Horseshoes

The game of horseshoes was recognized as far back as the second century. The Greeks and Romans were fond of their games and likely created this game with the discarded horse shoes from their noble steeds. The horseshoes game was created probably by the Greek armies who could not afford or were not allowed to participate in the discus throwing competitions, so they created their own pastime.

Today, there are some professional and amateur horseshoe teams all around the world who take the horse shoes game very seriously. After all, it is a game of skill and you have to be really accurate in your horseshoe pitching. If you are not an avid player of horseshoes, you may not realize that the object you throw these days to the stake to try and gain points is no longer a true horse shoe but rather a larger facsimile of it.

Horseshoe Court

This sport is primarily an outdoor activity. You will discover a variety of places where horseshoes can be played. However, there are a few things that typically stay the same in your playing area. First, each area of play is called a court. And at each end of the court are stakes which are houses within something called horseshoe pits.

These horseshoe pits are typically filled with sand or even spongy clay to disperse the thud of the horseshoes hitting the ground and to prevent too much bouncing. If you measure from one stake on one end to the stake on the other end, the distance is about forty feet.

Horseshoe Supplies

When it comes to horseshoe supplies, you will need the stakes to position in the horseshoe pits as well as at least four horseshoes, two for each player, more if you have additional players. Other horseshoe equipment you may need includes a hook to avoid bending over all the time to pick up your horseshoes and even a caliper for those close calls you may have to measure.

Horseshoe Rules

When it comes to the rules of horseshoes, they are fairly simple. The goal when you pitch a horseshoe is to get a “ringer” or the horseshoe completely around the stake on the opposite end. A ringer earns you three points, unless your opponent also gets a ringer too right after you. Then in some instances, the points are negated.

For horseshoes that lean on the stake or are within six inches or closer, these are awarded one point. The object of the game is to earn twenty-one points. Of course, the caveat is that you must beat your opponent by two points in order to have a clean win.

If you don’t have easy access to horseshoes, you could always play a free horseshoe game online. The internet provides a few options when it comes to playing games and horseshoes is one of them.