Ox-horn shoe or boot horn, long

A natural ox-horn shoe or boot horn, hand formed and polished in Carnforth, Lancashire, using techniques and processes that have barely changed for centuries. Cut along the grain of the horn for strength, and subject to natural variations in colour ranging from almost white, through translucent ambers, sienna browns, to near black. The horn is from Fulani Ankole cattle, a long horned domesticated beef stock bred and farmed extensively throughout West Africa, and especially Nigeria. 42cm long, with a leather thong for hanging.