So, there were some trees cut down on the edge of my family's property, and my dad and mom and I went out to see if the trees had been on our property or not. We measured out to where we thought the corner of the property was, but weren't sure, and so my dad decided to try and dig to find if there was a surveyor's pin there to mark the corner of the property.

We didn't find a pin, but we did find some strange rusted metal object. At first I thought it was a hook, but I took it inside and gently washed off the dirt with some soap and water, and now I'm not so sure. What would be the end of the 'hook' doesn't look like it should if it were a hook, and looks more like it was broken off. From the general shape of it I am thinking it might be a horse shoe, but it's still just too small for that.

Here are some photos of it: [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X]

So that's what it looks like, with a few detail shots. The brown-red stuff is rust, not dirt, and no it doesn't flake off. It's pretty thick on there. The black parts you can see in some of the photos I think is the actual metal underneath.

I am thinking about doing some electrolytic rust removal, but if I do it won't be until next week, since I'm totally swamped with getting ready for Otakon at the moment XD I will admit that I am a little afraid that the rust might have eaten through too much of whatever is left of the actual metal in the object, and I might just end up with little bits of nothing if I do clean the rust off this way.

ANYWAY... what do you guys think this thing could be? (of if you want to ask questions about it whatever might help you help me figure out what it is XD)

Maybe it's a half of a horse shoe?

That's what i've been thinking, that it's half a broken horse shoe... it's what the general shape would suggest, and the knobby bit on the one unbroken end. But it just seems too small to be an actual horse shoe.

Of course, it could be a decorative 'good luck' horse shoe, or one for that toss game XD

It does look a little too small too be part of a horseshoe, but who knows? Maybe a broken piece of an animal trap? Like a fox trap or something? Or maybe a broken piece of old farming equipment.

It looks like an old horseshoe..

Not sure, though.

ITS A BURNT FRENCH FRY.You know from back when the dinosaurs had a McDonalds?XD Looks like one.

Hmm maybe half a horse shoe.

I've found detritus like that on the beach before... there used to be a big plantation house on a hill, but as the hill eroded, stuff showered down into the salt water, and got totally oxidized like that.

I don't know to what extent you COULD clean it... we've electrically polished rusted artifacts before and ended up with a handful of dust. My dad ruined a couple of really nice, museum-quality pieces by trying to spiff them up a little, and your cool rusty hookermajigger (OH LAWS, I realized what I was saying after I typed it) may not make it if the iron has been completely consumed. (The black metal visible in the center very scientifically led me to believe it was iron. Oh yes, and the presence of copious amounts of iron oxide, brilliant, Watson facepalm)

I was hoping I'd be able to help, at least relate it to something I've seen before, but it really does look like a horseshoe... especially how you can still detect the faint depression in the center where the nails would be hammered in.

It still looks small, but not absurdly small for a horseshoe... maybe a shoe for a pony?

EDIT: Actually, this is driving me crazy. I'm going to go get a rusty horseshoe from the barn and compare the size, because now the picture where you're holding it looks average sized.

... yeah... maybe its smaller because iron has been flaking off?

looks like a horseshoe to me too.

Groudy D: I'd think it's an old horse shoe. I mean, REALLY old

Thanks guys! I am leaning more and more towards horse shoe as well, the more that I look at the overall shape. I sort of want to go and dig around in the general area a little more to see what else might be there XD

Mesic- Yeah, I was pretty sure it was iron as well, it's good to hear someone a little more knowledgeable than me verify that. I realized last night that I should have taken a ic next to a ruler or given a size or something, so it would help a little more in I.D.'ing it XD... I won't be able to get to that until Monday, though, since I'm no longer at my house at the moment ^^;

I am sort of on the fence about cleaning it right now. I do want to see what I could do with getting th rust off, but, at the same time I am scared that I'll end up with a pile of bits of nothing, like your dad did Mesic. I dunno. I'm still debating it.

i agree. i think it is an old horse shoe.

me and my dad went looking around our property and we found one of those old rock walls they used to us to mark property lines and we found a couple of old arming equipment pieces including an old bit used for plow horses. i cleaned it and it now sits proudly above my bed with my other random pieces of tack from my horse.

kind of cool what people used to use way back when