Good Luck

Soon after the cabin was built, around 1961, my dad hung horseshoes over each of the doorways. They have been there - rusty old well-used draft horse shoes - AND THEY WILL STAY. He probably picked them up at one of the dairy farms he regularly visited as State Dairy Tester in New Jersey for so many years. 

We have grown so accustomed to seeing them that they didn't stand out until a recent visitor noticed and commented on the good luck they are supposed to bring. 

I did a little research about hanging horseshoes over a doorway and this one struck my fancy.

Excerpt from by Clay Thompson - Sept. 24, 2010 12:00 AM The Arizona Republic

"There are two schools of thought on this matter. Some people say you should hang the horseshoe with the ends - the heels - pointing up so the good luck it brings won't drain out.

Others say the heels should be pointing down so the good luck falls on anybody passing through the doorway.

The interesting bit is the origin of the horseshoe superstition.

One story has it that the devil went to a blacksmith to get his hooves shod. So the smith shaped the horseshoes and nailed them - red hot - into Satan's hooves.

The devil went on his way, but soon the hot horseshoes and nails caused him such agony that he tore them off and never went near a horseshoe again.

Another idea is that horseshoes are lucky because they are made by blacksmiths, who were considered to be lucky in the old days. That was because they worked with fire - one of the basic elements - and iron, which was believed to possess magic because it was stronger than other metals and could survive a fire.

Blacksmiths were so lucky, the ancients believed, that they could heal the sick.

And horseshoes were nailed on with seven nails, and seven was a lucky number in many ancient cultures.

So hang your horseshoe any old way you want, and I hope it brings you good luck."

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Over the front door...

Over the side door...

Over the side door...