St. Croix Forge History & CrossOver Development

Made in the USA

St. Croix Forge is the main producer of steel horseshoes for the North American market within the Mustad group, focusing mainly on the riding and sport horse segments. As one of the few horseshoe manufacturers left in the USA, St. Croix Forge has had the opportunity to build close relationships with local farriers, horse owners, and trainers for 36 years. Being close to our customers has become the key to our success allowing us to learn from their needs and build products that make their life easier. Combining the knowledge St. Croix Forge has acquired through decades of forging excellence and rigorous testing with top farriers throughout North America, we are proud to bring you the revolutionary CrossOver horseshoe.

 

CrossOver Development

The CrossOver horseshoe was designed from research done by taking pictures of several hundred feet and mapping them. This process included hoof radiographs to help identify landmarks and the collaboration of the country's top farriers.

 

Once the research was completed, we realized that the front pattern of the hoof is very similar amongst most horses. This led us to design the CrossOver to fit the most common landmarks to minimize the work at the anvil. The hind feet study showed that most hind feet are narrow, which made us focus on designing a narrow hind shoe for an easier perimeter fit.

Importance of Nail Pitch & Crease

The design of the CrossOver horseshoe was built from a farrier's perspective. A farrier is only one nail away from being a hero or a zero. Today's farriers have advanced tools at their disposal and can shape the shoes effectively to fit most feet. What becomes laborious, challenging, and dangerous is making your own nail holes while ensuring they are in the correct position. Additionally, Making nail holes with the correct pitch adds a lot of unnecessary work and that is why the CrossOver horseshoe was designed with an extreme focus on the nail holes and crease.

 

 

Variable Pitched Nail Technology

St. Croix Forge has invested countless hours and resources designing the latest advancement in horseshoe technology, Variable Pitched Nails (VPN). What that means is that the toe nail is designed with more pitch and graduates to a straighter heel nail, following the natural angle of the hoof. This allows the farrier to drive the nails parallel to the hoof wall without having to "fish hook" the nail to be deep enough yet still come out.

In addition, all farriers have struggled at some point with shoes shifting when they drive the first nails. Typically, this happens because the nail hole angle in the shoe doesn't match the pitch direction the farrier is driving the nail at, and that pushes the horseshoe. The VPN nail hole design will reduce the horseshoe movement while driving the first nails since the correct pitch angle is already built into the shoe.

 

The St. Croix Forge CrossOver horseshoes are available in front and hind patterns in sizes 1, 2, 3, 4 and are punched for a City Head nail.