I was out wandering the desert southwest and came upon this old relic of a leg iron which looks unlike any of the ones I have seen (not that I'm all that familiar with leg irons and shackles!) I'm not sure if this is part of a pair of leg irons or if it was once attached to a chain.

My guess is that it looks like it is nickel plated, and that it seems to require a padlock closure as opposed to a built in key lock.

There are no markings that I can see to indicate its providence. That being said, I come to you, the experts in the field, to help try to unravel the mystery and put a possible name and date to this relic.

Thanks to all for your time.

Definitely not a leg iron, it doesn't ratchet close but ratchs open. So it's purpose is to spread something apart and hold it that way. Maybe I will show the picture to my fossil of a father who has seen many things in his lifetime.

Timm:

What you've got is what is sometimes called a "farrier's clamp." It's a device used to immobilize a horse's leg so that that an unruly horse can be shod.

The button studs at the ends and the two loops had leather straps on them that allowed the farrier to latch the device just above the hoof, and then hoist it up so he could pull the old shoe off and nail a new one one without getting kicked to pieces by the horse, or the horse breaking a leg. Once done, he pulled the chain to release the ratchet mechanism and the animal's leg would slip out.

Yeah, not the nicest device in the world, but that was the sort of stuff they did back in the old days.

All in all, a rather interesting find.

Franklin

Well - that certainly answers that. Interesting indeed - Appreciate your help in uncovering this mystery!