Can we talk about how overrated glue-on shoes are?

I see everyone raving about glue-on shoes at the convention in Louisville last fall, but I tried them on a standard pleasure horse back in March and it was a disaster. The glue failed after just two weeks when the horse walked through a wet paddock, and I spent an hour scraping residue off the hoof wall. Why does nobody talk about the cleanup time or the fact they don't work in damp conditions? Has anyone else had a glue-on job go sideways on them?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_daniel15d agoTop Commenter

Oh youre kidding me, that exact thing happened to me last spring with a client's mare? I thought I was the only one. The glue started peeling after a single rainy trail ride, and I spent like two hours with a wire brush and solvent trying to get that gunk off the hoof wall. Total nightmare, especially when youve got a horse that hates standing still for any kind of cleanup. I swear the people who swear by these things must only ride on bone dry footing and never have to deal with mud.

the_sage15d ago

Oh god, I had the same issue with a mare last summer, you are not alone. What finally worked for me was switching to a different type of adhesive, I found a two part epoxy that actually held up in mud and rain. But you gotta prep the hoof way more than youd think, like scrub it with acetone and let it dry for a full hour before applying anything. Also I started using a really thin layer of the stuff instead of globbing it on, that cut way down on the cleanup when it did eventually peel. Still a pain with a fidgety horse but way less of a nightmare than the first time.