TOP MAIL-IN FORGING EXERCISE SHOES. These shoes have been declared as the best forged shoes in the annual Calgary Mail-In Forcing Exercise in each of the past 6 years. 1. Scottish Hind Preventer Shoe. 2. Diagonal Weighted Bar Shoe. 3. Hind Trotter Shoe. 4. Front Side Weight. 5. Deep-Seated Rasp Bar Shoe. 6. Toe Cap Shoe. 7. Hind Side Weight. 8. Lateral Bar Shoe With Masselotte Clip. 9. Split Web-Wedged Bar Shoe.

Do the contest shoes that competitors have to hammer out in forging competitions really have any practical value in daily shoeing work?

That’s a legitimate question. As part of the answer, this article will take a look at the shoes used in the Calgary Mail-In Forging Exercise since its start 7 years ago.

For this article, I’ve analyzed each of the 10 mail-in forging exercise shoes in terms of how each would fit into a shoer’s normal footcare work. Besides explaining what I see as the practical use for each shoe, I’ve rated these shoes for what I see as their usefulness in everyday shoeing and also on the degree of difficulty in forging them. 

It is important that you bear in mind my personal shoeing experiences as you read this article. An author can only write about what they know and the type of footcare practice that they operate.

I shoe primarily Quarter Horses, used for cutting and rodeo work, and this has been my main footcare type work for 20 years. I also do quite a…