05/17/2026
š“ó §ó ¢ó ³ó £ó “ó æ Scotland Uncorked š“
Every guest who walks through our door at The Squeaky Cork passes through a gauntlet of horse brasses. And thereās a story behind every single one.
It started with a couple who walked in one day and told us our pub reminded them of their favorite pub from when they were stationed in Europe. They came back with three horse brasses and a tradition was born. Turns out, we were in good company.
Originally horse brasses began as charms and amulets worn on working horses to ward off evil and bring good luck. The idea was simple but powerful: if kept brightly polished and shiny, they would blind the āevil eyeā of bad spirits and keep them away.
They came in a variety of shapes commemorative plaques of royal coronations, family crests, and heraldic symbols. Most often though, they carried a symbology behind them symbols thought to bring luck to horses and their riders, and to protect them from witchcraft. Crescent moons, suns, hearts, and stars were among the most common.
In Scotland and England before WWI, heavy horse ploughing contests and parades were beloved events at country fairs. Horses were decked out with bells, ribbons, and custom-made medallions. When those horses and their handlers went off to the trenches and never came back, the contests faded and the brasses found a new home on pub walls, where theyāve hung ever since.
In Scotland, brasses often featured monograms with knotwork or tartan-inspired motifs a distinctly Scottish fingerprint on a tradition that crossed borders and generations.
We think of our doorway as a threshold between the ordinary world and something a little older and warmer. Every brass has a history. Every guest who walks through carries a story of their own.
Thatās what a real pub is for.
Weāll pour you something worthy of the tradition. š„
Join us every Saturday for Scotland Uncorked.
š The Squeaky Cork Albany, Oregon
