While it’s not a cure-all for laminitis, glue-on shoes offer another option against this devastating disease

A farrier would be hard-pressedto find a problem more difficult to treat than laminitis. Without identification and treatment in its early phases, laminitis progresses to the chronic stage that can lead to displacement of the third phalanx within the hoof capsule, severe pain for the horse and eventually euthanasia. 

Dr. Stephen O’Grady has developed a glue-on shoeing technique (introduced to him by veteran farrier Eddie Watson of Keswick, Va.) that has allowed many treated horses to enjoy a controlled glue-on shoeing system uses a polymethylmethacrylate (Equilox composite) turned-out situation with much more comfort. 

Theory Based On Effectiveness Of Composite

An equine veterinarian and farrier from The Plains, Va., O’Grady says the mixed with fiberglass strands. The combination of these two elements act as an adhesive that is used to attach an aluminum shoe to the foot. Depending on the severity of the case, the amount of composite varies. 

“In the case of the laminitic horse with rotation and using radiographic guidance, the palmar surface of the foot can be used to realign the distal phalanx to create a more parallel relationship to the ground,” O’Grady says. “This is accomplished by trimming the hoof capsule and by varying the amount of composite and fiberglass used to attach the shoe to the foot, thereby changing the angle of the shoe relative to the foot.”

By realigning the distal phalanx, the toe is raised off the shoe…