Marty,
I am quoting from the IMACS User Guide section on animal shoes adapted from Berge(1980):

www.anthro.utah.edu/IMACs/476-Shoes.pdf

"Muleshoes: The structure and characteristics of the hooves of these animals are quite similar to those of the horse, differing chiefly in the narrow and the round at the toe, the sole is well-arched, and the side walls are rather steep.  In the ass the narrowness of the hoof is still more pronounced, the wall is relatively wide in the region of the quarters.  The horn of both the mule and the ass is tough.

The shoes differ from those of horse in no other respect than that they should be lighter and narrower.  Four nail-holes are sufficient for an ass's shoe, and five to six for a mule."

I believe there are some illustrations on IMACS as well.  The reference for Berge (1980) is also listed in the reference section for the Users Guide


Hope this helps.

Paul M. Matchen

TRC Environmental







-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Marty
Pickands
Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2005 9:04 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Horseshoe help


Oddly enough, I was just about to seek help on horseshoes myself. Can anyone give me some pointers on telling between horse, mule and ass shoes?

Marty Pickands

New York State Museum

>>> [log in to unmask] 11/16/05 4:30 AM >>>
What about the legendary miniature horses in the Grand  Canyon?