# How to hang horse shoes **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 13, 2006, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333 "2006-07-13T15:26:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![powerjacob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@powerjacob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/powerjacob)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/1 "2006-07-13T15:26:33Z")
I’ve seen horse shoes hung in or on houses for good luck. But which way should the “U” of the shoe hang? I’ve seen them up and down. Some say up for good luck and others say down. What’s the straight dope have to say? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/2 "2006-07-13T16:19:42Z")
I remember an old Leave it to Beaver episode where Wally tells the Beaver to hang it up(like the letter U) so the luck doesn’t fall out. I’ve always followed that method. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/3 "2006-07-13T16:32:22Z")
U if it’s n the luck runs out. (As **Mahaloth** has just stated. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/4 "2006-07-13T16:33:25Z")
[QUOTE=Mahaloth] I remember an old Leave it to Beaver episode where Wally tells the Beaver to hang it up(like the letter U) so the luck doesn’t fall out. I’ve always followed that method. [/QUOTE] That’s the same thing I heard. Like a U so the luck doesn’t fall out. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/5 "2006-07-13T16:34:10Z")
We all agree. ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/6 "2006-07-13T16:42:08Z")
This “points up” or “u” orientation seems to be of fairly recent date, at least as far as Britain/Canada is concerned: I have seen many, many greeting cards, brass and silver stickpins, etc. from the 1880s-1920s period that have the “points down,” or what we may refer to as the “omega” orientation. (I have also noticed that black cats seemed to be a portent of **good** luck in this same general timeframe. Canada WWI 32nd Battalion cap badge [circa 1900 novelty good luck clock](http://www.antiqueclockspriceguide.com/priceguideimages/robertoschmitt7/256.jpg) [souvenir beaded horseshoe, c. 1900](http://www.memorialhall.mass.edu/collection/itempage.jsp?itemid=5263) [1920s native chief gold pin](http://www.dejavusv.com/joseff12.jpg) [1910s postcard](http://www.thepostcard.com/walt/misc/mix/mix155.gif) [1915 postcard](http://www.madinpursuit.com/ebay/Postcards/pc0094a.jpg) [Victorian gold and silver lady’s brooch](http://www.morninggloryantiques.com/imagesLZ/Victorian/vict29641.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/7 "2006-07-13T16:43:41Z")
[QUOTE=Mahaloth] I remember an old Leave it to Beaver episode where Wally tells the Beaver to hang it up(like the letter U) so the luck doesn’t fall out. [/QUOTE] Col. Potter had a nearly identical line in an episode of M_A_S\*H. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/8 "2006-07-13T16:49:49Z")
[QUOTE=Rodd Hill] Canada WWI 32nd Battalion cap badge [circa 1900 novelty good luck clock](http://www.antiqueclockspriceguide.com/priceguideimages/robertoschmitt7/256.jpg) [souvenir beaded horseshoe, c. 1900](http://www.memorialhall.mass.edu/collection/itempage.jsp?itemid=5263) [1920s native chief gold pin](http://www.dejavusv.com/joseff12.jpg) [1910s postcard](http://www.thepostcard.com/walt/misc/mix/mix155.gif) [1915 postcard](http://www.madinpursuit.com/ebay/Postcards/pc0094a.jpg) [Victorian gold and silver lady’s brooch](http://www.morninggloryantiques.com/imagesLZ/Victorian/vict29641.jpg) [/QUOTE] Wow! Those are some nice pictures. Do you collect horse shoe images? ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/9 "2006-07-13T16:53:06Z")
No, just an ephemera/old-timey stuff geek. The only thing I own out of that lot is the 32nd Battalion cap badge. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/10 "2006-07-13T18:15:38Z")
From our friends at [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe): > [@](#): > > Traditions do differ on this point, though. In some cultures, the horseshoe is hung points down (so the luck pours onto you); in others, it is hung points up (so the luck doesn’t fall out); still in others it doesn’t matter so long as the horseshoe has been used (not new), was found (not purchased), and can be touched. In all traditions, luck is contained in the shoe and can pour out through the ends. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/11 "2006-07-13T18:30:30Z")
I was told that if you hang it points-down then the luck runs out… but if you hang it points-up then the devil can sit in it. You pays yer money and you takes yer choice… Personally I’d mount it sideways, on the landward end of a horse. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/12 "2006-07-13T18:43:29Z")
[QUOTE=Rodd Hill] This “points up” or “u” orientation seems to be of fairly recent date, at least as far as Britain/Canada is concerned: I have seen many, many greeting cards, brass and silver stickpins, etc. from the 1880s-1920s period that have the “points down,” or what we may refer to as the “omega” orientation. (I have also noticed that black cats seemed to be a portent of **good** luck in this same general timeframe… [/quote] Ah, but black cats ARE a good luck thing (in Britain anyway). 🙂 (Yes, I did find it confusing if I looked at American-type comics as a child. 🙂 And the horseshoe should always be pointing up, in my own little universe anyway. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/13 "2006-07-13T19:08:32Z")
In an ancient issue of Playboy, a father visited his son’s fraternity house, and he saw a woman’s stiletto-heeled shoe above the doorway. He told his son, “When I was here, we had a horseshoe hanging there for good luck!” The son replied, “That is a whore’s shoe, Dad!” ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/14 "2006-07-14T02:58:29Z")
I knew someone that did a lot with horses in competitions. She said the horse shoe pointed up for luck, but there was some case where circumstances dictated the horse shoe to be hung downward. I have no idea what it was anymore, and I’ll never likely see her again to ask. WAG It could have been something like a found shoe had to point up for luck, but if a horse threw it, you had to hang it up side down to avoid bad luck. This is very likely NOT what she siad, but gives the correct type of context in which it was stated. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/15 "2006-07-14T04:50:21Z")
[This](http://information-bureau.com/daily/060713/colts.jpg) is authoritative enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/16 "2006-07-14T04:53:29Z")
[QUOTE=jackelope] [This](http://information-bureau.com/daily/060713/colts.jpg) is authoritative enough for me. [/QUOTE] So, clearly the horseshoe should be pointed down. _:: G&D R ::_ ---
**Author:** ![Sparrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Sparrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparrow)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/17 "2006-07-14T07:18:46Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] I was told that if you hang it points-down then the luck runs out… but if you hang it points-up then the devil can sit in it. You pays yer money and you takes yer choice… Personally I’d mount it sideways, on the landward end of a horse. [/QUOTE] My grandmother, an old English countrywoman born in 1886, had one when I was little. It was points down. She said if you put it the other way up, it made a swing for a witch to sit in! ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/18 "2006-07-14T09:56:52Z")
[QUOTE=Sparrow] My grandmother, an old English countrywoman born in 1886, had one when I was little. It was points down. She said if you put it the other way up, it made a swing for a witch to sit in! [/QUOTE] Interesting - I heard the devil-swing thing from my grandmother too. Must be an old English superstition… ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/19 "2006-07-14T10:55:57Z")
Come on, guys. Horseshoes have nothing to do with “luck”. It’s all about having some cold steel over your doorway in case the elves come to steal your children ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333/20 "2006-07-14T12:24:17Z")
I have to wonder if it might be useful in keeping the Pooka out from the horse pen, when hung over the gate. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hang-horse-shoes/364333.md?page=2)