Trying a horse that wears glue ons

[vxf111]

@SRA

It’s at an eventing barn and from what I could tell, several horses had regular shoes on. Which makes me worried they’re covering something up.

The OP, who believes there’s a cover up and is passing because she doesn’t believe the horse is just sore from nail ons and inquired no further once being given a reasonable explanation (horse was sore from nail ons) and is assuming nefariousness from the fact that she saw a couple other horses in nail ons at the same barn.

She’s entitled to pass for this reason or any other reason. Including just not wanting to deal with a hassle of glue ons. You can pass on any horse for any reason and have my support. Any buyer should feel comfortable. And she found another horse she likes. Which is reason enough. I fully support passing for any reason that the buyer is uncomfortable.

But if I tried a horse, liked it, and it was sound while riding-- and what I was told about glue ons was that nails made the horse sore-- I would take that at face value and inquire into the circumstances (how long has the horse been in glue ones, what was the quality of the hoof when the nail ons were an issue, what farriers are involved, etc.) and not go looking for reasons why it’s got to be something much more nefarious than a horse that, as the owner says, was sore in nail ons and so they switched to glue.

[fivestrideline]

@vxf111

a horse that, as the owner says, was sore in nail ons

As a buyer, I would also assume something is being hidden and probably pass just on that comment. Unfortunately I have very little trust in sellers.

A horse that’s sore in nail ons is probably harboring an issue that needs addressing, and either the seller knows what that issue is and isn’t volunteering the cause OR they never dug further and don’t know what the issue is. Either way, “sore in nail ons” is not a normal, common issue and as a buyer that’s a huge red flag.

“Horse has thinner walls and is prone to hot nails, so we switched to glue ons and haven’t had a problem” boom, I’m less sketched out and would vet the horse if the price was right.

[candyappy]

@SRA

Right this was my biggest concern. The seller wasn’t giving any specifics other than it was sore with nails.

Would it have been possible to talk with the farrier as to why the horse was in glue ons and why the steel shoes /nails were an issue?

[Scribbler]

@vxf111

@SRA

It’s at an eventing barn and from what I could tell, several horses had regular shoes on. Which makes me worried they’re covering something up.

The OP, who believes there’s a cover up and is passing because she doesn’t believe the horse is just sore from nail ons and inquired no further once being given a reasonable explanation (horse was sore from nail ons) and is assuming nefariousness from the fact that she saw a couple other horses in nail ons at the same barn.

She’s entitled to pass for this reason or any other reason. Including just not wanting to deal with a hassle of glue ons. You can pass on any horse for any reason and have my support. Any buyer should feel comfortable. And she found another horse she likes. Which is reason enough. I fully support passing for any reason that the buyer is uncomfortable.

But if I tried a horse, liked it, and it was sound while riding-- and what I was told about glue ons was that nails made the horse sore-- I would take that at face value and inquire into the circumstances (how long has the horse been in glue ones, what was the quality of the hoof when the nail ons were an issue, what farriers are involved, etc.) and not go looking for reasons why it’s got to be something much more nefarious than a horse that, as the owner says, was sore in nail ons and so they switched to glue.

She wasn’t told the horse was sore from nails or intolerant of nails. She was told the horse was sore in metal shoes. That’s too vague for me.

[Scribbler]

@candyappy

@SRA

Right this was my biggest concern. The seller wasn’t giving any specifics other than it was sore with nails.

Would it have been possible to talk with the farrier as to why the horse was in glue ons and why the steel shoes /nails were an issue?

I would be extremely upset if my vet farrier bodyworker etc talked directly to a buyer of a horse I was selling, unless I specifically asked them to. There is client confidentiality. That’s why you get your own vet for a PPE. The farrier has a duty to explain to the owner what they are doing, period. They should not be talking to the buyer, and how is buyer even going to find out who they are?

[candyappy]

@Scribbler

I would be extremely upset if my vet farrier bodyworker etc talked directly to a buyer of a horse I was selling, unless I specifically asked them to.

Well that was my thought that the client has the farrier talk to the potential buyer? How else would the buyer know who the farrier was and how to contact them if not for the seller?

If I was selling a horse I would have no issues with my farrier explaining why they do my horses the way they do?

[vxf111]

Look she can pass for any reason (or none at all) and that’s her prerogative. She appears to have tried and liked the horse which suggests it is sound now in glue ons. Per the first post she was told by the seller

“The seller said she was foot sore with nail in metal shoes.”

