in the tomb of the Frankish King Childeric I at Tournai, Belgium . </P>

When did we start putting shoes on horses
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