Here are a couple of photos of Chief’s hooves following the Schellbourne ride. I removed his glue on boots immediately after finishing the 5th day of Fort Schellbourne – in fact, the boots came off before the saddle did! Chief had the hind boots glued on for just under a week and he had the front boots on for three days. This worked well and he hasn’t been footsore.
I’m a little leery of leaving boots glued on a horse for extended periods. My horses have become foot sensitive after I’ve left them on them for three weeks. So, I’m not going to do that anymore (duh!).
I should warn anybody reading this that it gets pretty opinionated. Not that you wouldn’t expect an endurance rider to have opinions :^), but I know that there are those that don’t agree with me and that’s fine.
Wearing glue-on boots of any brand or kind long term goes against the very reason we are barefoot in the first place – that is to help our horses have high performance bare hooves. It’s well known that using steel shoes with full pads leads to microbial growth and this is exactly what we are doing to our horses by leaving glue-on boots on for extended periods of time. We are also negatively affecting our horses sole condition.
The use of temporarily installed hoof protection while riding helps us to compensate for a lack of hoof conditioning resulting from domestication. The long term use of hoof glue on hoof boots further diminishes the horses ability to toughen their hooves which results in a reduction of barefoot performance.
As you can see in the first photo there was still a little bit of glue left in the quarter area of that particular foot. Because Chief’s hooves are so round I use a little more glue in that area. Sometimes it comes off on the hoofwall and other times on the boot – a lot depends upon the technique used when removing them. I try to get the screwdriver to go in under the glue so that it comes off with the boot.
Removing very much glue from the hoofwall of a horse is just more work that I don’t need. After using glue on boots for 150 to 250 miles I am not likely to use them again anyway – I’ve gotten my use out of them.
To finish removing the remaining glue on the hoofwall I used a rasp and some sandpaper. You can see in the second photo how things looked after I got the rest of the glue off. I don’t like leaving glue on for very long because it is sealing the hoof. I want my horses feet to be kept as naturally as possible.
Some have brought up the safety of using urethane glues on our horses hooves. Here is the warning from the Gorilla Glue page.
My concern with using these glues is in what the entire process is doing to my horses hoof – by sealing it up with a boot around it the foot can’t breath. I think that is probably okay for short periods of time, like one week or less. I definitely do not think that it is healthy to leave boots glued on a horses hoof for weeks and weeks. At least not on a healthy, competing endurance horse. Why do I think that? Because now I have seen several horses besides my own become hoof sensitive when kept in the boots for more than a week at a time. These horses in some cases are landing toe first going down the trail as well as are dipping their heads and flinching when they hit uneven ground or rocks. These horses before were able to go through that terrain totally barefoot and didn’t do that. Now they can’t do it WITH BOOTS ON!!!
The top boots did 250 miles, bottom ones did 150
Chief has always been really tough footed. When I first took him barefoot permanently he had his shoes pulled off on a Wednesday night and did his first ride barefoot and using boots the following Saturday – so his transition period was basically three days if you can call it that.
So when I see Chief needing a week or more to transition from using glued on boots to going barefoot again it gives me something to think about. Certainly, I’m not going to ignore it. I’ve had Chief barefoot and competing this way in AERC rides for five ride seasons now so if something is changing and not in a positive way then I really need to pay attention.
I think that gluing hoofboots are great for mutliday rides, special event rides or one day 100′s but for more than an occasional use I am starting to believe that it is healthier at least for my horses to wear nailed on shoes and be shod. (Some of you reading this know that it took a lot for me to say that as I am really dedicated to keeping my horses barefoot)
It’s not just that the glue and the boot are inhibiting my horses hooves natural ability to breath, or control the moisture balance but that we are doing some invasive things to the hoof by prepping it to accept the glue. Even a really well cleaned and disinfected hoof will create moisture from within – if the hoof is not able to breathe what seems to be happening is the hoof becomes soft and more sensitive. In some cases, horses develop thrush. One rider took glued on boots off of his horse after a ride and I could smell it 40 feet away, the stench was sickening, and that was mainly coming from the foot.
My horse Pro Bono was one of the ones that got some thrush and while it wasn’t serious I did need to use hoof boots on him for a couple of training rides so he would not flinch. I was not happy with that at all because he’s been ridden many, many miles barefoot without flinching prior to that. It really made me feel like I was going backwards with his hoof health and hoof care. Especially when you really do start to think that you never had these problems or issue while shoeing horses. Ugh!!!
Riding barefoot a lot removes some of the outer protective layer on my horses hoof wall but the scarring on the hooves on some of these horse (from heavy rasping) that are having glued on boots applied repeatedly is really ugly – how many times can we keep doing that to them before it changes something or makes the hoof sensitive?