The seller may not have realized that this comment was going to be microanalyzed and that she needed to carefully choose her words lest the OP think something nefarious was afoot (pun intended)

From the OP’s own trial of the horse seems to be not foot sore now with glue ons. If that’s enough to make her pass because she doesn’t want to deal with glue ons, fair enough.

What I find strange is that the mere fact that the horse is in glue ons, the seller says “the horse was sore in nail ons so we switched,” and a COUPLE other horses in the barn are in nail ons is sufficient to make the OP think the seller is lying about the horse and it’s really lame. OP rode the horse. She liked the horse. She asked about the shoes. She was given an answer. The answer is not independently suspicious.

OP doesn’t like the glue ons, fair enough-- walk. But to derive from all of this that the horse must have some lameness that the seller is hiding that is covered up by the glue ons is puzzling to me.

I don’t particularly feel excited about buying a horse that needs glue ons either. But if I was in the OP’s shoes and had the experience she did, I might pass but I wouldn’t say to myself “that seller must be hiding something.” As I started out saying… sometimes horses are in glue ons for non nefarious reasons. If glue ons aren’t for you, I get it. But seeing them doesn’t immediately make me think the horse is lame and the owner is covering it up.

[SRA]

Totally fair that nothing suspicious could be going on! I did not intend to make my comment sound like “oh the seller must be lying.” Just worried that something more could be going on as I’ve been burned in the past. The seller seemed genuine and knowledgeable of the horse otherwise. If it were my horse and I was selling it, I probably would’ve done more due diligence to figure out why it needed glue ons so I can put potential buyers’ minds at ease. But everyone is different and it truly may have just been the nail! I’ll never know and that’s okay.

Like I said, just didn’t want to waste my time and money on a horse that could potentially have something going on. And after speaking with my own farrier, glue ons are something I do not want to deal with. If this was the only horse I tried and liked or my first PPE, sure I probably would’ve spent more time investigating.

But I really appreciate everyone sharing their perspectives! This has been very informative.

[vxf111]

Don’t blame you for walking. Especially since you found another one you liked. Hopefully that works out for you!

[AmmyHour926]

@enjoytheride

Someone who does their own glue ons and trims likely has a sound horse and is in some sort of Easy Boot instead of traditional shoes for personal reasons.

I’d argue that isn’t true in all cases. There is a HUGE wave (at least online) of “everything your farrier and vet told you about hooves is wrong and you should be doing it yourself”. While I think a lot of people that start trimming and even doing their own glue ons does it with the best of intentions, I don’t know if I’d go as far to say thats a guarantee that they are doing it well and have a net-net sound horse.

@enjoytheride

Glue ons from the farrier in an eventing barn are an entirely different matter and I personally don’t know a horse wearing this type of glue on that doesn’t have intermittent soundness issues due to their feet. I would pass on such a horse unless it were doing the level I wanted to be doing in those shoes at that time. People don’t CHOSE Glue Ons for no reason.

Agree to this. Although I have seen it from an owner who wanted the horse barefoot and glue ons is what met their personal requirements and the horses increased work load. Plus owner didn’t mind paying nearly double even though the horse would have been perfectly fine in regular shoes.

[Bogie]

My TB gelding wore Sigafoos in front for several years. He lived out 24/7 and he kept pulling off his traditional shoes and damaging the hoof walls. He moved better with them and they were durable. He easily went 8 weeks in them. Yes, they were more expensive but they worked. My farrier had no issues with applying them.

This horse didn’t have great feet but he was not unsound until his early 20s when his racing career caught up with him with SI problems. He was my first flight foxhunter and a heck of a fun ride.

My preference is to buy a horse with good feet – my TB/Clyde mare had feet like iron and my current OTTB is barefoot, – but I wouldn’t pass on a horse that checked all my other boxes just because the horse was in glue-ons.

[enjoytheride]

@AmmyHour926

I’d argue that isn’t true in all cases. There is a HUGE wave (at least online) of “everything your farrier and vet told you about hooves is wrong and you should be doing it yourself”. While I think a lot of people get trimming and even their own glue ons does it will the best of intentions, I don’t know if I’d go as far to say thats a guarantee that they are doing it well and have a net-net sound horse.

I think you’re right about that.