Long term use of pads with shoes

[stimpy]

One of my horses has been shod with pads for the last year or so. She has a history of laminitis and sesamoiditis and we almost tried pads by accident and found she was much more comfortable so she has had them ever since. She has full mesh pads on the back and the same pads on the front but with most of the mesh cut out so it's more like a rim pad. They are Luwex pads like these: http://www.stromsholm.co.uk/luwex-1873-p.asp

I feel that the success of the pads has been partly because of shock absorption, and partly because they (partly) protect her soles. However, my farrier took her front pads off when she was shod last week as he said he doesn't like them to be in pads long term without a break. He said that unless you give them a break the horse will form sole callouses. He wanted to take all 4 off but I agreed to take just the fronts off and to see how she goes.

My mare has turned from a go-go-go horse into just a go-go horse, she is noticeably less forward but still keen to do her job (she is *always'* keen to do her job, she was up for it even when she had sesamoiditis). We have very stony hacking and she is definitely feeling her front feet a bit like she used to before she had pads. Relieving this is part of the reason why the pads were so effective.

I've known many horses who have been shod in pads their whole working life, is it really so bad to do that? Does the concern about sole callous make sense?

 

[cptrayes]

The concern about callouses makes no sense at all and I wonder if it's really what your farrier means. Those of us who don't use shoes wait for callouses to form to make our horse rock crunching. In my experience, long term use of sole covering pads will soften the sole and make them even weaker.

 

[Darkwater]

We had pads on my mare for a couple of months and they just left her with infected frogs and a weak, crumbly sole. Taking her shoes off solved all our problems.

 

[stimpy]

The concern about callouses makes no sense at all and I wonder if it's really what your farrier means. Those of us who don't use shoes wait for callouses to form to make our horse rock crunching.

Um, that's what I thought too, callous = good as this is lovely thick sole that will be impervious to the massive amount of flints on our local tracks. I will have to ask my farrier exactly what he meant, I should have questioned it more at the time.

Thanks for your comments

 

[stimpy]

We had pads on my mare for a couple of months and they just left her with infected frogs and a weak, crumbly sole. Taking her shoes off solved all our problems.

For us the pads have been fantastic. My mare has got back to a level of work I had no expectation of at all after her sesamoiditis. As she is an EMS horse I try to work her as much as possible, but it has been a very delicate balance taking into account her previous injuries. She always wants to do more than I dare let her, jumping is out and I avoid deep ground at all costs but she is well able for a gallop when the ground is good. This year she has been fit, slim and sound, but there is no doubt that she is happier in the pads.

 

[Nari]

Jim has had pads in front for 4 years & the benefits have far outweighed the negatives. His soles haven't softened, in fact they are far thicker (as they aren't being naturally worn away) & harder than before. He wears them because of laminitic changes, without them I don't think I could keep him comfortable on the flinty ground around here. Diet won't remove the damage done, plus he has cushings, but his pads keep him happy.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Is the horse sound in the field without shoes OP? I ask because if you wanted a break from using pads, you could possibly have a break from shoeing at the same time and use hoof boots for this period instead. They are shock absorbing and cover the sole so would they be similar to pads in that function?