Anyone using these shoes ?? Pros and con's ??

I started using them about a year ago, only because ~ in a couple of situations all alse seemed to fail , I checked them out and talked about it with a couple of other qualified farriers, they hold up very well and I use them on a couple of horses on a regular basis. down side is ~ they are expensive ~ but when your options are either a lame horse or a sound horse it is going to be an added expense you cannot avoid anyhow. I have used them enough to know when to use them and when not.
Bottom line, they do serve a usefull purpose ~ In my humble opinion.
Don Cloutier'

FarrierDon wrote:

Don,
Would you be so kind as to divulge in what instance you found them to work and when you had them fail.

Also, do you have any experiance with other synthetic shoes that you were able compare your results with?

I would find that very interesting and helpful, as I have no experiance with the above.

Thanks, Dave

I use them every 5 weeks on the Cossack horses. I am putting some on them tomarrow in Raleigh NC. Have been using the easy walkers because these horses are travel down loading ramps in to arenas and work on rubber mats in the show. The shoes give them excellent traction on both surfaces with out distroying the mats, not to mention the concusion I belive they help with.

I have had good results useing them on a heel sore horse when conventional shoeing did not help.
It is just like anything else they have there value but are not the cure for the common cold.

Mike, back in 77 on the GSOE some of the horses were shod with Fruin (spelling) shoes and some of the horse trainers thought they were too sticky for the rubber mats? Some of them went barefoot. But back then the show actually had rings to work in ,not what Ken and Nicole are producing nowadays. See ya down the road, Gary

Ollov shoes and other rubber ones are to sticky they rip off in no time.

When To Use & When Not; ~ As Mike Bailey correctly stated ~ they are not the cure all for every problem, I think that when they failed to show improved results had to do more with the extensive problems with the horse, for the situation I had was when the problem (in this case a severe founder) was as bad as it could get and the horse had to be put down, major rotation in the coffin bone, and it had also dropped, this was on all 4 feet, another Farrier (VERY QUALIFIED) came in behind me and could not do any better. so when I said ~ I can tell when not to use them ~ I was referring to this case, the horse was beyond help. I look at them as another tool in my inventory. Hope my answer was sufficient...
Don Cloutier'

So Don , you like them for founder?? There is a guy in our area useing them for founder I do not know what his sucess rate is with them . with a case like you had you are correct , it does not matter what shoe you try the end is the end. I had a client who got the vet to do a tenotimy on a 25 year old mini I asked her if she did that for the horse or for herself cause she can't let go?She admitted se did it for herself .

Bleeding hearts...

They do not know when the quality of life has exceeded the quanity.

Tony