Heads up on those new glue-on shoes

Lately, a bunch of farriers in my area have been pushing glue-on shoes. I put a set on a quiet ranch horse last week. The glue did not hold, and the shoe came loose in the pasture. The horse took a bad step and is now lame. I feel terrible and won't use that method again without more testing.

3 comments

3 Comments

amy3111mo ago

Yeah, that's my big worry with glue-ons too. I've seen them fail when it gets really wet or really hot, the glue just doesn't hold up. Like, we had a stretch of heavy rain and three clients called about loose shoes within a week. It's not just the application, it's how the environment beats on them after. Makes me nervous for anything but a perfect, dry climate.

matthewgonzalez21d ago

Actually had the opposite experience last summer, @amy311. We had a brutal heat wave and I used a high-temp epoxy on a few glue-ons. Those shoes stayed rock solid for a full cycle, even with the horse being hosed down daily. Maybe the glue type makes a bigger difference than the weather sometimes?

alicec861mo ago

Started adding waterproof tape over the glue line after setting the shoes. We had a crazy rainy season that normally wrecks glue-ons, but that year, absolutely zero calls about loose shoes. The tape kept moisture OUT and blocked heat from breaking down the glue. Clients were shocked their horses kept shoes on through downpours and scorching days. It was a simple step but a TOTAL lifesaver for dealing with bad weather.