Written by EasyCare Customer, Augusta of AMW Equine Services
From the beginning, we were using the EasyShoe Versa Grip Glue to try to see how they held up to the rigors of barrel racing. Little did we know that the Versa Grip Glue would be a huge part of this mare’s recovery a few months later.
When we first applied the Versa Grip Glue, we were so amazed how much more comfortable Mercedes became. She started dropping seconds off in poles and barrels. We were amazed just how much this sweet mare improved. After a few weeks of wearing the Versa Grip Glue, she went from running 26 seconds consistently in poles to 24 seconds. In barrels, she was running an 18 second barrel pattern consistently to a 17.2 second pattern to a 16.3 second pattern.
A few months later, Mercedes started to show some performance issues. It was time to get a vet involved. Bone chips were found, one in her coffin bone joint in the right front and a bone chip in her fetlock joint in her left front. We started by trying injections. We were able to grind her shoes to assist with breakover and leverage reduction. It helped, but it showed it wasn’t going to solve the problem for her. She was a mare that wasn’t going to take an early retirement.
The next option was bone chip removal surgery. Allowing her to stand while applying the Versa Grip Glue made shoeing so much easier on her. We applied a set a few days before going into surgery so we didn’t have to mess with her feet while she healed. She was placed in a Versa Grip Glue with Equilox acrylic glue with Mustad Medium DIM. We knew that her being in a composite with DIM would give her the best chance of recovery.
After a five hour surgery, she walked out sounder then we thought she would. We reapplied the Versa Grip Glue at six weeks after her initial shoeing. The Versa Grip Glue made it so much easier to shoe her. I didn’t have to hold her leg up for very long and it allowed us to work in a way that made her comfortable.
Five months after surgery, the thumbs up was given to start letting her go into full work mode. She blew us out of the water!!! She came back not just running where she was back before surgery, but also setting new PRs. She has impressed all of us. Her turns have become smoother. Her strides have opened up. We can’t wait to see where this team goes in the future because they are unstoppable.
