A lovely way to create a keepsake from a full set of precious shoes combined with a horse hair braid.Our ‘Full Set’ sculpture makes an amazing celebratory piece from as special event as well as a memorial piece from a horse or pony who has passed away.An length of tail hair is intricately braided and set within the fullering of the central shoe.Additional braiding on the outer shoes may be possible at an extra charge. Please contact us here to discuss this.We can add handstamped personalisation as well as an oak base for something truly special.If hearts are not your thing and you’d prefer your creation from your own horseshoes to stay their original shape this may be the piece for you.
As a Keepsake of a Special Horse
As horse owners and lovers ourselves we know that sometimes you would like to have a creation made from your own horse’s shoes. This may be from the shoes worn at a significant show or event as a lasting reminder, they may make a lovely personal gift for someone who adores their equine friend, or you may like to have them as a sentimental keepsake after a much loved horse has passed away.
The braid in the central shoe is created by Tail End Jewellery who has 20 years experience in working with horsehair. To complete the braid in the central shoe we will need a length of tail hair at least 40cm long and about a pencil thickness width at the thinnest point.
The process
Every shoe is heated to remove rust and carefully cleaned by hand. Generally toe and side clips are removed as well as nails. Every now and then a nail is extremely reluctant to leave and in these instances we allow them to stay, it is after all part of the character of the shoes! We buff and polish each shoe gently to remove dirt but retain marks of wear. Personalisation is added now, positioning of the hand stamping may vary according to the size and type of shoe.
Each shoe is then welded into formation and buffed and polished once more. A clear sealant is then applied to protect from rust. We recommend keeping your piece indoors and away from damp.
Adding an oak base
Our bases are made from solid oak, 15mm thick, that we can stain in either a Light Oak (pictured) or Medium Oak (deeper & darker). You can select which you would prefer from the drop down menu. The horseshoe is securely bolted to the Oak Base. The beautiful tones and grain of the wood set off the gunmetal silver shade of the shoes to perfection. Size of Oak base may vary slightly to accommodate the size of horseshoes used.
A Note on Personalisation
Our personalisation is hand stamped onto the horseshoes. We would generally place text to the left inside edge of the left shoe, central on the central shoe and to the right on the right shoe. However makes and types of shoe vary and if using your own shoes we may need to make adjustments to this if there is not much space available. We would discuss this with you before proceeding.
Lead times
For information on lead times and where to send your shoes please click on the ‘delivery’ tab just up there to the right of the ‘description’. Please add on a week to standard lead time for the complexity of this piece.
If you require a gift in a hurry we suggest our Boxed Gift Certificates here
