Our popular Love & Luck Keepsake is combined with beautiful horsehair braiding by Tail End Jewellery.
The outer edge of the heart & the outer edge of the horseshoe require a 40cm length of tail hair, of a pencil thickness, to create the beautifully intricate and tactile braid.
Please note, we can make this piece using our own horseshoes, or horseshoes that you supply. We assume you will be sending your own horsehair too but if you would like us to supply the horsehair please do contact us and let us know when you order.
Each Horseshoe Heart is forged from one whole horseshoe and so two horseshoes total are required to create this keepsake.
For Weddings and Anniversaries
Horseshoes were traditionally given to brides on their wedding day for luck. Only a used horseshoe is considered lucky as the horse strikes in the luck with every foot fall.
As the years pass certain gifts are linked to each year of marriage. Iron is linked to the six year anniversary and steel the eleventh. Horseshoes make an apt gift for either being made from Mild Steel which contains a high percentage of iron.
To make you gift extra special handstamped personalisation is available for names and dates on these items. We can also use your shoes for this item if you would like.
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.
This ‘Love & Luck’ piece can be made from either front or hind shoes. One horseshoe makes one Horseshoe Heart. You can personalise your piece with names or dates if you would like. Please note sometimes we may need to apply personalisation where space allows dependant on the type and size of shoes rather than in a specific place.
The Process
Each and every shoe we use for our creations is heated in the forge and cleaned by hand. We feel it’s important to take care over this process so as to retain as much of the natural character of the shoe as possible. Rust really does not matter so don’t worry if you have very rusty shoes that you’d like to use. Clips and nails are removed, although every now and then if a nail does seem very determined to stay put we will leave it be, it’s all part of the charm!
The Heart is skilfully hand forged from a whole horseshoe. It is not cut into two, nor then welded back together. The horseshoe stays whole, carefully worked into a heart shape with clean lines. The beauty is in it’s simplicity. Any personalisation on the shoe or heart will take place now before being linked together and welded in place.
Meticulous attention is then paid to the buffing and rasping of the piece to remove any sharp edges and bring up a gunmetal silver shine. A clear sealant to protect from rust is then applied. We recommend displaying your ‘Love & Luck’ Heart indoors and protected from the elements.
Packaging
Your order will arrive with you in a branded jute gift bag.
They are ethically sourced and made of a natural fibre so you can just pop the ribbon out and pop it on the compost where it will break down naturally. Though we hope you may like to keep your jute bag and reuse it. Perhaps to store potatoes, carrots, maybe some grooming brushes or your plaiting kit, depending on the bag size. We’d love to hear what you come up with!
We have to confess, nostalgia did play a part in our choice! Do you remember those old jute horse rugs of days gone by? They were so heavy! Secured with a roller! A far cry from the modern horse rugs we see today! Did you know Mr HH’s father was also a farrier? Barry remembers the big jute sacks full of shoes that were delivered to his father’s forge.
So, for us, these rustic little bags made the perfect choice to present our horseshoe creations in. A small acknowledgement of where we came from, while being eco friendly which is a real necessity moving forwards.
We aim to use wherever possible 100% recyclable card & paper packaging, including the tape on the postal boxes, so you can pop it all into the recycling bin once you order arrives safely with you.
Lead time
Please note Braided Item lead times are approximately 4 weeks due to the numerous processes involved in their creation.
If you are looking for a gift in a hurry we recommend our boxed Gift Vouchers here
