It’s Halloween and that means it's spooky season. So how can you protect yourself from things that go “bump in the night”? With a magic horse shoe, of course! Horseshoes have traditionally been made from iron which is one of the strongest metals. Iron was believed to be magical because it was taken from the earth and could withstand fire and cold. Plus, horseshoes were attached to the horse using seven iron nails – seven being a lucky number. The shod horses symbolized power and strength and when walking on cobblestones the metal of the horseshoe often threw off sparks adding to their aura of magic.

There is a very big connection between horseshoes and evil Spirits. These Spirits were blamed for all sorts of things going wrong – from spoiling milk to bad accidents. The tale states that evil Spirits are repelled by anything made of iron so this enabled people to hang iron horseshoes on their front doors for protection from evil spirits. It was also believed that horseshoes were shaped somewhat like the moon and that this added extra protection from the moon goddess.

There has been some debate over the correct way to hang a horseshoe: one is that the horseshoe should be hung with points upward to stop the luck or protection from falling out and the other is that the points should be downward so that the luck or protection pours out over those people walking through the doorway.

So the next time your horse throws a shoe, don’t despair. Just tack it up over his stall door for luck and protection.