Concussion Due to Hard Ground - Help!

[Pollyconk]

Hi, whenever the ground gets hard and my horse gallops about on it, he goes lame with concussion. He's shod with heart bar shoes and has a bit of a wonky front leg so our farrier is trimming him to straighten him up a bit. We also had x-rays done as he went so lame once and they showed he had flat feet, hence the remedial shoeing. Because of this I never ride him on hard ground and am really careful with him all year round but still, he seems to go lame - not too badly (around 2-3 10ths) but it lingers for a long time.

Has any one any experiences with pads or anything else that may stop him getting so concussed?

Thanks for your help

 

[Zuzzie]

I would think pads would be an excellent idea. The farrier can put a filler in between the pad and the sole of his foot to help cushion it.
If he is going to loon around in the field, is there any way you can limit his turnout area - maybe put up a small pen with electric fencing so that he can't hammer around the field? you could then use the pen if and when the ground gets hard.