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Guide To Using Hoof Glue and Rebuild Materials
Guide To Using Hoof Glue and Rebuild Materials
With the wide variety of hoof glue, pad materials and hoof rebuild products available to hoof care professionals today, it can often be confusing to choose the right products.
In this blog, we will attempt to cover the wide variety of modern materials and give you an insight as to what they are designed for and how best to utilise them in your practice.
Hoof Glues
Gone are the days when farriers only had one type of adhesive to choose from. Adhesives for hoof repair, glueing on shoes and sole support are not only in abundant supply but are also far superior in quality and ease of use than they were in the past.
Poly-Urethane Hoof Glue:
Poly-urethane glue is renowned for its exceptional bonding strength. This strong adhesion ensures that once the glue has set, the bond is durable and reliable, even under stress.
The setting process of poly-urethane glue often involves elevated temperatures, which enhances its bonding capabilities. It typically sets quickly, often within about 30 seconds to 1 minute and hardens out within 5 minutes. This helps to maintain the necessary flexibility to ensure natural hoof movement.
Be sure to keep these materials away from sensitive tissue!
Once fully set, poly-urethane glue forms a hard, resilient finish that is resistant to wear and tear. This hardness contributes to the longevity of the bond and is particularly beneficial in protecting the horse’s hoof.
Despite its strong performance, poly-urethane glue is highly sensitive to contaminants such as dirt and humidity during the application process. Any foreign substances can compromise the bond quality, making it essential to ensure that surfaces are clean and dry before applying the glue. Proper storage and handling are also important to maintain its effectiveness.
In summary, poly-urethane glue offers a combination of strong adhesion, quick setting times, and durable finishes, but care must be taken to manage environmental factors that could affect its performance.
Acrylic Glue
Acrylic glue is celebrated for its strong bonding capabilities. Its robust adhesion ensures that it creates a secure and lasting bond.
Acrylic glue offers a relatively quick setting time, typically around 3 minutes. This allows the farrier to work efficiently moving on to the next steps in their work shortly after application. However, like other adhesives, it is important to allow adequate time for full curing to achieve maximum strength. While acrylic glue requires elevated temperatures for optimal setting, these temperatures are generally lower than that needed for poly-urethane glue.
Once set, acrylic glue provides a hard yet flexible bond. This combination of properties makes it particularly valuable when working with horse’s hooves. The flexibility helps absorb shocks and prevents the bond from breaking under strain.
Acrylic glue is not as sensitive to environmental factors such as dirt and humidity compared to poly-urethane adhesives. This resilience allows for a wider range of application conditions, making it easier to work with in various settings. However, while it is less sensitive, ensuring the hoof is clean and dry is still necessary to enhance the bond strength.
In summary, acrylic glue combines strong adhesion, a moderate setting temperature, quick setting times, and a hard yet flexible finish, making it an excellent choice when working on horses’ hooves.
Comfortmix Multifunctional Hoof Glue - Robust Acrylic Adhesive
Comfort Mix Hoof Glue is the new kid on the block and is a multifunctional product. This adhesive is ideal for glueing on shoes as well as being used in conjunction with the application of a hoof cast or hoof wall repair.
This slower-setting adhesive allows for slightly more setting time, which is often required with glue on shoes or hoof cast application. This product comes in a smaller 75cc two-part tube with two mixing tips and requires a different applicator gun than that needed for 200cc products. Being smaller this product is ideal for gluing on shoes with very little wastage.
This product can also be mixed in a paper cup using a tongue depressor, we prefer to apply it this way when fitting a hoof cast as it is more efficient in getting a consistent spread on the hoof wall.
Preparation: Comfort Mix Hoof Glue is an indirect glue, but this does not mean that preparation is any less important.
- Oil or moisture on the hoof at the time of application can compromise product bond
- A sanding block should be used to clean the hoof prior to application
- Use of a heat gun to dry the hoof is suggested
- Good preparation will produce the best result
Choosing The Right Adhesive
Choosing the right adhesive for your task largely depends on the job you’re undertaking. For example, if we are simply repairing a small portion of the hoof wall, we would choose a fast-setting direct glue, however, if we are gluing on a shoe or applying a hoof cast, we would use a slower-setting multifunctional one.
Hoof Rebuild And Repair
Hoof rebuild and repair products assist in rectifying a variety of issues with the hoof.
Comfortmix Hoof Repair White Or Black – Poly-Urethane Based
As the name suggests this product is ideal for hoof repairs. Comfort Mix Hoof Repair is a two-part fast-set adhesive in a 200cc tube that requires an applicator gun and mixing tips to activate the glue.
Preparation: Comfort Mix Hoof Repair is a direct glue product and will bond to the first thing it touches. Therefore, ensuring the hoof is completely clean and dry will produce the best result.
- The hoof must be cleaned and dried prior to application
- Any oil or moisture present at the time of application will compromise the bond
- If acetone is used in the cleaning process, it must be removed prior to application
- A sanding block should be used to clean the hoof
- Use of a heat gun to fully dry the hoof is highly recommended
Comfortmix Super Bond - Poly-Urethane Based
Comfort Mix Super Bond has been designed for use in foal extensions, however, can also be used for hoof repairs. It is a two-part fast-setting adhesive that also comes in a 200cc tube and requires the same applicator gun and mixing tips as other Comfortmix products.
Preparation: Comfort Mix Super Bond requires that the hoof be dry and clean prior to application in order to produce the best results. As a direct glue product it will bond to the first thing it touches.
