When the farrier pulled his shoes last winter, I asked him to set them aside. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them, but I knew I'd want them somehow. I then tossed them into my tack trunk and there they sat.
Here they are today.
Nope, never even cleaned 'em.
So, now I'm pondering ideas for what to do with them. Ideally, I'd like them to be displayed or decorative in some way in the new house - preferably in my study, which will be somewhat horse-themed.
I searched Pinterest, and got the usual assortment of ideas, but none of them spoke to me.
Plus an assortment of really tacky stuff.
You get the idea.
This comes closest to what I'd really like.
Simple, straightforward, and really keeps the focus on the horseshoe as the thing that I am interested in, not as a vehicle for other things.
But I'm still not sold on it. My indecisiveness about this is the main reason these have sat for a year.
So now I'm crowdsourcing this. Has anyone seen nice ways to display a beloved horse's old shoes, in a way that reminds you of the horse? That's not just a generic use of a horseshoe? Ideally something a little more understated and classy; "country chic" is very much not my style.
My trainer actually made the last one for me for my house warming party with one of Fiction's old shoes. She painted it black too - his primary show color. Super classy.
ReplyDeleteI'm not artistic at all, so I really have nothing else to add, but I'm with you on the no-tacky part. Most horse shoe art is blah.
I've done something like the last project with one of Ivan's old shoes. But instead of threading the ribbon, I used two colors of ribbon and wrapped the shoe, before threading it through the last holes and tying it in a bow as in your example. I'll have to take a picture of it, right now it's hanging rather randomly on a wall by itself :)
ReplyDeleteI just framed one of Riva's shoes - bought a burlap backed white frame at a Michael's store - hung it in our bathroom. Pinterest idea :)
ReplyDeleteplease do NOT make a toilet paper roll holder with the shoes!!! lol... i like the last one too - or the idea of making a shadowbox type thing. or maybe somehow turning them into bookends? idk haha good luck tho!
ReplyDeleteI like the bookend idea... I also saw on Pinterest a tutorial where they used horse shoes to make drink coasters. They backed them with cork. But, I don't know if you want to go that route with a pair of used horse shoes.
ReplyDeleteI have a pile of used horse shoes in our barn from my mare that I can't bear to part with but have no idea what to do with either. I have one in her memorial frame with her leather halter, her championship ribbons and a lock of her tail hair.
I have a basic wooden trunk I refinished and use as a coffee table...it's stained nearly black and the fittings are a hammered aluminum color. I'm considering replacing the handles on either end with really simple ones made from favorite horses old shoes. That way it's sort of understated and part of a bigger piece. I'm with you on the overtly country or western stuff - I really like a more understated and simple look.
ReplyDeleteI honestly just take them in their plain form and set them on a shelf!
ReplyDeletejust bang one on the wall - they are pretty much perfect as is, minus a little sawdust
ReplyDeleteI'm with leethomsonart: I have a shoe from my first horse simply mounted on the wall with double stick mounting tape. That's it.
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