What should I do with Tristan's old horseshoes?

So, Tristan is barefoot again. Which was working well, until it wasn't. Thankfully, the current abscess problem seems to be unrelated to his newly-bare feet, so he will stay barefoot.

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.

Genius moment: An easier way to apply Durasole

I don't want to take too much credit, but it's just possible I'm a genius.

Raise your hand if you're always too lazy to wear gloves while applying Durasole.

I am as guilty as the next person, and then I had a brainstorm. See, about two years ago, a vet gave me a formalin + iodine mixture to apply to Tristan's feet. I followed instructions for a few days, but hated the stuff, so I tossed it and just stuck to Durasole, and everyone was happier.

When Tristan went barefoot, I pulled that out again for a day or two and confirmed I hated it, but realized that its application was genius. It was contained in a small jar, and the cap had a brush stuck to it. Unscrew the cap, apply the stuff, no muss, no fuss.

I started hunting around for what might be a similarly useful tool with which to apply Durasole, and I hit on this: Big Horn Glue Bottle With Brush Applicator. I ordered it, crossed my fingers, and last week it arrived.

I squirted the last of my current bottle of Durasole in it, and crossed my fingers.

IT WORKS SO WELL.

Holy crap.

All you have to do is give the bottle the very lightest of squeezes to get it started, and then just paint the brush onto the bottom of the foot. It comes out nicely, but doesn't explode at all - just the right amount comes out. It takes just a few seconds to do the bottom of the foot, and the long brush means you can stick it right down into the frog crevices.

The cap fits on snugly, and I haven't had a single escaped drop yet. The inside of the bottle is sort of slippery, so all the Durasole pools right at the bottom, not along the insides like it does in its own bottle. 

The bottle holds 8oz, so two bottles of Durasole, and it minimizes the amount of wasted liquid to a truly astonishing degree. It lets out just the right amount and then it all drains back into the bottle.

You do have to be a little careful putting the cap back on but so far that's honestly the only drawback.

So, if you use Durasole, BUY THIS NOW: Big Horn Glue Bottle with Brush Applicator

DIY Project: Custom Quarter Sheet

Last winter, I started riding Tristan in a quarter sheet on especially cold days. I borrowed one from the barn's stash, and really liked it: it kept me warm, and he seemed a bit more comfortable. I started shopping for my own, looking at a bunch of different websites. I didn't like any of the ones I found: whether the style, color, or price.

Wouldn't it be just as easy to make my own, I thought? So I bought fabric, ribbon for edging, and when my mother came to visit, she brought her sewing machine. We based the pattern off the one at the barn I liked most - I don't know what brand or even what size it was.

It was a bit of a rough first attempt, but the cat thought it was the best day ever.

Finished cutting:

We sewed a 1.5" ribbon doubled over around the edge, which I would probably not do again. I think I'm going to want a blaze orange one for hunting season (coming up soon), and I'm already thinking about new edging material.

Here's the finished product. I LOVE IT, and have gotten a ton of compliments every time I ride in it. I think it looks so much better than any of the ones you can buy. It ended up being less expensive in terms of materials (which I picked carefully to be on sale), though perhaps not when you factor in the labor cost of figuring out how to do it and then the sewing itself.

I think the only thing I'd change is the bump you can see just above the point of his hip there - we didn't figure the cut quite right to lay flat. Purely aesthetic.

Have you ever made something from scratch for your horse?