Glue on Shoes - info please

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BethH

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Currently having discussion with vets re my horse who is not right, they think shoeing him in front will help even though I think he has issue in the area below the pelvis which is nothing to do with his feet. I took shoes off last year as his feet were mullered by a not so great farrier and a couple of weeks ago for the first time since last April when the shoes came off he was a little footsore. I had wraps put on which helped, but the foot growth and the fact he wore through the wraps in 4 days instead of 4weeks tells me he is massively loading his front end to protect his back end, vet is convinced back feet fine and do not need shoes. I feel really anxious, not about shoes, but about a farrier trimming him to prepare for shoes as my DAEP podiatrist has done an amazing job of getting his heels back underneath him and I would hate them to be cut off again! In desperation to rule out him being footsore so the vet will investigate the pelvis, which will then still show up if that is the problem, someone has suggested Glue on Shoes. Has anyone used them, any idea of cost and if they can be used on all 4feet & do they grip on the roads??? Also can a qualified podiatrist apply them or do I have to go back to a farrier? I have found a website called SoundHorse technologies where the glue on shoes look great and just what my horse needs without the need for nails. Any experiences or info greatly appreciated.
 
I don't have any experience with glue on shoes sorry, but I can't see how having shoes on is going to help this injury? If anything I would think it would make him more unbalanced as he won't be able to self trim at all in the front and won't be able to 'grow his own feet' so to speak to balance himself
 
Yes, farrier does have to apply the shoes as they are a 'permanent attachment' . 2 of my mares who have hoof problems due to CPL (were previously barefoot) have plastic composite shoes which outlast steel by 4 times, even my farrier is very impressed. Sound horse technologies are hideously expensive though, because of size of my cobs feet I import Hoof-It shoes from America, buy the glue etc and farrier charges £30 to apply 2 front shoes, shoes cost £20 pair after import duties etc. If their feet were smaller I would try Duplo shoes from Germany, very reasonable and several different styles. PM me if you need any further info.
 
Thanks Faracat, but I don't think Hoof boots will solve the problem as it isn't just ridden that's the problem. To be honest I've never tried them as he hasn't had a problem from when the shoes came off until now, the lack of power predates the shoes coming off if that makes sense. I think he is struggling 24/7 and he is rather awkward about things being put on him and incredibly spooky and sharp when not 100% so I would be concerned about booting, I need something on there permanently on all 4 feet to get an proper understanding of what's going on, as I think if it is feet, backs are more likely candidate's than front as the problem is the back end which isn't bearing weight, the podiatrist was able to tell me the foot growth since the last trim which confirms he is front loading so that is probably why he is footy. The Duplo shoes sound exactly what I'm looking for Yertis as they are more permanent and the closest thing to a metal shoe without the concussion and nails, I will pm you later for further details if I may as this could be the solution, my main worry is finding out about the way the foot is prepped for them, and hoping the foot can be rasped rather like when you put the wraps on rather than cut etc etc. I think I am going to have his gait analysed too so we can really get a feeling for where he is avoiding using himself. On it goes.......
 
Hi - I had one of mine in some American glue on shoes for about 5 years. They are made by Sound Horse technologies (Google them) and are now readily available over here through Atlantic Equine (your farrier should know this farrier supply company) They are expensive (up to £180/pair fitted), but in my opinion worth every penny. I never, ever had a problem with them coming off, even hunter trialling n mud. Once we even left a pair on for 13 weeks as horse was going to a farriers demo. They are an aluminium compound, extremely hard wearing (outlasted all the steel shoes on a concrete walker), with a canvas cuff that glues to the foot. They can be drilled for stud holes. if I could afford it I'd have all my horses in these permanently. A friend also had them on her show jumper for a few years until his foot condition improved sufficiently to go back to nail ons and she loved them too.
What area are you in? There probably aren't that many farriers around that use them - when I moved area, my old farrier who uses these a lot kindly came and instructed new farrier in their application. I could ask old farrier if he knows anyone in your neck of the woods.
 
I have used glue on shoes for one of my mares. They have to be fitted by a farrier, but personally I wouldn't let anyone else touch my horses feet anyway, other than a well recommended qualified remdial farrier.

I found them great, very grippy on the road and out riding, we even competed xc in them and I was entirely satisfied. The only downside was the cost, she only had them on fronts and for just the pair of fronts was £80 and they only lasted approximately 4 weeks. Luckily she now been able to go back to conventional shoes but I wouldn't hesitate to use them again if I needed to.
 
I used Imprints on one of mine for about 9 months (which was all I could afford). They were excellent - fully flexing, good grip, giving frog support, stayed on, and wore better than metals. They probably saved my horse's life, but very pricey. Mine were put on by Andrew Poynton (remedial farrier), who actually invented them, so they probably cost more than if a normal farrier fitted them.
http://www.imprintshoes.co.uk/
 
Thank you all so much for replying this is really helping, great info for me to go investigate, I am based Near Sevenoaks in Kent, it is an area where the good farriers are impossible to get and there is a serious glut of not so good ones hence my anxiety. Zerotolerance you sound very local to me - your farriers details would be greatly received if he has experience with these shoes, £180 sounds horribly expensive but if they rule out the feet it may well be money well spent. The sadness is my podiatrist is absolutely fab and very experienced so I would absolutely trust him to stick the shoes on as he trims so well & is so knowledgeable, sadly I do not have much faith in the way farriers are trained these days. If it's only glue not nails it can't be that difficult surely if there foot has already been balanced by an expert, but there you go.

The vet has suggested a remedial farrier so I am curious to hear who you use as I can live in hope it will be cheaper, £400 for a set of shoes when I don't think the feet are the problem feels a big ask at the moment! MissGee do you have any more info or a website for the glue on's/imprints you used? I feel so frustrated that the only choices for our horses are barefoot or metal & nails, surely there must be another viable solution with a reasonable cost! Landcruiser I will go investigate the imprints. I am feeling pleased there seem to be a couple of options where the shoes will provide decent grip, he may only need them for some of the year too so if they are expensive it could be viable for just part of the year to give him a helping hand.
 
Hi - crikey I'm near Sevenoaks too! My original farrier, David Henry, who has a lot of experience with the Sound Horse shoes, is based in Burwash, Sussex. When I moved up from Sussex, he continued to shoe all mine but TBH it was a bit of a trek if one of them pulled a shoe (not a glue on!). So I switched to someone local for both our sakes really. As the new farrier hadn't seen these glue ons, David came up and did a handover session. There is quite a degree of skill involved in applying the glue on shoes. You only have a finite amount of time before the glue "goes off", especially in the summer, and getting it wrong would be a costly mistake! I still have some of the old removed ones in a tub somewhere, so if you're very close to me would be happy to show you. I also have a load of photo's from when my horse was a guinea pig at a farriers demo of these shoes, which may give you an idea. I haven't checked, but think there may be a video on the S H website?
 
Thanks Zero for your pm have just replied, Miss Gee am off to investigate Glu shoes too - wow this whole foot thing is a really really big learning experience - heartfelt thanks to all for taking the time to post.
 
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