Update post 252: I did it! 😅 Has anyone done this: DIY glue ons after farrier trims

[fivestrideline]

I’m looking at the models on jogging shoes and boy their website is… sparse on info

Good to know about the bulk! I am now thinking that the Scoots may be better on the hinds if anything, since he seems to be okay bare for the most part except for rocky terrain. I have had 0 luck with EasyBoots, so I’m not keen to try them, but I’m thinking about the Jogging Shoes if I can figure out a model and measurements!

Ideally I’d do shoes - but I am not quite ready to full send the hoof care thing

[barnesthenoble]

Try looking on Riding Warehouse (search Equine Fusion) – they carry most models and have more info. Yeah the jogging shoe website itself is pretty fluffy lol.

I have the most experience with the All Terrain Ultra and the…regular Ultra? I can’t remember their asinine names. The ones with the mesh and the straps, and the ones with the hook and loop type attachment. I like both. The all terrain ultra has better retention and is better for wonky feet, but the other one is easier to put on IMO.

[fivestrideline]

This is what RW has:

They definitely have more info

[barnesthenoble]

Active! Yeah the ones I’ve used are the All Terrain Ultra and the Active. I like both. They have the same sole but different uppers. I and folks i know have used both for riding and turnout. It mostly comes down to closure preference IMO. But the ATU does have a little more stick ability due to the straps. The upper on the Active is more abrasion and sticker/foxtail resistant though.

ETA I also like their glue on! They’re like little horsey converse. I use more of the easycare products now because I can more easily reuse them, though.

[Feathered_Feet]

I (a simple horse owner) put my first pair of glue-ons (Versa Grip Glues) on over the weekend. It seems like a lot of steps to manage at first, but I think I’m hooked. I can see myself doing these for a long, long time. Easy Care makes some of these very user friendly.

Benefits:

• I can set the breakover wherever I want.
• I can provide the heel support I want.
• I can reset a shoe without having to wait for a farrier.
• I can add the cushion and frog support I want.
• Glue-ons in general are quite modular, and several companies are doing some very innovative stuff.

Caveats:

• I have a professional that works on the trim - a glue on is not going to fix a bad trim (but it can provide protection for sensitive soles if nothing else).
• I don’t know how long they will last (and my horse is on stall rest, so hard to say how my attempt will work for highly-active horses).
• I’m very comfortable building things and working with my hands, so I’m not intimidated by all the prep work (and it’s a lot) and the general process.

There’s a facebook group for acrylics/glue ons that I recommend to anyone who is interested.

[Inimitable]

Yesss!!! Join the cult!

[Kinda_Kooky]

I would like to join, but have questions.

Do you Glue On Gurus think a set would last in the hot & sandy desert?

Lots of trails around here are pretty rocky and the alternative is sand dunes. We are wanting to do a little of both.

I think my horses would like them, but not sure how sand would treat them. It has a way of getting places it shouldn’t.

And would the heat here melt the glue? It gets like 107 or so until monsoon season kicks in.

[barnesthenoble]

@Kinda_Kooky

a set would last in the hot & sandy desert?

Yep! If they’re on well, they’re on. My horses live on sand 24/7. It’s not a problem.

@Kinda_Kooky

It has a way of getting places it shouldn’t.

The biggest concern with sand for me is it getting in between the shoe and the sole and causing pressure points. I have horses that tend towards thin soles so it’s a bigger concern. With the versa plugs, DIM, and/or some padding, it’s not a major issue for me. I don’t think it would be a problem at all for horses with better developed concavity.

@Kinda_Kooky

And would the heat here melt the glue? It gets like 107 or so until monsoon season kicks in.

Not a problem! The glues aren’t heat sensitive once they’re set. Heat can make the glue itself set faster while applying, so you’ll want to keep the tube(s) in something resembling temperature control when not in use and I use a cooler if I’m going to be gluing in super hot weather to give myself a little more work time. The superglue is much less finicky than the other glues and I honestly just keep it in my trimming kit in the tack room (not climate controlled, sorta insulated–it’s just a TuffShed). I’ve gotten fast enough now that I’m not super worried about the heat with the SG. I absolutely use a cooler/ice packs when doing anything with acrylic or urethane in the summer, though.

