Daily AncestorHorseshoer
A horseshoer shod horses, fitting and nailing iron shoes to their hooves; the word is a plainer name for a farrier.
Wiktionary defines a horseshoer as a farrier, someone who shoes horses. The work combined some of the blacksmith's skills, making and adjusting the metal shoes, with knowledge of a horse's lower leg and hoof.
Nailed iron horseshoes go back at least to the 400s: one of the earliest finds came from the tomb of the Frankish king Childeric I. Horseshoer is simply a plainer English name for the same craft as farrier.
As seen in a recordOccupation and industry columns of the 1910 to 1930 census
Jos. Brennecke, 41, Horseshoer, Own shop
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Horseshoer." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/horseshoer. Last checked 2026-10-12.