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Horseshoe nail art comes in many forms. In this post I will share my experiences with the things that I have made over the years. I have made figurines, rings, business card holders, hooks. I will discuss my processes, and some tips based on the things that I have made.

Horseshoe nails come in many shapes and sizes because horses do as well. I personally have handled thousands of horseshoe nails in my lifetime because I spent almost a decade as a farrier. Those days are long gone, but making horseshoe nail art and horseshoe nail art designs are something fun that I still do.

Horseshoe Nail Sizes

Horseshoe nails come in many sizes and brands. Just like anything else in this world, there are some brands that are better than others. When I was working in the industry, I preferred the Capewell brand. They come in a blue box. Horseshoe nails are sized with a number, #2 being the smallest, and #14 being the largest. The smaller ones are designed with ponies or very small horses in mind. So then the large ones are to accommodate the huge draft horses with feet the size of dinner plates. # 5 horseshoe nail is a common size for an average horse. Beyond that they also have different varieties that have thinner shanks, called (slim). I will say if you are going to be doing any cold bending of the nails for your horseshoe nail art, the slim variety is the way to go.

Horseshoe Nail art- Figurines

My favorite thing to make out of horseshoe nails, has to be the figurine. I have made many characters. From cowboys with huge sheet metal hats, to cowboys playing guitars. I have even made a large one with draft nails, of a cowboy playing a banjo. Another popular project has to be the running man mounted to a metal base. His arms are extended out in a way you can put your favorite ink pen in his arms. It looks like he is running with the pen to assist you in signing your stack of royalty checks. Lets not forget the cowboy riding a horse. That particular one took lots of brazing and re-brazing. I kept overheating my joints, then he would all fall apart, into a sad puddle of flux.

• Cowboys riding horses
• Musicians playing instruments
• Running man pen stand

Brazing

Brazing is the way that I have joined all my horseshoe nails together. It can be done a low heat. A bottle of map gas and a plumbing torch work great for the thin steel of a horseshoe nail. Flux and brazing rods finish the job. I have used a larger acetylene torch for my projects just because it happened to be available. It was overkill, and you could easily overheat your nails. In my experience, a propane torch just doesn’t get hot enough for brazing your horseshoe nail art. So I think map gas (yellow bottle) is the way to go.

Forging

As, I am also a blacksmith, I have made tiny hooks from horseshoe nails. When you get the head of the nail red hot, you can easily flatten it on the face of an anvil. It creates a nice uniform shape, that you can drill a mounting hole in. Needle nose plyers are handy for making these little horseshoe nail hooks. After the head is complete, you can twist the tip of the nail, then bend the rest of the shank into a hook. If you mount 5 or 6 of these on a light board, they make good racks to hang jewelry. Here you can check out some of my other forged projects.

The Finish.

I have never tried to paint any of my horseshoe nail art. I suppose it could be done, but I prefer a clear coat from an aerosol can. It is fast, easy, and prevents rust. A small wire brush, or a rotary brush on a Dremel tool works good to remove the discoloration that the torch made. Good Luck with your Horseshoe Nail art project!

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