Gel in the feet...

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_jetset_

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Has anyone much experience of gel being used in horses' feet?

My new farrier has just reshod Grace (looks to have done a really good job and can see how the angle of the foot is slowly improving) and has filled the front two with gel. I was just wondering what others thought of the use of gel and whether they had success with it?
 
Its good and bad...good in that it gives the foot a nice cushioning, but bad because it makes the frogs sweat, so they become all soft and they shrink , therefore the insides of the foot will become all soft which is what you dont want-- because you want the frogs to become as large and as hard as possible in order to protect the foot.

So its a bit of a vicious circle!
 
Thanks... I did wonder about that but at this moment in time she needs cushioning because of the angle of the foot. I don't think this is a long term thing, just until we get the heel back up and her axis improved.
 
Great for winstons arthritis/ringbone, rubbish cos they made him have pussy foot 8 times in one summer
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Bailey had gel pads (I think they were Equi Pak- not the ones which need heat to set) last summer whilst the farrier carried out some remedial work which sounds similar to what your farrier is doing with Grace.

He is prone to absesses and soft thin soles but had no problems at all with these as they have an antibacterial agent in them.

Will probably have them put back on this summer as after 6 months off (unrelated) I don't want to give him any excuses to go lame!!

Edited because I forgot to say that I found he grew a lot of hoof with the pads on- aparently this is because the frog is constantly being stimulated like it would barefoot. They are also extortionately expensive
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Oh no... 8 times???
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I have heard such mixed reports about them I thought I would ask on here
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She walked out putting a lot more of the foot down flat after having them put on this afternoon rather than pointing her toe (does that make any sense???)
 
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Bailey had gel pads (I think they were Equi Pak- not the ones which need heat to set) last summer whilst the farrier carried out some remedial work which sounds similar to what your farrier is doing with Grace.

He is prone to absesses and soft thin soles but had no problems at all with these as they have an antibacterial agent in them.

Will probably have them put back on this summer as after 6 months off I don't want to give him any excuses to go lame!!

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Thanks... I am not 100% sure which gel was used for Grace. It did have to set but it literally took 15 seconds to do so.
 
Yes.
They are ace and worth having. I think if I had them for the winter it would be fine. But summer was imposible. Even tho they had antibaterial agent in them.
We now use leather pads (winston has awful flat feet and bruises easily). It wont help his concussion (stopped eventing/hunting for that) but he is sound at least.

Its like them wearing Nike Air lol
 
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Yes.
They are ace and worth having. I think if I had them for the winter it would be fine. But summer was imposible. Even tho they had antibaterial agent in them.
We now use leather pads (winston has awful flat feet and bruises easily). It wont help his concussion (stopped eventing/hunting for that) but he is sound at least.

Its like them wearing Nike Air lol

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I found that the equipack system didn't suit my gelding ( who sounded like your boy) so ended up with some horse trax pads which are like the leather pads but with a gel insert as part of the pad. Kept Sid sound, and lasted for about 12 weeks before they were rubbish. they cost about £18 for a set
 
I used Equipak for around 8 months last year with my TB i had no problems at all. Im just about to have it again on Monday for him.

I think it depends on the horse as to how well they do with pads. My old farrier hated ftting anything with pads & i had to beg him to fit leather ones to my TB. Farrier was concerned that Pads would cause already thin sole to become worse due to not being able to breath. The opposite happens with my TB when fitted with pads & he gets relief at the same time, so old farrier was shocked.
 
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I found that the equipack system didn't suit my gelding ( who sounded like your boy) so ended up with some horse trax pads which are like the leather pads but with a gel insert as part of the pad. Kept Sid sound, and lasted for about 12 weeks before they were rubbish. they cost about £18 for a set

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Ah okay, they sound much better.
Equally now hes been re-routed to dressage he's worked on a nice surface so not too bad
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All I know is this gel was put in over some mesh and was put in cold and set in about 15 seconds... I should probably have asked a bit more about it but I was rushing to get to work
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My old horse had gels in his front shoes, he used the Vettec. They were great but had to watch he wasnt turned out in too much mud as they can be sucked off quite easily. That was a nightmare especially in winter. They did help him with walking on stones tho, he used to go footy on stones. His frogs stayed quite dry and there was no difference to them really same as without the gels in. But downside is the expense his were £150.00 for two front heartbar shoes & two gels and had to be shod every 4 weeks. I sod him in the end coz the expense of his shoes were crippling me. I regret it now, he was a star and I cant afford to get the same type again. Although I would love to, he was an ISH.
 
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All I know is this gel was put in over some mesh and was put in cold and set in about 15 seconds... I should probably have asked a bit more about it but I was rushing to get to work
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Patrick had these the last couple of times he had laminitis and when he bruised his sole, worked excellently on him, but do pull out in mud so be careful where you ride, he never had any frog problems or abcess problems (about the only thing he hasn't had I think
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Thanks everyone... she is not being turned out in the field at the moment as she gets chronic mud rash (to the point where she gave herself lymphangitis last time and needed 6 weeks of antibiotics
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... bloody ginger horse with two back white legs!!!) but she is being turned out in the round pen every day for an hour or so for a blast and a roll
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I think I will just have to see how they go as like others have said, they are certainly not the cheap option but as I see it, no foot no horse and she is going so well at the moment it would be a shame for her to have sore toes! But she is also having to be shod every 4 weeks until we can get her heel up
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