Not that she needs them 
but it’s just a matter of getting shoes without the cuffs/tabs pre-applied. Then the shoe is ground down to fit the hoof, and tabs welded on.
@DMK, the Versa Grip Light goes up to 170mm.
Screen grab from our ride last night. This kind of shows how much the stealth cuffs blend in vs. the tabs on the front feet:
Oops, it was the speed metal trac I was thinking of. He’s fine barefoot, but I’m trying to plan for combined driving venues where studs may be useful. But versa does have a pre drilled option, so that might be where we end up…
I finally had a minute to take Mare #1 for a spin today and she felt so, so good in these. She is a spicy, sensitive soul and today was by far the best ride I’ve had on her all spring. And I haven’t been on her in about 3 weeks because of said foot soreness! Tomorrow is a jump school on Mare #2, which will be the next big test.
I am just so excited about all this. I really do have it good when it comes to farriers; when my horses were in regular shoes I never had to wait more than a couple of days for him to come out for a tossed shoe. But knowing I have the ability to FIX IT MYSELF if a shoe is pulled or comes loose is so dang freeing. And not worrying about them stepping on clips, or nails, or sprung/twisted metal is bonus peace of mind that I never considered.
Oh I just love this for you!!! Yay!!! It’s the small wins!! Knowing you can tack on a lost shoe is just incredible. Curious how she feels after jumping too. I also have a sensitive mare who is her own special spicy. If you can remember after a few weeks would love to know how they wear down, so I know how many to have on hand when I start this journey next month. 
I was looking into the versa for hind studs also! Curious how they will hold up.
I started this thread asking for exactly that feedback
I am regularly getting 12-16 weeks on my sets, and could use them for longer but the tabs are pretty worn out by the the end of a 4th reset and I can grind and weld new ones on but find it a bit annoying. This is on a lot of roads, hardpacked dirt, rocks, and coarse sand, not in arena footing.
I need to pull, trim, and reset the pair from my most recent picture this week; they’re at 13 weeks I think. I’ll try to remember to get a comparison of one side by side with a brand new shoe so you can see the amount of wear.
This is on a horse who absolutely annihilated his steel shoes every 6 weeks, so overall these wear much better IME!
Oh great! Thanks for passing along!
Good news/bad news.
Good news: Mare #2 felt great in her first jump school in these! And the footing was harder than usual, so I was very happy to have them on.
Bad news: Mare #1 and Retired Gelding have both ripped tabs clear off of their shoes. Mare ripped both rear tabs off of her right front yesterday; I figured it was a fluke and she caught the heel being a dumbass. But today my gelding has also ripped off a couple tabs, and my mare has ripped off a front tab on the OTHER hoof. What the what. So much for resetting these.
Anyone else have this issue? Are my horses extra destructive? (I think I know the answer to this 
)
My horse came in from pasture yesterday with her LF shoe ripped right off (right before my lesson, of course). I was using the Sticky Fingers, but had switched back to Stealth Cuffs on back, and will be doing the same on the fronts next time. I don’t know if the Duplo tabs are any better, but it seems that the solid connection with the cuff is just more durable, they are just a little tricker to get a good fit and glue adhesion. Most of the tabs had ripped off right at the shoe and were stull adhered to the wall, so it wasn’t an issue with my glue work or hoof prep.
As an aside, with all these new supplies, I just splurged on a Rigid 2.0 modular rolling tool box set. One box has drawers, which I put on the bottom, with a toolbox on top. Looking forward to better organization on the next re-sest.
Can you clarify what “ripped clean off” means? Are they still attached to the wall, but not the shoe? Or are they totally gone?
One thing to check if they seem gone but you can’t find them is to see if they popped off the hoof wall and got folded under between the foot and the shoe. You have to kind of poke around to see it sometimes because it really can look like they’re just gone!
Typically in my experience this has been a sizing issue when they pop off. Sometimes an accident happens and they yank a couple, and I do have a few horses where the rear tabs will pop loose mid-way through a cycle and if I can be bothered, I’ll reglue them, sometimes I just leave them be, though. Haven’t had a retention issue with them loose.