I know that there are a lot of horses out there who have problem feet and don’t live in ideal environments or that have suffered hoof and other health problems. I’m sure that for some of those horses using glue on boots is really good for them versus any other alternatives.
My opinions are simply based on competing endurance horses. I do not think that my horses should be competing in a ride if they can’t trot out sound barefoot for a vet-in over any kind of terrain. It is totally different for a non-working horse to be made sound through the use of boots but I myself just don’t feel that way towards my own endurance horses. It all comes back to make us look bad, especially the entire barefoot movement. If a horse is sore barefoot then doing a ride with boots will probably cause that horse to come up footsore all the way around even worse than before it started. Riding a footsore horse doesn’t make it less footsore! When the boots come off the horse will now be even more sore than it was before. What does that accomplish?
As riders, I think we owe it to our horses to know the difference and work towards having horses that we are giving additional protection to by using hoof boots and not by using hoof boots because the horse can’t even pass a vet check without them. What does anybody else think?
I agree with you. I think I would rather use nail on shoes than regularly have glueons on for a long period of time. At least with the shoes, the hoof can breathe and I can see what’s going on with the sole.
I learn so much from your blog and I like when you point out the negative with the positive – it helps me to think critically about what I’m doing with my horses feet.
you hit the nail on the head… i agree with you totally!!! And nailed on .. we’ve been footloose and fancy free
ps … on your spray.. we here use Tordon for weeds
gp
Great blog entry!!!I always enjoy your posts, but this one really address a lot of issues that I have been wondering about myself lately. I am new to endurance riding (have completed three limited distance rides with my gelding — one booted and two barefoot). I recently have felt that I was relying on the hoofboots too much and have been incorporating more conditioning rides without boots (have not used glue-ons). While I love having the option of booting when necessary, what is the point of going barefoot if I need to boot for every ride? I am fortunate that my 9-year-old Arab has pretty decent feet (never been shod), and I live in area with pretty good footing (except for the gravel roads that we regularly condition on).
Thanks for a thought-provoking post, and for letting us in on your evolving thoughts.
What do you all think about barefoot horses on gravel roads? Do you think it’s possible without boots? I ask because I eventually intend to drive my horse on the road and this will be an issue. I’ve been riding the roads in boots because I assumed that trotting the gravel couldn’t be done without booting. Drivers who use nail on shoes usually also have to use pads because the shoe alone does not protect the hoof adequately from the gravel.
What ever happened to the Easyboots, and Easycare???? I thought you loved the Epics and Bares and now you appear to have abandoned all that and gone to Renegades?? Did I miss something?
I have tried in vain many times over many years to ride my horses barefoot over an extended period. I must say my rides include a lot of riding on gravel roads. After a certain amount of riding, the horses become sensitive and less willing to move out. I can also see height of the foot shrink. This clearly shows the growth of the hoof does not keep up with it’s wear.
I know other horses do 50 mile endurance rides barefoot, unfortunately I will never be one of them.
I understand and share your concerns with glue-ons. I have taken them off immmediately after rides, and haven’t had any problems. I would not recommend leaving them on after a ride at all! It would be nice if we had the perfect glue that held the boot on, and didn’t require any abrasion of the hoof to put it on or take it off. You didn’t mention the strap-on Renegade boots — I’m assuming you still like those?
Hi Laurie – I think a lot depends on the individual horse. I like to ride barefoot but if I know I’m going on a really rocky trail then I’ll throw boots on because I would rather prevent them getting sore rather than add the boots afterwards. Try a short ride/drive or two and see how it goes. Sometimes it takes awhile for the sensitivity to show up so be sure to check a day or two later. Good luck! Karen
Good post but if you don’t like glue on boots, the glue on prep and the glue on process why do you continue to use them? You have done a couple not so positive posts on glue on boots and you use them at the next event. You talk about how good the renegade strap on versions are but then use glue on boots?
I’ve seen several of the riders who are using e-z care and renegade boots and their horses feet look great. The glues and the prep seem to be no issue.
What will you be using at Tevis? Strap on boos or steel shoes.
Sue
Hi VMH – the opportunity came up for me to give Renegades a real trial and I did. Once I rode in them I found that I really truly do like how well they work on my horses. I’m all for anybody using whatever boot or boots work for their horses.
I really like how Chief and Bo are going in these boots, though I have to admit that I ride them barefoot most of the time now on their training rides.
