The glue–on shoe is another tool in your toolbox. As the farrier, you need to make the conscious decisions on when you’ll use it and how you will modify the shoe.

Travis Burns http://www.vetmed.vt.edu/people/bios/burns-travis.asp, lecturer and chief of farrier services at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, provided this thought during a hands-on workshop during the American Farrier’s Association Annual Convention in Mobile, Ala. Soundhorse Technologies provided all of the materials for this session. Here are his tips for improved success when gluing on cuffed shoes.

Preparation is everything. As he began his demonstration of gluing on a shoe, Travis Burns noted that the focus was only on application. Because he and the attendees would be applying the shoes to balanced urethane feet, no preparation was required.

“Prep work will make or break your success with glue,” he says. “You don’t want to glue to a wet foot, or to a foot with dirt and debris on it. You want to have the foot as clean as possible and do this in a clean, dry environment. Don’t think you can just walk up to a foot and glue a shoe on.

Time is critical. Lay out everything you need for the complete process before you mix the glue. Make sure the horse is prepared and is going to stand well for the application.

“Once you get glue on the cuff it has to go on the foot,“ he says. “You can’t clean it and re-glue it. You want a nice…