On the contrary it seems strange that of the Huns alone, whose horsemen swept over whole continents from the Asiatic highlands like a thunderstorm, such trouble had not become known either through the numerous authors of the eastern and western Roman empire or from Gallia.

Horseshoeing, very likely, was invented by different nations at about the same period during the migration of the nations, and the various kinds of new inventions were brought together in Germany only, after each had acquired a national stamp according to climate and usefulness.

In this way come from the south the thin, plate-like horseshoes, with staved rim, covering the whole hoof; from the Mongolian tribes of middle Asia the “Stolleneisen” (calk shoe); while to our northern ancestors, and indeed the Normans, must be ascribed with great probability the invention of the “Griffeneisen” (gripe shoe), especially for the protection of the toes.

All varieties of the horseshoe of southern Europe are easily distinguished from the Roman so-called “Kureisen” (cure shoe), of which several have been unearthed at various excavations and are preserved at the Romo-Germanic Museum in Mentz (Mainz), Germany.  The shoes, Figs. 1 and 2, each represent thin iron plates, covering the whole hoof, which in some cases have an opening in the middle, of several centimeters in diameter.

[Illustration:  Fig. 1.]

These plates, apparently set forth to suit oriental and occidental body conformation, are either directly provided with loops or have around the outer margin a brim several centimeters high, in which rings are fastened.  Through the loops or rings small ropes were drawn, and in this way the shoe was fastened to the crown of the hoof and to the pastern.  Sufficient securing of the toe was wanting in all these shoes, and, on account of this, the movement of the animal with the same must have been very clumsy, and we can see from this that the ropes must have made the crown of the hoof and pastern sore in a short time.  One of these shoes[3] evidently was the object of improvement, to prevent the animal from slipping as well as from friction, and we therefore find on it three iron cubes 11/2 centimeters high, which were fastened corresponding to our toes and calks of to-day, and offer a very early ready proof, from our climatic and mountainous conditions, which later occur, principally in southern Germany, that this style of horseshoeing was not caused by error, but by a well founded local and national interest or want.

   [Footnote 3:  Not illustrated.]

[Illustration:  FIG. 2.]