- The presence of any oil or moisture at the time of application will compromise product bond
- The hoof should be thoroughly cleaned with a sanding block and dried before application
- Any acetone that is used in the cleaning process, should be fully removed via sanding prior to application
- Ideally, a heat gun will be used to ensure that the hoof is fully dry
Pad Materials
Pad materials are designed for horses that may suffer from thin soles or need additional sole protection due to an injury or being worked on hard terrain, resulting in discomfort.
Silicone Pad Materials
When using Silicone Pad Materials, bear in mind that they are not adhesive. To manage these well, the best way to apply them is by using spray glue on the foot and copper sulphate prior to application.
The setting process for silicone pad materials occurs at a low temperature, and typically within approximately four minutes. This time can be reduced to around two minutes when heated.
When using silicone pad materials, the use of hoof pads is essential. The silicone provides a protective barrier that prevents debris and moisture from accumulating between the pad and the hoof sole. However, it is important to note that while silicone offers excellent protection, it is not shock-absorbing.
Comfortmix Pad Material
Comfortmix pad material comes in three different types - Hoof Pad, Hoof Pad ZNO and Silicone. Comfortmix Silicone is self-explanatory in terms of composition, while Hoof Pad and Hoof Pad ZNO are poly-urethane based.
As a brief overview, Hoof Pad is a soft protective product that can be used with mesh or in conjunction with a pad. Similarly, Hoof Pad ZNO is also a soft protective product, however, it also includes zinc oxide for the prevention of thrush or other hoof infections and can be used with mesh or in conjunction with a hoof pad. Finally, Comfortmix Silicon is a soft hoof pad protection that is designed to be used in conjunction with a hoof pad.
These products come in a two-part 200cc tube and require the same applicator gun and mixing tips as other 200cc Comfortmix products.
Preparation: The prep process for these three pad materials is the same.
- Clean the hoof sole with a wire brush
- Ensure that all small stones and dirt are removed from the central sulcus of the frog and the collateral sulcus of the hoof
Following these base preparation steps, it is recommended that a hoof pad be applied. If using these products without a hoof pad, Comfortmix Mesh should be applied when nailing on the shoe to help retain the pad material throughout the shoeing cycle.
Additionally, you may choose to apply copper sulphate to the sole prior to applying the pad material as this will help to keep the sole clean throughout the shoeing cycle. This is not necessary if using Comfortmix ZNO.
Application: After preparation is complete, wrap tape around the hoof and shoe to ensure you have a dam around the heels of the shoe. This will prevent the loss of the pad material during the application process. Using the applicator gun and mixing tip, get someone to hold the foot up level. Apply an even layer of the product to the sole where required, slightly below the ground-bearing surface of the shoe.
Cover with a sticky foam pad and allow the horse to bear weight on the pad. Don’t worry if a small portion of pad material is squeezed out as the horse bears weight.
Dental Impression Materials For Hooves
Dental impression materials for hooves provide additional support and enhance natural shock absorption while safeguarding the sole of the hoof and bolstering the integrity of the frog.
Hoof Cushion Dental Impression Material
Hoof Cushion is a product designed to be used in conjunction with pads. This range is often used with full or half-mesh 3D pads to help create a healthy hoof function.
This combination can also be used to achieve a correct hoof pastern angle in horses that have a hoof pastern angle that is not correctly aligned e.g. too low.
There are four different types of Hoof Cushion to choose from:
- Hoof Cushion Super Soft A15
Available in both 3kg and 1.32kg sets - Hoof Cushion Soft A25
Available in both 3kg and 1.32kg sets - Hoof Cushion ZNO A25
Available in both 3kg and 1.32kg sets - Hoof Cushion Medium A35
Available in both 3kg and 1.32kg sets
When applying Hoof Cushion, you can choose from the different textures in order to achieve your desired result depending on the environment or the specific requirements of the horse.
Most commonly, we use the Soft A25 in practice as this texture seems to best suit the horses that we work on. However, ZNO Pad Material the Hoof Cushion ZNO also see decent use and are designed to prevent thrush and infection.
Preparation: Prep for application is quite simple.
- Ensure that all dirt, small stones and other debris are removed from the central sulcus of the frog and the collateral sulcus of the hoof
- Clean the hoof thoroughly with a wire brush
Application: Have your shoe and pad fit ready for application. Using rubber gloves, mix the required amount of Hoof Cushion in equal parts of components A & B and knead together until you get a consistent colour, then apply the cushion where required. Cover with the pad and shoe and nail on.
After nailing the shoe on, allow the horse to weight-bear immediately. This will push the cushion into voids in the foot and squeeze out any excess cushion material. Then wait for it to set before clinching and simply trim off the excess. Then you’re done!
Note: it is imperative that you allow the horse to weight-bear as the cushion is setting. This will prevent discomfort that can be caused by recessive pressures placed on the palmar digital nerve.
Tips For Success:
As mentioned earlier, preparation is the key to using these products successfully. This not only ensures that they work well and last the whole shoeing cycle, but also prevents wastage.
Having a person on hand to assist in holding tools or the horse’s foot is also a great asset and makes the job easier.
Prior planning and having everything you need at hand is important, if you haven’t undertaken a procedure or used a certain product before, ask another farrier to help you or show you how to use it. Alternatively, watch a video or demonstration on how to. We also suggesting checking our blog on Horse Shoeing & Hoof Trimming Tips for Success.
Finally, always ensure that you protect yourself by using the correct PPE equipment such as rubber gloves and masks if not in a ventilated area.
All the best Dean Lewis AWCF