Prominent equine veterinarian Stephen O’Grady believes glue-on horseshoes give farriers an effective, easy-to-use option for correcting many types of problem hooves.

Calling glue-ons “the greatest thing since sliced bread,” O’Grady, of Marshall, Va., says, “So many horses that would otherwise have to be rested can be rendered useful almost immediately with this technology. You are limited only by your imagination in what you can do with glue-on shoes.”

He adds, “When you follow a few simple rules, glue-on shoes are fantastic. I have not seen any detrimental effects other than some abscesses when meticulous application technique is not followed.”

However, O’Grady notes that glue-ons are not intended to replace conventional horseshoeing. He recommends considering glue-ons for horses suffering from:

• Chronic laminitis.
• White line disease and hoof wall separation.
• Heel pain (with or caused by long toe, underrun heel).
• Flat feet with chronic subsolar bruising.
• Poor consistency of the hoof wall.
• Hoof wall avulsion.
• Surgery, especially wall resections.

CAREFUL CLEANING. Denatured alcohol or acetone is swabbed across the sole to remove dirt that could hamper proper bonding or help lead to abscesses after the shoe is attached. Note the line near the front of the sole. The line marks the back edge of the shoe during the fitting to help with proper placement.

A SOLID FOUNDATION. A Dremel tool is used to prepare the bottom of the foot, with care taken to remove any exfoliating material.

For cases such as these, he says, glue-ons avoid the trauma of pounding in nails…