Nicole discovered an old and very rusty horseshoe out on Purfleet Scrape a short while ago and after some some work by Barry Jackson it now looks slightly more horseshoe shaped rather than a bent bit of metal. It is very heavy and some enquiries with a local farrier revealed that it is made of iron (not modern steel) and its design suggests that it may be from the start of the 20th century and not from a horse but a mule.
It would be great to imagine that it came of off a military war horse from the First World War....perhaps a drey being pulled through the mud by mules to distribute ammunition to the troops?
13-8-12
Howard Vaughan, Information Officer