Button image

[Marsha Cassada]

I collect buttons. This one seemed pretty interesting. Does anyone have ideas about it? It is French. Would it have something to do with Hunting?

 

[Cayuse]

That's unusual isn't it? I'm trying to make the loopy thing look like a hunting whip with the lash looped around the leg, but to my eye, that's not quite it. Is it silver or pewter?

 

[Standards Equine]

Very interesting! I haven't a clue what it might be aside from it looks to be a fence and grass in the background. There must be some historical foundation that could help you?

 

[Marsha Cassada]

It is brass. Victorian era. I'm thinking it is some kind of hobble. Maybe villages had iron eyes in the ground to hobble horses??

 

[Kelly]

Hubby sees a high heel with a buckle. I see the fence in the back ground and a lady wearing a long flowing dress. I think she just got thrown off her horse because one arm is in the air and the other is holding onto the horses bit. She must be French!

 

[MaryFlora]

Ok Kelly, a big part of my family is French.

Very cool button and my husband and I think it looks like a snaffle bit and rein, or leadline.

 

[MaryFlora]

I wonder if it might be a bespoke item in memory of a favorite horse?

 

[betwys1]

I collect buttons. This one seemed pretty interesting. Does anyone have ideas about it? It is French. Would it have something to do with Hunting?

I could find only one match, on a button offered by Etsy, Sweden. This appears to be a hoof hobble, of the kind used on milking cows, or on recently calved cattle. Hobbles were sometimes used on the horse's cannon bone (Metatarsal or metacarpal) and on the pastern in cows. Rope hitches can damage the skin, so felt padded leather cuffs were preferred.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I could find only one match, on a button offered by Etsy, Sweden. This appears to be a hoof hobble, of the kind used on milking cows, or on recently calved cattle. Hobbles were sometimes used on the horse's cannon bone (Metatarsal or metacarpal) and on the pastern in cows. Rope hitches can damage the skin, so felt padded leather cuffs were preferred.

I think it is a horse, not a cow. I do think it was a European hobble; the button is French. Interesting information!

 

[betwys1]

It is brass. Victorian era. I'm thinking it is some kind of hobble. Maybe villages had iron eyes in the ground to hobble horses??

While it is a Western habit to talk of ground-tying a horse, the usual meaning is to note the horse remains in position when the reins are dropped. Over night camping with a horse can use a high-line - a rope tied between two trees a little higher than the horse's head. The tether line is clipped to the high line so the horse can walk and with little effort pull down the tether to graze. A stopper is tied on the line each end to prevent a horse winding up the tether round a tree. For shorter periods, a horse is usually tethered to a trailer or post. It is better to avoid fixed ground eyes which can injure a horse when cantering/running.