I have a 10 year-old OTTB who road foundered a couple of years ago and is best in glue-ons, but can’t seem to keep his shoes on more than a couple of days despite bell boots that cover to the ground. We’ve tried EasyShoe Sports and the Hoof-It Hoofstars. In nail-on shoes, his hoof wall becomes very concave, leaving little surface to nail through. He is super comfortable in glue-ons, but rips them off. Does anyone know of a plastic/ rubber glue-on with a higher cuff like a Sigafoo?
I used Polyflex glue ons for several years. They stay on through ANYTHING. At the time, my horse was on 24/7 turnout, so snow, mud, heat, dry, wet, you name it, he was in it, and we had zero issues with glue breaking.
The application process is crucial. If it’s not done properly, then the glue will fail. A lot of comments I’ve seen about a particular shoe or glue not working, ultimately comes down to how it was applied, not the glue or shoe itself.
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That might be a very good option as he keeps nailed shoes on reasonably well. Maybe the cuff itself has been causing the issue of him ripping them off? It is mud season here, so the footing certainly isn’t doing us any favors. For the moment, he’s in Easy Boots.
My horse had glue-ons for one cycle, kept them on 7 or 8 weeks. (Farrier thought we could go 12.) They had an aluminum shoe inside the plastic, plastic went up the hoof an inch or two. Farrier stressed having DRY hooves for application, and it had been very dry before the appointment.
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This
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Yes. When applied properly, they are actually hard to get off. If your shoes are not staying on - there is an application problem. Either a trim issue, and/or an application issue. For example - feet must be perfectly dry and clean before the glue can be applied. So, if in a wet climate - stalling overnight is important, in a dry stall - so maybe change bedding types. Using a hair dryer on the feet will also remove any residual moisture.
My farrier can apply glue-ons by himself, but it is much easier (and probably recommended) for the farrier to use an assistant so that they can ensure that everything is perfect before actually touching the shoe to the foot.
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My farrier watches the weather when we do Sigafoos. I do clean trax the day before and leave him in overnight to dry. He won’t apply them if it’s damp or raining out, $400 shoe job 
but they don’t come off.
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Curtis Burns of Polyflex Horseshoes has put out some very good videos about the application process. He is the nicest guy and can offer advice over the phone. As others have said, preparation of the hoof is critical.
See about minute 8 in this video about how he torches the foot to dry it out
I would team with my farrier during the application process. He would torch and I would measure the moisture level with one of these things
Once everyplace near the hoof wall was near 0% moisture, we would start. I would mix the glue with the copper sulfate and he would apply it to the shoe and apply the shoe to the hoof. Then he would smooth the glue up the heels and I would make sure the toe was covered. During hot weather (80s or above), we used slow set. During cold weather (60s and below), we would use quick set. For beginners, I would recommend slow set because you have more time to futz. But it also means that your farrier will be holding that hoof up for longer.
In 5 years with 4 different farriers, my horse never lost a shoe.
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Good to know, thanks! The last shoes lost were virtually glue-free with the glue still stuck on the hoof. It was a cold morning when we did his shoes- maybe too cold?? My farrier has been using a heat gun on my horse’s feet as well as on the flaps on the shoes in order to adjust the fit a bit. It’s a learning process!
Forgot to add that for the Polyflex shoes (don’t know about others), you need to rough up the surfaces that will have glue on them. I used a dremel for that. Sandpaper would work too. It’s probably covered in one of the Polyflex videos. That may be why your glue stuck to the hoof and not the shoe.
And we did use a heat gun to hasten the glue setting.
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I am a total amateur so please take what I’m about to say with a grain of salt and please brush me off if you’ve already done research, but I believe sound horse makes their cuff shoe with squishy therapeutic rim instead of their harder blue “performance” one. We use them (the blue ones) and easily get away with 9-10 weeks (slow growing hoof), with pads on underneath.
Why do you not just want to use Sigafoos? I have a client that uses them for mud season, and we haven’t had an issue with them staying on. Our farrier uses a glue that changes colour as it dries, and we leave the horse in at least 8 hours after he is shod to ensure they are fully dry. Our barn is heated to 12 degrees in the winter (heated floor - although not in the stalls) and that seems to be warm enough for them to cure before he goes out again.
I was aiming for something more shock-absorbing than a metal shoe and honestly, something that isn’t quiet so pricey since he is so excellent at throwing them off. I didn’t realize that they had them with the padded rims though, thank you gallop_jump! When I’ve used them in the past, they were the bare-bones type (that horse had a crappy hoof wall that didn’t hold nails well). I’ve had my guy in a couple of hours before application and always for the rest of the day afterward. The horse will be a handful if in overnight beforehand, but we’ll do that next time. Thank you all!!
