I have had a he!! of a time keeping shoes on my new guy. He came with shoes and pads… and xrays showed thick soles (was told the seller had all her horses in pads). To skip the long story, he could not keep front shoes on and was not comfortable barefoot
LSS: he is now in glue ons.
They worked great for about 4 weeks… now one is completely worn through on the bottom, and its as if he is barefoot. ( and uncomfortable)
They began to wear at the toe (he does paw but everywhere he is tied has mats).
So, can anyone recommend a glue on shoe that does not wear out so quickly?
I do not know the brand he is in (farrier is OOT this week). They have a thin piece of horse shoe shaped aluminum inside the “shoe” part.
TIA
The EasyCare line of shoes tend to wear better than iron, IME. It’s not unheard of to get several resets out of them, and endurance riders get many, many miles on them. I’d explore them.
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I used EasyCare glue-on shoes for about a year with my OTTB whose hooves were trying to fall apart, when he could no longer hold a nail for long.
My experience was that when all of the factors are just right, they are great. But conditions really matter. The surfaces the horse was on mattered to the wear of the shoe. And in a hot relatively wet climate like this one, it could be hard to get the glue to set well on a humid day.
The good part was that I could do them myself without a farrier, when serious use was not a factor. Horse was being ridden but on soft ground and not at an intense level.
I considered them successful. Sometimes they were easier to manage than others.
Two resources were invaluable toward getting a handle on the glue-on’s – the EasyCare phone support with suggestions and advice, and even more so people in my horse orbit who had used them. The company was sincere in their efforts to be helpful. But often the person on the phone had limited experience with them and all under seemingly favorable conditions (this was a few years ago, of course that can change). The best advice/help I got was from local people with glue-on experience.
(Oh and – everything in the instructions had to be followed exactly. Including how to store the materials between use. Any confusion or misunderstanding of the instructions could lead to problems.)
I suggest establishing lines of communications with people who have used them for your purpose, preferably in your horse community, where use will be in similar conditions.
If you don’t need the glue-ons to stay on 24/7, you might look into hoof boots such as some endurance riders use. Just in use during work. If you want the horse to wear them all of the time, that’s the moment to consider glue-ons. The hoof boots had to be cleared of grit, sand and mud daily. And sometimes the fit doesn’t allow much room for hoof growth.
Also hopefully you can look forward to your horse progressing out of the need for all of the special shoes. Happy to say that while my horse will likely always need a full set to keep his hooves in shape, issues like nails not holding, and glue-ons, are long in the rearview mirror.
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Can’t the farrier just glue on aluminums? Why does he need a different kind of shoe? He doesn’t think he can hold a real shoe even glued on?
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Never heard of glueing on regular shoes. Frankly don’t see how a thin band of glue on the shoe would be enough to hold the shoe on.
He got glue ons because he kept pulling regular shoes.
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Yes gluing aluminums is possible. There are some with metal tabs on the side (similar to the plastic shoes with tabs). The Easy Shoe shoes are like an inch thick. I’ve never seen a horse get anywhere near wearing through those. They have a ton of different options too. Eponas are similarly thick but not so many options for shoe styles/ models and all have to glue to the sole (vs the wall via tabs).
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Any show horse that has shoes glued on has regular shoes with equilox. It’s fairly common. Although I guess conversely I’ve never seen in person any of the other varieties of glue ons that I hear about on here.
You can glue an aluminum shoe on. I don’t know about “plastic” shoes, but my farrier has used Polyflex, which has no cuff, it wore just fine in my recollection. I am not sure why he quit using them on my mare.
I think we’re using these now https://fsphorse.com/products/fsp-sport-shoes-only-front-hooves. She doesn’t come close to wearing thru them, and she’s got 24/7 turnout (large run off stall and pasture). Run has abrasive footing (sand).
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I wonder about the skill of your farrier with glue ons.
Mine for easy care or aluminum does a two step process with epoxy and then feet get wrapped and booted and then buffed. He’s like the guy for glue ons in a tri state area but my normal farrier was cursing up a storm removing them at 7 weeks because they were so solid. He averages 2 lost shoes a year - total.
When done right a glue on is essentially one with the foot and almost impossible to lose. I’d ask your vet for a referral to a farrier who specializes in glue ins.
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Would highly recommend the Easy Care shoes also. Most people I know that use them actually apply the shoes themselves. I’ve not had them wear out at all even with a lot of trotting on rocks and gravel roads. I’ve used the aluminum glue ons too but those also wear out to nothing super fast
You might want to look at GluShu. They’re a shapeable aluminum shoe inside of a rubber covering. It might buy you some time. Or…it could go the opposite direction and you’d be dealing with quicker wear at the toe rubber. Might be trial and error.
Also, there are some interesting steel glue ons - if your farrier is open to trying them. Sandman has been racing in shoes by Hanton and they make a traditional riding style.
*oh, and my own horse gets standard aluminum glue ons. We’ve lost only one - ever. Proper preparation is everything for them.
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I had one go in glue on aluminum shoes. They stayed on the entire cycle and he liked them more than the EasyCare glue ons. Problem was it took a lot of tinkering to get the shoes to fit as he’s a pony and at the time he was one size smaller than the smallest aluminum shoe. My farrier made it work but it was a nuisance.
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The shoe was a trial. Farrier uses them on other horses in the barn, as well as other brands of glue ons. They began to wear at the toe and over the weekend finally failed. The glue on part is secure to his hoof wall.
The plastic of the shoe failed… not the glue. It’s firmly attached.
Today trainer showed me another horse in the barn that has aluminum and plastic glue ons. It a “real” shoe. He will get these later this week. Hopefully the aluminum wont wear like the plastic toe did.
Thanks all for all the suggestions. I never realized there were metal shoes with “tabs”… and never realized there were plastic glue ons that include a “real” shoe.
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I think thats what he had. The toe wore, exposing the metal.
that makes sense
I asked my farrier what he’s using on my mare; he said Sigafoos.
He did say he wants to try the Easy Care, and thinks they would fit my mare very well.
It’s a bit of an art form and learning curve to apply glue on shoes well.
Like others said, we rarely lose one.
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Potential benefit for you: pretty much every shoe in the EasyShoe lineup is significantly cheaper than a pair of Sigafoos 
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My mare has been in the EasyCare versa grip shoes for 5ish years. Each set lasts her 3-4 months. 24/7 turnout on hard packed dirt/dead grass in the summer and mud with clay in the winter. She’s worked (dressage, light jumping, and trail riding) 4-5 days a week.
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Just to clear up some comments: the shoe failed. The glue didn’t. He wore down the toe and I believe that permitted dirt to get crammed into the space as he is really active in his turnout ( more than 12 hours out daily). … and the bottom of the “shoe” peeled off.
He’s getting a different brand tomorrow. I’ll come back in a few weeks and report.
