New Zeland Horse Shoe Company

New Zealand Horse Shoe was created on the 14th August 1914 by the Opperman family in response to the expected shortages and delivery problems created by the First World War. During the early years the company prospered as the working horse reigned supreme but with the greater introduction of the car and the farm tractor production levelled off and started to decline.

After returning from active service in the Second World War, Bill Opperman took over control of the company that was in a period of large decline. In the lean times following the war, the government encouraged substitution of essential items and this gave opportunities back to New Zealand Horse Shoe including diversification outside the equine field allowing a wider use of the companies steel forging experience.

Gradually the country recovered and prospered on the back of its agricultural trade, import substitution and other measures were relaxed and the market for "home produced products" tightened considerably. Due to the foresight of Bill Opperman, the company had taken the steps to upgrade the company premises and tooling during the good times and was well placed when the growth of the sport horse emerged. In 1966 more tooling and capacity was invested in and saw the introduction of New Zealand Horse Shoe's current style of manufacturing. The "new" style 16x8 concave shoes were a great success in New Zealand and encouraged entry into the Australian market. The company continued to grow and introduced a line of