I’m glad that horseshoes mean good luck.  I mean, it is nice that something other than a weird little green man is our good luck charm.  At least I’ve seen wild horseshoes on occasion whereas I’ve never seen a leprechaun.

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR A LARGER VIEW

But that in itself confuses me.

You see, when I find a horseshoe lying around, I get upset.  I don’t see the luck in it.  I see the, “Oh great, who lost a shoe now?”  And the, “I sure hope I get all the nails”… and the “Now I can’t go riding today or ever again since the farrier is so hard to get ahold of…” feelings.  I’m actually exasperated and a bit panicky when I find a random horse shoe.  I don’t see the good luck in it at all.

In hindsight, I guess it is good luck for the farrier.  But for me, that notion of good luck with a horseshoe has never stuck.  It wouldn’t occur to me to gift with a horseshoe when someone is moving into a new house or getting married.

“Here, I picked this horseshoe up off of the ground and I’m giving it to you.  Um, Finn lost this, which is bad luck for me, but if I give it to you, you will have good luck, I think…”

Still, having said that, I have to acknowledge that my barn has one hanging in the first stall and my back door has one cemented into the pavers.  I didn’t put them there, the previous owner did.  And, we’ve been fairly lucky.  So, maybe they do work.  Dunno.

I guess my point is that horseshoes as a good luck gift have not been on my radar.

Jim Brandvik, the artist

So, when I stumbled upon this guy who engraves them, I was like a monkey with a foreign object.  I kept looking at the website and turning the photos all around…  I was fascinated that someone thought to do this.  And, not only as a good luck gift, but also as a keepsake.

JIM BRANDVIK

That’s his name, Jim Brandvik,  and this is his website.  And, you really should CLICK ON THE  PHOTOS in this blogpost to see the items larger.  The detail is really amazing!

As a kid growing up on a ranch, he liked to draw.   As time went on, he melded the two together by drawing on horse shoes.

In his own words, “An engraver must be part metal-smith, part alchemist, part artist and part machinist. Any one of these vocations would suit me, but the amalgamation of them all suites me completely.”  Cool.

Now after perusing his website, I get it.  I understand how horseshoes can be a lovely gift…

FANCY

The design I liked the best was the first picture I’ve added here.  These are very fancy and a tribute to Roy Rogers.  You really need to click on the photo to see the detail here.  They have gold inlay, gemstones and are just gorgeous!

Mico's shoe

I really don’t know where I would put this in my house since I wouldn’t want to cement this into a walking path or hang it in a dusty barn.  But, I’d sure like to have it…  I’d figure out the place later.  And, if I had this horseshoe, I certainly would have good luck!

KEEPSAKE

I loved this idea… A woman gave Jim the last pair of shoes that her beloved horse, Mico, had worn.  The story made me weep.   She sent Mico’s shoes to Jim and she asked Jim to engrave them with her sentiments.

Wow.  I wish I had thought of that when I lost Aladdin.  It makes total sense to me as a keepsake.  Often a horse is not buried at home.  Or, if he is, you still might want a keepsake inside the house.  I know that I have a photo of Aladdin on my desk.   But, if I had known about this at the time, I would have kept his shoes.

Horseshoe nail pendant

I like this idea because it holds his memory.  He actually wore them.  They are a part of him…

Anyway, Jim polished up Mico’s old shoes and engraved them.  Lovely.

WEDDING GIFT/HOUSEWARMING/ANNIVERSARY

I really had no idea how many ways you could use a horseshoe.  And, it is amazing to me how an artistic hand makes such a difference!  I can totally see how a polished and beautifully engraved horseshoe would make a fine gift!  Here is a link to his designs.

JEWELRY

I think, if you are around metal and horseshoes, you probably see lots of horseshoe nails…

I loved this sweet design for a pendant made out of a horseshoe nail.  How clever!  And, I really appreciate when an artist has a piece that is relatively inexpensive so that most of us can share in his creativity.

Also, I thought this WIDE cuff was beautiful!  If you click on the photo, you can see the detail…

The last photo of the smaller cuff bracelet shows the engraving on the inside and the outside.  Plus a little diamond on both sides as well!  I think any Cowgirl would love one of those!

Awesome!

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July’s Bucket Fund will benefit the charity THE GOLDEN CARROT SANCTUARY.  To learn all about the Bucket Fund and to donate $5,  please click on the photo (photo credit, Trish Lowe)

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HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth... if you like this, please pass it around!