EasyCare Glue On Horse Shoes Tutorial

I've been fortunate to have horses who go barefoot successfully when riding the sandy trails in Florida, or the beach out in North Carolina.  However, when more protection was needed for mountain trails, or the long miles on Cracker Trail I always had my farrier do a full set of metal shoes with success.  When I bought Breeze a little over a year ago, I embarked on a long frustrating journey to find a solution for those many miles that weren't just sand.  She has very small feet, thin soles and walls, overreaches, and I just couldn't keep her from loosing shoes no matter how awesome my farrier.  

Over the years I've taken to also using boots, they are awesome when your horse throws a shoe on a trip, or you need protection for just a weekend and don't want to get a full set put on.  They come in many shapes and designs, and I personally love the Easyboot Gloves.  I've also used Renegade and had success with them, too.  The Easyboot Gloves have to be TIGHT, or they rub and come off, a friend of mine prefers the Epics for a wider fit range.  The Renegades have more leeway in fit, for horses who flare and therefore change sizes between trims.  They both have parts that break (The Renegades are harder to repair, but you'll receive a small repair kit for the cables with purchase at least, whereas the Easyboot Gaiters are $40+ each), and need to be replaced after so many miles.  They are also about $100 for each foot, which is pretty steep if you loose or break boots very often.  

My friends Erin and Christie embarked on a Glue On journey, and I quickly jumped on the Octo Wagon after their success, in an attempt to help poor tiny footed Breeze prepare for Cracker Trail in February 2024 when Rylie was riding her 120 miles in 6 days.  Boots are all well and good, but in my experience there is a high failure rate and they can still rub when logging really long days, and I needed something I could depend on for the 20 +/- mile days between camps.  The odds Breeze would keep four metal shoes on weren't good, based on the previous year's track record, so I decided to get 3 sets of EasyShoe Versa Grip Octos for Razzle, Ember and Breeze for the two week trip we were taking over Christmas 2023.

I have had some sets last for 10 weeks, and others not last a week, and I think it's all in the prep, application, and fit.  I think most horses can successfully wear these awesome modern alternatives to metal shoes, but not every single case is the same.  The tools are fairly simple, although not necessarily cheap.  I have seen some people use a Christmas tree stand or something, but I love my Hoof Jack, and it's the safest way to sand your horse's foot.  As with any do it yourself project, please use safety gear and know this is my best approximation of how I do things, and it's not a bad idea for your farrier to help you, or even do it for you.  Before you start, take a Dremel tool and sand/rough up the inside of the tabs on your shoes, and then clean the dust off with a microfiber cloth.

 

To sand your horse's foot, you can use a sanding attachment for a drill (second from the right) or a high grit sanding paddle on an angle grinder (far right) which is my preferred method.  It should be noted, a lot of horses are not automatically cool with either tool, but a skilled horseman or trainer shouldn't have a problem with teaching most horses that it's not scary.  Start small, approach and retreat, make it a positive thing for your horse, and follow basic desensitizing technics.  I also wipe the hoof with a microfiber cloth after sanding.  If it's been wet (not ideal) it's best to use a small blow torch to lightly dry the outer hoof wall beforehand. 

If I'm putting a new set on, I make sure to sand as little as possible while getting all the old glue off.  If I have to do a trim myself, I use the same grinder.  It's capable of taking a lot off, so be light and careful.  When measuring for a shoe fit (right after a trim), make sure it's big enough to offer full support, and fill in any gaps with extra tabs (available for purchase), but they should be snug enough that most of the tabs lay flush against the hoof without having a gap around the base of the hoof. They come in a "Front" design that is more round, and a "Hind" design that's slightly more narrow, when you are looking at the measurements.

If your horse requires a special shoe, it's fairly easy to bring the breakover point back a bit, like a Natural Balance shoe, with some sanding to the plastic toe area.  They also offer plugs for the shoe hole, but I haven't tried them.

The glues people use vary between Epoxy and super glues, but I'm going to cover what I personally use after trying a few different super glues.  The glue I use is sold on the Easycare website in 2 oz, but it's also available on Amazon.  For your first try, I suggest getting this combo pack of the Glue with Accelerator.  The Accelerator is a game changer, and goes a very long way, so you can purchase the glue separately later to replenish your supply.  I think I've done about 20 sets with one bottle of the accelerator, and still have some, but only get about 2 or 3 sets out of the 2 oz bottle of glue.

After positioning the shoe where you I want it, I spray the hood with accelerator, and then quickly spread a liberal amount of glue on the two tabs.

Then press firmly, making sure you don't glue your fingers to the horse (gloves are helpful, if you don't want to pick glue off your hands for a day or two).

After going around all the way, I like to add a layer of glue up and around each tab, to prevent any lips for the tabs to catch on.  When it's time to take them off, I use a flathead screwdriver and a rubber mallet, carefully breaking each tab loose.  When riding, take a small wire brush, some glue, and black electrical tape, and you're better setup than if you were to throw a metal shoe. 

There are a lot of pros and cons to Glue Ons:

Pros:

- Often cheaper than boots or even metal shoes (sometimes you can reset them, even multiple times)

- Protects a larger portion of the hoof, while also being more flexible than a metal shoe. 

- Offers better grip on pavement than metal in my experience, and better grip on the trail than boots.

- Often a great alternative for the horse who struggles to wear traditional metal shoes or boots.

- More achievable to do yourself, so you can get back on the trail without having the farrier out after throwing a shoe.

- When applied correctly, great durability.  I've put hundreds of riding miles on a single set, and they can last 8 weeks.

- In my experience if they do come off, they're less likely to damage the hoof in the process.

Cons:

- I've noticed that if the horses are in wet footing often, the hoof wall down around the bottom of the shoe can be compromised a bit. If your horse is just sitting in the pasture for weeks when it's really wet, I would pull them.  

- Expensive learning curve.  If you put a full set on four horses, that's 16 shoes, and about $450 with supplies.  If you didn't prep correctly, and they all get lost, that's painful (speaking from experience). 

- Cleaning them to reset takes a lot of time, and you should wear a mask when doing any sanding.  

- Sometimes it's hard to find a farrier that will put them on for you, so you might be on your own.

- Hard to find if they get lost.

Overall, I'm happy with this method of hoof protection, and I will continue to use them in our herd.  There are a lot of people who have been using these successfully, and have their own methods, the best teacher in my opinion is trial and error.  Even after almost a year, I still mess up sometimes, which is defeating, but I still prefer them to boots or metal shoes. Good luck!

They also pass the beach test, rarely coming off even in the deep sand and waves.