Chapter 106: The Horseshoe

Liu Yuxi stared at the sheets of paper Wei Renshi had placed on the table. After examining them, he asked, “What is this?”

“This is something that can be immensely useful, whether among civilians or in the military,” Wei Renshi replied. “I came today seeking Scholar Zhang’s help. If he refused, I had planned to use this as leverage. Since you have arrived in Luoyang as well, there’s no need to keep it hidden anymore.”

Liu Yuxi immediately picked up the papers and studied them carefully but still couldn’t grasp their meaning.

“What exactly is this?” Liu Yuxi pressed.

“The land where the Uighurs dwell has patches of tender grass suitable for grazing cattle and horses, but other areas are vast deserts and gravel plains. The gravel is sharp and jagged, and horses’ hooves wear down quickly as they tread across it,” Wei Renshi explained. “So, when crossing the gravel deserts, the Uighurs fit their horses’ hooves with wooden coverings shaped like hooves—essentially wooden shoes for horses. They then wrap these with yak hide. This significantly reduces the wear on the hooves when traversing the rocky terrain. This contraption is called a ‘wooden shoe’.”

“Is this the wooden shoe?” Liu Yuxi, unfamiliar with frontier life, had never heard of such a thing.

Wei Renshi shook his head. “No, this is a horseshoe I made based on the principle of the wooden shoe.”

“A horseshoe?!” Liu Yuxi was taken aback. From Wei Renshi’s description and the name itself, a realization dawned on him. His eyes brightened, and he hurriedly asked, “A horseshoe is…”

A horseshoe, as the name suggests, is an iron piece shaped like a horse’s hoof, nailed underneath the hoof to protect it.

The hoof consists of two layers: the outer layer in contact with the ground is a few centimeters thick, hard keratin, while the inner layer is living keratin.

Because the hoof constantly rubs against the ground and endures moisture and corrosion, it wears down rapidly. Horses used for riding or pulling carts are especially prone to cracks and damage.

Nailing on a horseshoe slows down this wear by affixing an iron plate shaped like the hoof onto it.

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The use of horseshoes not only protects the hooves but also allows for the addition of studs, enabling the horse to grip the ground firmly, which benefits both riding and driving.

In later eras, watching period dramas and films, horses are always shown wearing horseshoes, leading to the assumption that ancient China understood this method early on to protect hooves.

Yet, astonishingly, ancient China, despite its advanced ironworking, never conceived of shoeing horses with iron.

There is a well-known story: a single missing nail led to a lost horseshoe. Losing a horseshoe lost a warhorse. Losing a warhorse cost a king. Losing a king lost a battle. Losing a battle destroyed a dynasty. While this story illustrates how small oversights can cause great disasters, it also shows that people then understood the vital importance of horseshoes in warfare.

This was especially true for ancient armies that relied heavily on cavalry and warhorses as key strategic assets.

Beyond warfare, horseshoes played a crucial role in everyday use. Once nailed on, they greatly reduce hoof wear, improving the efficiency of horses whether pulling carts or carrying riders, and saving significant costs in horse maintenance.

“A horseshoe is an iron tool forged by blacksmiths, shaped to fit the horse’s hoof. Nailing this iron plate to the hoof protects it from wear and injury from hard surfaces. Once fitted with horseshoes, horses can gallop across rocky terrain or march over blades and spears without damaging their hooves. If the iron plate wears out, it can be easily removed and replaced, allowing the horse to continue lively and vigorous. The removed horseshoes can be melted down and reforged for reuse, which is highly advantageous,” Wei Renshi explained to Liu Yuxi.

Just then, a sudden exclamation came from the bed behind them: “What?!”

Both turned to see Scholar Zhang, who had been lying down, suddenly spring up. In two steps, he was at the table, grabbing the papers.

“This thing…” Zhang was now fully sober, his eyes burning with intensity as he stared at the papers. “When I heard the words ‘horseshoe,’ a light went on in my mind. Hearing your explanation now… hmm, is there a physical example of this?”

“Not yet,” Wei Renshi shook his head. “It’s actually quite easy to make. Any blacksmith can forge one.”

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“Since ancient times, in every dynasty and era, when waging war against foreign peoples—especially the nomads—the greatest losses were not among the soldiers, but the warhorses,” Scholar Zhang said, his hand trembling slightly as he held the paper. “In every battle, human casualties were less than ten percent, but losses of warhorses reached thirty percent, sometimes even sixty percent. A significant cause was the excessive wear on the horses’ hooves during charges and maneuvers, leading to needless additional losses.”

Zhang fixed his gaze on the paper. “Our army is predominantly cavalry, and the most vital asset for cavalry is the warhorse. If the horse falters, it’s a fatal blow to the rider. Without a warhorse, a cavalryman’s combat effectiveness is drastically reduced. Every battle costs countless horses, which then have to be retrained and sent back to the front lines only to be lost again… This invention must have a physical prototype!”

“That’s easy enough,” Wei Renshi said. “We just need a horse and a blacksmith. Forge the horseshoe to fit the hoof, nail it on, and that’s it.”

“Let’s go right now!” Liu Yuxi grabbed Wei Renshi’s arm excitedly.

Scholar Zhang immediately said, “Let me change clothes, I’ll come too.”

The empire’s most critical military force was the cavalry. The cavalry’s most essential component was the warhorse. And the warhorse’s greatest vulnerability was hoof wear.

When hooves broke down on the battlefield, the mounted riders often met death without even a burial place. While warhorses were difficult to breed, they could still be replaced. But a seasoned warrior lost in battle was irreplaceable. Up to sixty or seventy percent of warhorses were lost due to hoof damage during engagements, meaning no matter how many horses the court had, it was never enough, and the best horses were often found beyond the Central Plains.

Now, with a way to solve the problem of hoof wear, it’s no wonder Scholar Zhang and Liu Yuxi were so excited.