I’m in central valley of NorCal and we get up to 110+ during the heat of the summer. Glue ons do just fine, even if the rest of us are absolutely melting.

[Kinda_Kooky]

Thank you so much for the insightful information!

I am going to give them a try.

*After watching the videos and reading the comments here several times.

[Demerara_Stables]

A little update on my tape experiment - unfortunately it took so long to get all the supplies that mare’s feet are too big for the shoes I bought her. We’ll have to wait until the farrier trims her again to try the tape. I could touch them up a bit myself but this girl had some really messed up feet that my farrier has done an incredible job with so I don’t want to take too much off in the wrong place!

For anyone interested in her progress:

Left last year:

Right last year

Left this January

Right this January

[Inimitable]

I applied hinds today for the first time. The “press with a hoof pick after heating” trick is so helpful! The learning curve is no joke, but I feel like I have a little “ah ha” moment with each try.

And for fun - and because I am insanely proud of her - here’s Mare #2 showing off her Octos in her very first 1m class yesterday!

[Inimitable]

That is some serious progress on those feet! Wow!

[Demerara_Stables]

My farrier is a magician

[Demerara_Stables]

Farrier comes Thursday so I figured it can’t hurt to let the tape get really stuck on the shoes for a few days. Planning on taking a knife to it to trim the excess before I put it on the hoof. I had to really squeeze the air bubbles out too - hopefully that helps. 🤷

[outerbanks77]

Per the learning curve:I had a hind shoe fail in about 24 hours. My horse is about 1500# and gets turned out on corrugated pasture, so I was blaming that, because I did All the Hoof Prep. But then when I pulled the other hind I realized that since I heated the tabs to help mold them, the glue got too warm and runny, she it dried thin and brittle. Next time I will put the glue in the fridge for a bit and make sure the shoe and hoof are cooled before gluing.

Fronts, knock wood, are staying on OK with the warm glue application.

[Incantation]

Can you post a link to the tape you are using?

[fivestrideline]

Well y’all, I may be taking the plunge and learning how to trim my own…

Reasons:

• my horses, as well as a couple of the others at my barn are VERY footsore since the last trim. A few have been sore for a week or so previously, but this is extensive
• I got hoof balance X-rays on a whim recently and lo and behold - NPA behind, as I suspected. Farrier took a .2 second look and said “looks fine”. Did not mention the relatively thin soles either, I had to carefully say I didn’t want to trim too much since the vet measured the soles as thin
• the shod horses are looking worse, in my opinion. Very tall feet, toeing in on horses that didn’t toe in like that previously
• farrier has whacked the crap out of two horses at least, with the rasp, for offenses that I didn’t think warranted it. One may have been a little rude (and I don’t think farriers deserve to get hurt on the job), but personally I think I’d have set the foot down and repositioned or used a hand rather than the rasp. The other was being asked to stand very unbalanced and the horse is already sore, so I thought the discipline was quite undeserved. (To be clear, I’m not against a quick slap on the belly for rude behavior, and the smack was a single one each, but I don’t think the force + use of the rasp was appropriate nor that the behavior warranted it).

I have reached out to a previous farrier that I liked but I would have to haul in. This is logistically challenging (especially with my questionable neuro horse that is AWFUL to haul) but is at least a starting point. If that becomes impossible, I may be on my own…

Relative to this glue on adventure I do think that may be the best option for one of mine, but I need to get the trim right first. Glueing onto the feet as they are isn’t going to help anything!

[RedHorses]

Could you haul every other trim to start? This would get you started right, and keep you from going too far off course while you get confident.

[fivestrideline]

I can talk to that farrier. They may be willing to help, at least with the bad loader in mind

[FjordBCRF]

Add us to the Glue On club! I didn’t apply them, but I have been trimming my guy since 2020. He’s coming back from a laminitic flare mid May and his Scoot Boots gave him some rubs.

Easy Shoe Versas. It was cool to watch and perhaps I’ll take a stab myself in the future!