In most of central Texas, horseshoes were important to protect animals' hooves from the rocky terrain. The numbers of horses and mules at the farm is further demonstrated by the finding of 13 horseshoes and horseshoe fragments, 2 muleshoes, and 33 horseshoe nails. Pictured here are a small muleshoe (a), a large horseshoe (b), small and medium horseshoes (c and d), and (e) a variety of horseshoe nails. Most of the nails were bent and broken, indicating they were discarded as animals were shod regularly.