Sarnie's Shoes - Sigafoos

A few people have asked me about the shoes Sarnie uses (the human equivalent to Jimmy Choos I reckon!) She has always had weak feet with poor growth and horn quality, as her work load has increased and thanks to the odd shoe being removed by her this has worsened. It came to a head in March when following both front shoes being removed  in a two week period (I did threaten her with dog food at this point) any attempt at nailing into the foot caused real discomfort.

We discussed the options with my farrier Simon Moore and decided the only real long term solution was to use the sigafoo shoes on her. He had successfully been fitting these for a few years and although their expense prevented their widespread use he was quite impressed with the shoe. Therefore at the moment Sarnie has the Sigafoo shoes in front and normal steel shoes behind.

For further technical information you can look at www.soundhorse.com

The Shoe

The sigafoo shoe is fitted with a cuff around an aluminum shoe that glues to the foot so no nails are involved.

Stud holes can be drilled although care has to be taken with the thread as they can be a little more delicate than traditional shoes.

There is a blue layer which of urethane (gel like) built into the shoe which helps absorb concussion and also  has "no memory"; that is, it returns continuously to the original shape unlike leather for example.

Fitting the Shoe (In Pictures)

It certainly very interesting to watch these shoes being fitted as it is a very different process to that of fitting a traditional shoe.

The old shoe is removed by slicing it away from the cuff and then pulling the cuff off the hoof wall

The foot is filed and trimmed in the normal way before a degreasant is wiped over the hoof to help the cuff adhere. The shoe is shaped in the traditional way but has to be worked on cold (no setting light to the cuff!) Holes are drilled and threaded and a acrylic adhesive paste is worked into the cuff.

Once the shoe is prepared it is placed on the hoof in the correct position. Once the farrier is happy it is positioned correctly then it is tightly cling filmed in place (approx 60+ wraps) This helps it bond and set and is left in place for approximately 10 minutes.

The cling film is cut off and if necessary some finishing touches added. Dye was added to blacken the hoof (this is usually done when the adhesive is worked into the shoe). 

It usually takes about 4 hours to fully harden off although horses can be worked within 15-30 minutes of finishing.

Using the Shoes

There are a number of pros and cons with the shoes.

Pros

• Lighter weight hence better movement
• Gel layer which helps reduce concussion
• No nails so less trauma for the foot
• It allows the foot to grow and develop better
• No damage when pulling a shoe off, in fact the cuff remains in place and protects the hoof
• No problems with clenches rising

Cons

• Cost - they nearly double the cost of a set of shoes
• If pulled off they cannot be put back on (Sarnie is permanently in over reach boots).
• With the amount of work Sarnie does they wear down a little quicker than the traditional shoe

Generally I am only using them as I have to. However if it ever came to a point that say they were about £20 more expensive than a tradition shoe I would fit them as of choice due to the better movement, reduced concussion and lack of damage being done to the foot by using nails. I would recommend them to anyone with foot issues.

Stop Press

Sarnie was featured in the Horse and Hound on the 20th August in a piece regarding stick on shoes.