Bruce and Mike, thanks for the information! When looking at them, it didn't occur to me that a pad would have been installed to prevent sole pressure from the toe weight. Now I can see how it would have worked.
Great information guys!
Smitty, I recognized the half-swedged, half rounds. The reason I suggested perhaps two makers was the difference in the bar. I'm sure it wasn't really two different makers but thought it odd that one bar had such a clean weld and small heart while the other looked hastily hammered together. Maybe the farrier ran out of time on the second shoe?
I didn't know they were called "Canadian" though?
I've got a few more shoes I'll be posting today. I'll number them as we go forward so you can refer comments to them without duplicating the photos in a reply.
Hope you guys are finding all this old stuff interesting.
For those wondering, the entire photo collection is being placed into a separate website outside this forum. We don't want to lose all that information as this forum thread ages and is filled with new posts. Bradley St. John is putting that website together for me and pulling the photos from here.
When Bradley is done, we'll post the address for that site so everyone has access in the future.
Cheers!
Mark