Submitted by Karen Bumgarner, Team Easyboot 2016 Member
My plan was simple: Order some comfort pads to put in Thunder’s Gloves and go ride three days at Oregon Outback’s beautiful Hallelujah Trail, put on by Dennis and Linda Tribby. Only I messed up and ordered 12mm pads and not the 6mm, which I have since returned and now have 6mm pads for the next time. But I needed something for this time. Never fear, I have a tube of Sikaflex to goop some boots on with. Hmmmm, I scrounge through my collection of used Gloves and come up with two that have some mileage on them that are still plenty good. Plan B, Sikaflex the Gloves on and take the gaiters off and voila – good as Glue-Ons.
One thing I love about Sikaflex is that it doesn’t set up real quick. I can take my time and not hurry, I like that. So my first step is to loosen the screws on the gaiter because I will take it off eventually. Then I take the Glove and fill it with a generous amount of Sikaflex, smearing some up on the sides inside the boot too. I set the boot aside and do the last minute touches of being sure the hoof is clean and ready. With Sikaflex I don’t have to buff the hoofwall and such like you do with Adhere, I like that too. Then I just put the Glove on as I always would, tapping it into place with the mallet and hooking up the gaiter. I have him tied eating hay which keeps him quiet for a while as the Sikaflex sets up. After an hour or so I put him back out with his buds. The next day I remove the gaiter and head for the ride.
Thunder chowing down at the vet check on day one. Our Sikaflexed Gloves are performing well.
Thunder after the first 50, looking happy and ready for another day. (Photo by Trish Frahm)
Mid-day trotting down the great trails and enjoying life! The footing was awesome and we wouldn’t have needed those comfort pads on this ride anyway. But it was sure nice to not have to worry about any rubs or irritation from three days of gaiters and Gloves. Thunder completed his AERC 5,000 miles with day two. And we finished up the weekend riding the third day and being a Pioneer.
The best way I know to get them off is find a spot to insert a flat sided screw driver and just start working it around the hoof and pull the boot and such away from the hoof wall.
It takes a few minutes of working the screw driver around the hoof but soon the boot is coming free of the hoof.
After loosening the sides all around, I insert the screw driver blade under the boot, working through the heel area, and it pops right off pretty easily.
Another great thing with using Sikaflex is all the material is in or on the boot and your hoof is clean and has no debris stuck on it. We’ll be ready to trim and Glove for the next ride, and go for more miles.
Editor’s note: the opinions expressed in this blog do not represent EasyCare’s official recommended gluing protocol for hoof boots. To learn more about the recommended gluing protocol, please see the recommended application guide. Following the steps outlined by EasyCare will increase the success rate of any glue-on product.
