We specialize in rustic used horseshoes and bringing them new life.
Our story
We have been repurposing for decades before we ever knew what is was.
Each of our items are handcrafted and purposed to be useful or artistic decoration and sometimes both from material we have on our ranch Coyote Hill Land and Cattle or have acquired from neighbors and our horse people friends.
We appreciate your interest in our work and trust that our creations will connect you with our heritage in some small way.
SOME HISTORY ABOUT HORSESHOES:
Horses have been wearing shoes for thousands of years. Experts can't seem to agree on exactly when the metal shoe was first used on horses, however, they are pretty certain that the Romans used a type of hoof boot to protect their horse's hoofs. They also know that by the time of the Crusades, iron horseshoes were the norm.
At some point during the Middle Ages, horseshoes became a good luck charm. In some cultures, the shoe is hung on a door with the ends pointing up to catch and hold good luck. In other cultures, the shoe points down so the luck will poor down into the household. This is why horseshoes are called Lucky Horseshoes.
That being said, here is the history behind our horseshoe designs:
Most of our horseshoes have been worn from horses all over Colorado and Wyoming. The aluminum horseshoes have been worn by race horses and competitive rodeo horses here in Colorado. Each of these horseshoes we have has been worn by a horse for about 6 to 10 weeks or longer before it is carefully removed.
Once we have the horseshoe, we then sand blast it and some are polished to shiny, some are left with the rustic patina. No two horseshoes are exactly the same, if you look closely at the horseshoe, you can see the wear pattern and the dents and dings from the horse who wore the shoe so it adds character to the horseshoe. That’s what we love about our horseshoes!
In our designs that we use a very large draft horseshoe, these horseshoes are new and have not been worn by a horse. We specify this in the description of the horseshoe designs.
At Rustic Creations from the Ranch we take pride in making beautiful, decorated horseshoes. Whether your buying the horseshoe for yourself or giving as a gift it will be enjoyed and admired for years to come!!
Thanks for visiting our shop,
Charles and Barbara
