Freedom’s got a lot of great qualities. But good feet are not among them. His hoof quality is not helped by too much rain, too much mud, too little rain, ground that’s too hard . . .
you name it. Back in September of 2016 I first tried glue-on Sigafoos and I’m starting to lean toward using them all the time, because his feet are just so much healthier.
Although the glue-on shoes are wickedly expensive, they have a few real benefits:
They stay on. He’s worn glue-on shoes in front all winter through various cycles of deep mud, frozen ground and snow. Unlike regular shoes, he doesn’t catch these and pull them off, either.
They stay on longer. I’m pretty sure this last set was on for 12 weeks. It was two shoeing
cycles. That means they don’t actually cost more, right?
They have a nice rubber interface. Freedom is like a little kid when he gets these shoes. He feels extra bouncy. I think the extra layer of padding helps him out. It’s like when my nephews get their special light up sneakers.
What are the cons?
They are about twice as expensive as regular shoes and pads. However, if they last twice as long and his hoof stays twice as nice? They are worth it.
The are time consuming to put on. In the post I linked to above, it shows the different steps to applying the glue on shoes. Plan on spending extra time at the barn for each step and then waiting another half hour to let the shoes “set” before turning your horse out
You need good weather. To make sure the shoes set up properly, you need a dry day. Preferably one with low humidity. Now, Freedom lives out 24/7 so if your horse has a stall you probably have more latitude.
Notice that I have not shown photos of Freedom’s back feet. Those are a work in progress.
Notice too, that I haven’t posted photos of Zelda’s feet. It makes Freedom feel ashamed when I show how nice her feet are without any shoes at all. She thinks she deserves them, so I paint her feet with Farrier’s Fix Hoof Oil. It makes them nice and shiny and it smells like Wintergreen. I think I deserve one horse with good feet.