Frequently Asked Questions

1) The EponaShoe promotes bearing some of the weight of the horse on the frog - won't this make the horse sore? Shouldn't the weight be on the wall of the hoof?

Horses in nature are often packed with mud or dirt and it is natural to have some of the weight borne by the frog and sole. The EponaShoe's built-in softer pad makes sure that there won't be any pressure points on the frog or sole. Bearing some weight on the frog is what nature intended for the horse and leads to healthier hooves due to increased blood flow and other factors.

2) That sounds reasonable, but I know that I've heard of horses being sore due to packing or too much sole pressure. What's up with that?

Some care must be taken in designing a frog and sole support system. Some packings are too hard, and sometimes packings can be misapplied (you don't want a 'ball' of packing under the foot, or a blob that puts pressure in one localized point). The EponaShoe is the only shoe on the market with a built-in softer portion on the sole-side of the shoe, and our packing has been designed to offer support, but not be too hard. This web-site gives farriers directions on how to use our packing and get the support done right. It is a rare occurrence that our system makes horses sore. Also, see question #10 below.

3) How much do they wear? How long do they last?

Some users (e.g. in sand arenas) have told us that they have reset the same shoes 4 times! But generally, you should expect 1 reset only. With the "plain" EponaShoe, except for the most extreme uses, they last for a normal 6-week interval, and sometimes can be re-set for another six weeks. Carriage horses and endurance riders going on rocky surfaces order the EponaShoe version with inset "carbide-tips" for enhanced wear resistance. We believe the ability for the horse to wear the toe bevel 'how it wants' is an important feature for the health of the hoof. So, the ability to wear (within reason) is a good thing. If your main concern is how long shoes will last, then stick with steel. If you're concerned with your horse's feet, use a flexible shoe. It's that simple.

4) I heard of the EponaShoe as a "glue-on" shoe, but my farrier put them on with nails like a regular shoe. Which is better?

The EponaShoe can be nailed on just like a conventional shoe -- in fact, that is what most users of the EponaShoe do. So, any farrier can apply the shoe, and no special tools are needed. However, we also took care to develop the EponaShoe so that, as an alternative, it may be glued-on. While this is in no way required to use the shoe, we have found that it can be helpful in therapeutic cases. The glue spreads the load evenly and allows the farrier to correct various problems at the same time. Some users come to EponaShoe due to real problems -- and use glue -- after a few shoeing when the problems subside, they switch to simply nailing on the EponaShoe.

5) Is the use of glue healthy for the hoof over long-term use?

We have a group of test horses that have had plastic shoes glued onto their feet year round for the past 7 years. Because the developers of the EponaShoe are also the inventors of the EponaTech hoof measurement system we have accurately calibrated digital photographs and radiographs of these horses over the entire 7 year period. There have been unsupported claims that the use of glue-on shoes may cause "heels to contract", but we have 7 years of measurements that show that this is not the case, and the people making these claims have no data at all. Several of these horses had a history of mild lameness or off-and-on soundness issues in their previous metal-shod lives, but have been rock-solid sound for years now in the EponaShoe. See also our Case Study #7 which is a long-term (5 years and counting) use of glued on plastic shoes. If you have any lingering concerns about the use of acrylic glues, then just don't use them -- the EponaShoe can be nailed on just like a conventional shoe! There is no need to use glue, but we find it a great aid in therapeutic cases -- it spreads the load evenly around the hoof.

6) The latest EponaShoes I received have the letter "C" on them, whereas the last set had the letter "B" -- what do those mean?

We started with "Model A" and we are working our way through the alphabet as we modify and improve the EponaShoe. Current shoes being sold are marked C, C+, or D. One of EponaShoe's great advantages is that it is undergoing continuous product improvement. The founders of the company have technical and other resources to allow them to generate new molds when an improvement can be made to the design. If you look at the competing plastic shoes, you'll see our competitors haven't bothered to change their molds in years. Our shoe is the best thing on the market for your horse's feet, and getting better all the time. Our financial advisors don't always agree with this (molds are expensive!) but believe it or not, we really are trying to do the right thing for the horse -- that's the number one priority.

7) My farrier says that plastic shoes don't keep their shape and don't hold nails well. Is he right?

Unfortunately, we have to overcome the shortcomings of our competitor's products (past and present). We used to use the other plastic shoes ourselves and put up with the 'practical problems' until it finally drove us to design our own shoe to get around these issues. We now hold a US patent for the key feature that makes a flexible shoe work: the use of two materials on the sole-side. Where the nails go must be relatively hard and stiff, but then a second softer material must be used on the interior to avoid pressure points on the sole or frog. This simple use of two materials is central to what the EponaShoe is about. The EponaShoe will keep it's shape and will hold nails just fine. Also, the EponaShoe has two small steel stiffeners embedded within the shoe (size 0 and up) which reinforces the nailing system. Farriers who actually try the EponaShoe appreciate the design. You can click here to see a picture of a nailed-on EponaShoe after 8 weeks - notice that the clinches have not opened, nor "wiggled around". This photo is of a hind foot, and this horse is quite active and rough on his hinds - lots of pounding and twisting action. We believe that the EponaShoe is the best nailing flexible shoe on the market. If you want to know more about the engineering that went into the EponaShoe, read our Engineering Page.

