Horses Built From Racehorse "Shoes"

Horses Built From Racehorse "Shoes" LIVESTOCK Horses/Mules 32-2-22 If old horseshoes were more plentiful, Ralph Tucker might have a full-time job welding horse statues. Three racehorse owners have seen the full-size Appaloosa at his home near Lincoln, Delaware, and asked if he could make them one. "I started building it for the fun of it," says Tucker, a retired carpenter. "I've been around horses since I was big enough to lead one." He lives near a large racetrack and when a friend brought over a pile of horseshoes, Tucker started welding. At first, he made a small version with a young boy riding it. To get started with his full-size version, he drew the horse on plywood. He cleaned the horseshoes well, washing them in acid, then wire brushed them so the welds will be strong. Racehorse shoes are the easiest to work with, he says, because they're all similar in size. He estimates there are about 450 horseshoes in the sculpture. He painted the horse with black and white spray paint and welded it to two iron posts in his front yard and built a wooden cart behind it with an aluminum bottom for his wife, Hazel, to plant flowers. He's added horseshoe men riding and standing by the cart and built benches and other yard ornaments. This winter he worked on an express wagon with a little boy pulling it. "I've had more people stop here and take pictures," Tucker says. People have wanted to buy the Appaloosa, but he's not interested in selling. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ralph Tucker, 8473 Shawnee Rd., Lincoln, Delaware 19960 (ph 302 422-9298).

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