Karen
Hi Naomi – YES, I still do love the strap-ons! I was the only one at the Fort Schellbourne XP that had a 5 day horse that used any type of boot that went above the hairline. I used the Renegade strap-ons for two days on Chief. I only changed to glue-ons after that because he started to develop scratches and I didn’t want to risk aggravating them and didn’t want to have to vetwrap each day, which I could have done in order to keep using the Renny strap-ons. (several shod horses also got scratches) I have sort of weaned myself of vetwrapping and doing all the stuff needed to protect my horse from his boots. So yeah, I do still like the Renegade strap-ons the best of all hoof boots that I have ever used. I think gluing boots is great for certain rides and short periods but from now on will use the strap-on Renegades outside of those instances. Karen
Hey Sue, so glad to see you’re interested in my blog! The issues I’m seeing are relative more to the the over protection of the sole and the increase in microbial growth which is an issue for any boot brand that fully covers the sole. I will be honest with you now that you’re making brand specific references, the one horse I mentioned that stunk from 40 feet away was wearing EasyCare glue-ons installed by one of your paid professionals, so I differ with your opinion. It is undeniable that over protecting the sole will cause the sole to soften. This is simple to understand given that natural wear is well known to toughen and callous the hooves.
I think that glue-ons are good for multidays or for event specific uses. I would prefer to use the strap-on Renegades most of the time but at Fort Schellbourne I did ride Chief all 5 days. No other horse that went five days used a boot that went above the hairline except for Chief – he did two days with them. For short term occasional use I think that glue-ons are a nice alternative especially for endurance horses. Had I been alternating two horses on that five day ride I would have used the Renegade strap-ons for the event. Karen
Hi Karen, thanks for being willing to share your experiences with your horses, the good and the bad. I love reading your blog and am not an endurance rider though I have sold horses that have been used in the sport. Shane
Karen:
Nice post, and agree with most. I don’t know anybody who would stake a endurance finish on applying boots with Gorilla Glue, and I hope you don’t.. Maybe fine for a training ride but not much else. I have left my boots on for up to 3 weeks using “Goober Glue” which is a one part fast acting polyurethane adhesive. Feet looked OK, but like you, don’t think I will do that again. Boots clean up easily and can be used for training. I think one week will be my limit. I will put them on in time to get one conditioning ride before the ride and then pull them off right after. MONK is a excellent barefoot horse, but my current opinion is that not all horses are created equal. I have tried for months and months to MAKE a barefoot horse, who will never ever be one….
Hey Karen, As always a very informative blog. Mine too will just be an opinion as there are very few multi day rides in my area. From the first I heard of glue ons I felt they would be ideal for multidays but, I couldn’t see any benefit to using them for 1 or 2 day rides. My older horse has been completely barefoot for 4 seasons but I don’t think will ever be capable of competing on anything but the most forgiving terrain. We live in the eastern rainforest and even when it gets dry, maybe a month a year, there are always wet areas in the turn out. For this reason I have always used boots on rides and like most booters have gotten pretty quick at taking them off and putting them on. I can do all 4 at a 20 minute hold and wash out any sand and get them back on in time to make the go. I like the advantage of putting “shoes” on when I need to.
Now the part I don’t get. SInce you have mastered the boot why would you choose to nail on shoes? What would be the advantage of nailing on shoes? Wouldn’t just using the strap ons serve the same purpose?
Chris – what are you doing to prep Monk’s feet before applying your goober glue and boots before a ride?
yep, you can only do so much with some horses feet–I don’t know knowing what I know now if 17 years ago when I got Rocky as a baby if I would have or not given his feet. Of all my horses he has the worst feet but they are looking pretty good right now. I guess I did learn a lot but from now on I won’t even look at a horse from the feet up if I don’t like what I see starting there!
Hi Kaaren – actually, I would have a very hard time going back to nailed on shoes for any horse I was riding, and definitely NOT ON CHIEF! I just meant that in some ways I think that it is a tossup between which is better or worse – leaving glued on boots for long periods, or shoeing with a nailed on shoe. I prefer neither but think that a shoe minus a pad is better in some cases than leaving a glued on boot or even a shoe with a pad on for extended periods. For short term use the glue-ons are great. I definitely prefer keeping my horses barefoot but last year when I was sick my friends that conditioned and cared for Bo for me did put shoes on him for a couple of shoeing cycles. I didn’t like it but I relented because they were having so many boot issues and I knew that getting Bo ridden and not getting him or his rider hurt due to the various boot failures (plus I ran out of good boots for them to use) they were having was more important to his health and that it was only temporary. Some people are more inclined to dealing with their horses hoof care than others, I’m glad that you are one of the ones that are. Good luck with the rest of your ride season! Karen
That makes sense. I just couldn’t see you going back to nail ons. It does seem to miss the point of keeping one’s horse barefoot if you use glue ons for a long period of time.