Response to the final Calgary Mail-In Forging Exercise was so tremendous, it would be a shame to see it go away because of the Calgary Stampede’s decision to abandon a forging contest. Although Calgary may be gone, there is good news because a new mail-in forging exercise will take its place.

Sponsored by Victory Racing Plate, this contest will be tied to the International Hoof-Care Summit. People who can’t make it to the Summit still can participate in the forging exercise by mailing in their entry. IHCS attendees can save on the postage and drop off the shoe at the Summit. See the complete instructions on entering at the end of this article.

This exercise is free to enter, and every entrant will receive a free T-shirt, as well as notes on their shoes from the judges, who will pick the winner during the Summit. The top finisher will receive a buckle and free registration to the 2016 IHCS in Cincinnati.

The Shoe

The goal with this selection is to make a shoe that everyone can use in their everyday practices. The heart bar shoe certainly fits that.

If you have shied away from learning how to build the heart bar, here is your opportunity and encouragement to change.

The heart bar often is blamed for harm that it did not commit. Misapplication of the heart bar can be bad, but the same could be true of any horseshoe. Knowing how to properly build and use a heart bar will…