Where I live the average price for 4 shoes is $75. I charge $120. for gluing shoes I use Equibond (acrylic). My base price is $80 for a pair of front shoes. Add to that $15 for aluminum shoes (aluminum glues better than steel). Then add $75 per hoof for glue-on shoes.
Sometimes I just repair the hoof and then nail on the shoe. As long as I can get the nails above the repair so that I am clinching in sound horn, this works very well for me. I prefer the acrylic to the urethane because it will cure in a very thin layer as long as you cover it while it is curing. You can use duct tape to cover the acrylic - about 6 minutes in this weather. You should always cover an acrylic repair with duct tape or saran wrap while it is curing. The surface will not cure properly if you don't. Acrylic (cyanacrylates or polyesters or vinylesters) are "air inhibited" chemistry. The presence of oxygen on the surface inhibits the catalyst from promoting polymerization.
The urethane (Vettek) needs to be at least 1/8" thick in order to achieve a good bond. Also if you happen to move the shoe whilst the adhesive is curing, you loose the bond.
Making your own cuff is going to be more difficult and time consuming than purchasing a ready-made cuff. The cuff material is usually Kevlar or some other “aramid” fiber.
You can't use urethane to attach a cuff (well, you can try, but it won’t work.) Acrylic or epoxy will soak into the fiber and still cure. The urethane will not soak into the fiber and if you force it into the fiber, the material will not have enough mass to achieve a good exothermic cure.
The Mustad glue shoes with the clear plastic tabs use a “superglue” cyanacrylate. The problem with these shoes is that you need to have a perfect match between surfaces in order for the tabs to stick. ANY gaps between the tabs and the hoof and the glue won’t bond. . . . it’s super glue, so you’ll likely glue your hands (gloves) to the hoof along with the shoe!
Above all other things you MUST start with a dry foot. The best way to dry the foot is with a heat gun. A hair dryer is OK, but you want to get the horn up to at least 140deg.F in order to drive off any moisture in the outer layer of horn cells. If you don’t use heat to drive off the moisture from the hoof you are wasting your time with any kind of adhesive.
One of the best tutorials I’ve seen is here:
Anvil Magazine Glue on shoes.
If you get "stuck" give me a call: 302-492-0202
I used to glue boats together for a living.