8) I have a good farrier, but he does not believe in plastic shoes. I want to try your shoes -- what do I do?

If you have a good farrier, and you have to choose between him and our shoes -- you should choose the farrier. No shoe creates miracles on its own, so it's more important to have a good farrier. Farriers are generally very practical people, and many have seen lots of gimmicks come and go, so his reaction is not so surprising. We hope that with time farriers will see our shoe as the practical alternative to steel that it is. We are not radical "anti-steel" people -- our best customers are farriers who still put more steel on than plastic. They just use the EponaShoe as one more tool in their bag of tricks.

9) If we use glue with the EponaShoe. is it hard to get the shoe off?

Not really. Basically, you use pull-offs and start at the heel. Often the glue will have begun to crack at the heels somewhat, and you start from there and it will peel or snap off. If a few nails were used in addition to the glue, they should be pulled out individually with crease pullers first, then pry the shoe off. Click here to see an example of this process.

10) I see that the EponaShoe can support a normal frog - but what if the frog is 'sticking out' of the foot, or what if the frog is small or missing - then how can your 'built-in pad' support it?

We go through these various situations on our frog suport page.

11) The glue you sell is "acrylic" and I think it smells a bit more than a popular polyurethane-based glue. Are acrylic glues unhealthy?

Acrylic glues are what women have used for 50 years to glue on nail extensions. Those polyurethane-based glues contain isocyanates which are known to be cancer causing but are odorless! So you can't judge the nastiness of a chemical by it's smell. By the way, the EponaShoe glues on just fine with the polyurethane glues also -- so use whichever you are comfortable with. All of
these glues should be used with caution and applied in a well-ventilated area.

12) After 6 weeks with the foot covered with packing, the foot smells a little funky when the old shoe comes off. Won't using packing encourage thrush?

First of all, not everything that 'smells funky' is thrush. It is becoming known now, and most veterinarians now agree, that thrush is caused by poor circulation in the foot. We have yet to see thrush in a foot that has been shod with a plastic shoe. With a flexible shoe, blood circulates in the hoof more like nature intended, and the horse's system can fight off thrush and other potential bacterial agents. We have come to believe that the best cure for thrush is to shoe with the EponaShoe and stop bothering with topical applications of chemicals to try to control it -- they probably won't be needed. Finally, our all-natural anti-bacterial granules were developed to be hand-mixed with our packing to inhibit the grow of bacteria and fungus when using packing.

13) My farrier says that plastic shoes are OK for therapeutic uses, but don't use them long term because the hoof needs some concussion to function normally. Is he right?

Plastic shoes do not eliminate concussion, just reduce it somewhat. The plastic we use on the outer rim portion of the EponaShoe matches the mechanical properties of the hoof wall quite closely, so you can think of it just as a hoof extension. Hence it is not changing the natural concussion the hoof experiences very much. Although most plastic shoes are advertised as "reducing concussion" we think that this feature is not the first that should be mentioned -- in fact it is probably only 5th on the list of important attributes of the EponaShoe. Concussion abatement is important for street horses (carriage, mounted police) and to some extent for uses like endurance racing. Otherwise, avoiding concussion should not be the first aim of a modern shoe design. More important are: 1) allowing the hoof capsule to flex somewhat like when barefoot, and 2) supporting the frog in the proper way, and 3) allowing the shoe to wear the toe-breakover as the 'horse wants', and 4) the ability to avoid nails if needed (in this case, use glue), and then 5) reduce concussion.

14) Most plastic shoes are a single type of plastic; others have a second type of plastic. Why does the EponaShoe have three types? Is it just some cute gimmick shoe?

There are reasons for the EponaShoe's design. Our head engineer explains some of this on our Engineering Page.

15) How does EponaShoe handle the problem of snow-packing under the foot in winter?

We believe the "mesh pad" version of our shoe will inhibit snow packing to a large extent. As an alternative, the central opening in our shoe can be filled with our hoof packing material -- fill it right to near tread-level and we have found the packing will stay there, and will block other things from getting in there.

16) I'm a horse owner -- can you summarize why the EponaShoe is a shoe I should try on my horse?

Here is a summary of six ways that the EponaShoe will benefit your horse!

17) Are there any issues with the transition from a metal shoe to the EponaShoe?

Usually not at all. But we have posted an article covering some issues to consider.

18) I saw your basic "How To" guide on nailing the EponaShoe, but do you have more hints about nailing on the shoe?

Yes, we have written up some of the "fine points" of placing and nailing the EponaShoe -- this is how we do it -- of course, every farrier does things his/her own way, and most of those ways should work too! Read our hints on nailing here.

19) Do you have an informational DVD about the EponaShoe?

Yes, learn about it here.

More coming soon -- send us your questions