From Farrier to Jewelry Maker: The Story Behind Handmade Equestrian Jewelry
From Farrier to Jewelry Maker
For nearly four decades, I have worked under horses as a professional farrier. Long days trimming hooves, shaping steel, and caring for horses gave me a deep respect for the connection between horses and the people who love them.
That connection is what led me to create handmade equestrian jewelry rooted in the real materials of the horse world.
But Horseshoe Wear didn’t begin in a jewelry shop. It started long before that.
Where It All Began
I grew up in Central Oregon, fascinated by horses. As a kid, I would ask my mother to stop the car whenever we passed one, just so I could walk up and pet it.
That fascination turned into working on ranches and eventually into a career in horseshoeing and eventually into a lifelong understanding of how much trust exists between a horse and the people who care for it.
A Different Kind of Influence
There was another influence that shaped this path, though I didn’t fully realize it at the time.
After becoming disabled, my father entered a vocational program that taught him jewelry making. My mother helped him in the shop, assisting with soldering while my father designed the pieces.
Watching them work together planted the seeds for my own creativity, and showed me what it meant to build something by hand. It wasn’t about production. It was about intention.
The Moment Everything Shifted
Years later, while working as a farrier, a client asked me to clean up an old horseshoe. I forged the shoe into the shape of a heart, and when I polished the steel, I noticed something surprising - the metal shined like jewelry.
That moment sparked an idea.
What if the everyday materials of the horse world—shoes, nails, and steel—could become something meaningful people could wear?
That was the moment things shifted.
It made me look at the materials I handled every day in a completely different way.
That was the momentHorseshoe Wear began to take shape.
Seeing the Meaning in the Materials
Horseshoes and nails are built for one purpose. They serve the horse. They take the wear, the impact, and the miles.
But when you step back, you start to see something else.
Every nail carries marks from the horse it came from. Every shoe was shaped for a specific hoof, for a specific animal, at a specific moment in time.
That realization led me to begin creating horseshoe nail jewelry and sterling silver horse jewelry that keeps that story intact.
Handmade Equestrian Jewelry With a Story
What started as a simple idea turned into something more focused.
I began casting real, used horseshoe nails in sterling silver, preserving their shape and character. No two are identical, because no two horses are the same.
Each piece of handmade equestrian jewelry I create carries that connection forward. It reflects the strength of the horse, the work behind it, and the quiet bond that comes with it.
Why It Matters
For those who have spent time around horses, this isn’t hard to understand.
The horse isn’t just an animal. It becomes part of your life. Your routine. Your identity.
This jewelry is a way to hold onto that connection.
Not in a polished, manufactured way, but in something real. Something that started with purpose and still carries it.
The Beginning of Horseshoe Wear
That single moment in the shop led to what Horseshoe Wear is today.
A collection of artisan equestrian jewelry made from the same materials I worked with for decades, shaped by hand, and built with the same level of care.
It’s not mass produced. It never will be.
Because the story behind it matters just as much as the piece itself.
Carry a piece of the horse with you.
Explore handmade equestrian jewelry crafted from real horseshoe nails.