To tie or hobble an animal's legs together to prevent it from running away, similar to putting on leg shackles.
From 'ham' (hock or hip joint) + 'shackle' (a restraining device), literally describing the act of shackling the hind legs.
This old farming term reveals how historical English directly describes what it means—you can almost picture farmers hamshackling their horses at night without any guessing needed.
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