Other options could be them catching it on something, or overreaching. Usually though in my experience it’s a sizing and glue bond issue.
Omg!!! You’re a lifesaver. I just checked before I came back to reply and, sure enough, they got folded under. Man, those suckers can hide. Well, I know what I’ll be doing this afternoon - practicing cleaning and resetting. Thank you!
@Inimitable can you share why you chose the octos over the Versas?
My older mare has always been in the nail on versas (going on 7 years) so when I wanted to try glue on for a different horse I ordered the versas (they arrive tomorrow), but curious why someone would pick one over the other.
Well, I read in multiple places that the octos were the easiest to apply for beginners with no gluing experience since they use super glue and not fancy, $$$ adhesives. It sounds like Easy Care is developing a cuff for the Versas that will allow them to be used with super glue, and were you the one who posted in the other thread that double sided tape is now a thing?! That’s pretty cool.
Honestly, I see a ton of experimenting in my future. I think my main mare is going to be a tough fit for the Octos, she just doesn’t seem to have the correct hoof shape. But I am sooo early in the journey I really have no idea yet what’s going to work best for us. The next time I do a full reset will be directly after a farrier trim, so I am anxious to see what difference that makes in terms of fit/retention.
Oh ok that makes sense!
Yes, here’s Garret’s post about the tape. Apparently it’s called “VHB” and it’s made by 3M. Going to give it a try as soon as I can find some! https://www.facebook.com/541967422/posts/pfbid02QY4GgCFPnyvp4VhWSbqQgsUmWD4YN3mX96Tyywe45rN6ShJFm78Pc1kKsWnYkEuKl/?app=fbl
ETA found it on Amazon. Arrives Thursday 
I’ve been thrilled with the nail ons for my mare, and having 7 horses now that are basically out 24/7 (even in winter) makes glue ons very attractive so I’m not waiting for the farrier to tack lost shoes back on! Super excited for everything Easy Care is doing.
@barnesthenoble I have an outrageously dumb question for you. I got a butane torch to heat the tabs to help shape them and get a better fit against the hoof wall. How exactly do you mold them? They’re hot … lol. Also, there was a microscopic piece of electrical tape on one tab I was trying it on today and Mare #1 was very briefly on fire. This is fun. I’m having fun! 
Oooo! I see the VHB tape on Amazon too.
I need to measure feet and get my thoughts together about which shoes to order. I’m all about trying this.
Not dumb at all! A couple things:
I can usually press them against the hoof wall well enough with the glove, but some of them I get hot enough that I need to deploy the rapidly-press-to-hoof-then-pin-in-place-with-hoof-pick strategy. 
When I’m heating tabs, I usually put the shoe on, pushed as far back as I can get it, and the tabs are usually sticking straight up or out. Then I’ll heat with the torch until stretchy and press. If it’s a really tight fit then I sometimes do it off the horse before applying, but that increases the risk of overstretching them IME. There’s a lot of genuine trial and error
I hope this helps! I’ll see if I can have someone grab a video next time I heat fit one.
ETA: Also yes, sometimes there is some minor scorching. Early on, one of my horses suffered a bit of a bowl cut of singed coronet hair. Nothing was properly on fire, but the hair just kind of evaporated much like a set of eyebrows would.
Sooo helpful! Thanks!
I also used the glue accelerator for the first time today. That stuff is life changing.
I’m about to put on my first set of Versa’s on this weekend. Does anyone have good videos to recommend? I’ve seen the process several times and don’t feel intimated, but a good video to watch the day of application would be helpful.
Maybe I missed it, but how are you all using the double sided tape? Between the tabs and the hoof, instead of glue? Unless this is magic tape, I can’t see how that would be more secure than super glue or epoxy (but probably not a bad idea to have on hand as a quick/easy repair). I was planning to use the super glue recommended by Easy Care, then add equilox epoxy to fill the gaps (like you would in a hoof patch/repair).
Also, does anyone put casting over the glue/tape/shoe combo, as an added layer of security? I feel like that combo would be a shoe-in (pun intended).
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
