Your local blacksmith in the 1800's

hitching weights like this one permitted drivers to secure their horses where there were no hitching rails or posts the driver would carry the weight with him put it on the ground at his destination and attach it with a strap to the bit in the horse's mouth the weight alone couldn't stop the horse but the strap pulling on the bit like a rain would keep him from running away this weight was made by the local blacksmith an important person in the community he made most of the iron articles used in the houses and on the farms of course what kept Him busiest was making horseshoes his shop was a gathering place for all the young boys many of them wanted to be blacksmiths for this was a job for strength and muscle but first the Smith would always tell them go to school everyone should learn how to read and write