pros and cons of leather hoof pads

[jjsblackhorse]

My ex race horse has been bare foot for 18 months due to feet not growing at all when shod. Unfortunately he had laminitis in March and his feet have not recovered there robustness and can only work gently on grass for about 30 mins. (no school).

We have done the boot thing 3 different types but not ideal. The boa slipped on grass and mud. The simple boots rubbed, the best were the footglove but any rides longer than an hour the area covered by neoprene overheated and got mud fever!

I have just had him re shod with leather pads on the front and normal shoes on the back. Ridden him out twice now and he is so happy he wanted to race any push bikes that went past!

Just wondering how long I can shoe with leather if his feet will still grow?
Anyone got experience of this?

 

[Casey76]

There is one farrier who comes to my yard and all of his horses have leather pads in the fronts, from a 6yo pony to a 25yo arthritic cob.

Having recently seen the sole of a foot after having leather pads on constantly for 2.5 years I would do anything to avoid it. Apart from extreme sole sensitivity (as there was no sole stimulation), the frog was tiny and very underdeveloped. Also as only basic silicone was used as packing, rather than an antimicrobial packing, the foot looked very thrushy in general.

In answer to your question, I know one horse who has had pads in front for at least 5 years; one has had pads for at least 2.5 years. Both sets of feet seen to grow very slowly, one horse easily goes 8-9 weeks between shoeings.

 

[ester]

I'd think there were much better/healthier materials to be padding with these days if necessary than leather.

 

[jjsblackhorse]

I am planning to take the shoes off again at the end of the winter. By then I will be able to school in the field again.

The last time I had shoes on Monty he only ever managed to hold 3 sets in a row, then he would have to be left 6 to 8 weeks or longer to allow for some hoof growth.

If he is comfortable and we get a few months of fun then it is a bonus!

 

[Nari]

One of mine has had leather pads in front for 4 years, with putty under the back third of his foot. He's a big horse with a history of laminitis, rotation & Cushings. He seems very happy in this arrangement but he won't tolerate plastic pads & equithane etc just won't stay in properly due to the size of his feet & the width across his heels.

During the time he's been wearing pads his sole depth has actually increased & he's showing far less sole sensitivity - before when he was being shod as soon as a shoe was taken off he was unwilling to weightbear on that foot & if both fronts were off he'd shift constantly, now if one front is taken off he stands equally & he's perfectly content to stand with neither on. It sounds like a small thing but for this lad it isn't, and the only thing that's really changed is the pads. He still has big strong frogs & I wouldn't say his feet were thrushy or lacking stimulation.

I suspect that, like so much else, it depends on why they're being used & how good the farrier is.

 

[Northern Hare]

Apologies for hijacking this thread, when you say "Putty under the back third of his foot", do you know what type of putty this is please? My farrier has been using something called Carre Horse silicone at the back of Stromsholm (plastic) pads, but I'm not sure it's the right thing. Having said that, my horse is by far the happiest with his shoes he has been for a while, and we've tried all the Equithane / Vettec gel fillers.

 

[Nari]

Hi Northern Hare, I think it's EDSS putty but I could be wrong. It comes in two parts that have to be mixed together by hand & when set feels like a pair of posh trainers. I believe it comes in different colours to give different degrees of firmness. It's not the same as the silicone ones that come in a tube, but it can be used with plastic pads - the only reason we use leather is that he's happier in them.

ETA
This stuff http://www.tfp-shop.co.uk/acatalog/EDSS-Impression-Matriral.html

 

[Northern Hare]

Hi Northern Hare, I think it's EDSS putty but I could be wrong. It comes in two parts that have to be mixed together by hand & when set feels like a pair of posh trainers. I believe it comes in different colours to give different degrees of firmness. It's not the same as the silicone ones that come in a tube, but it can be used with plastic pads - the only reason we use leather is that he's happier in them.

ETA
This stuff http://www.tfp-shop.co.uk/acatalog/EDSS-Impression-Matriral.html

Nari, many thanks for this info - it's very helpful!

 

[Carlosmum]

Hi Northern Hare, I think it's EDSS putty but I could be wrong. It comes in two parts that have to be mixed together by hand & when set feels like a pair of posh trainers. I believe it comes in different colours to give different degrees of firmness. It's not the same as the silicone ones that come in a tube, but it can be used with plastic pads - the only reason we use leather is that he's happier in them.

ETA
This stuff http://www.tfp-shop.co.uk/acatalog/EDSS-Impression-Matriral.html

I followed this link & looked at pads on the website. My gelding wears something similar to these IBEX pads. We have used the same pair of pads for 4 years now, am just looking to replace them. Carlo has rotation in both front feet & previously had leather pads which we would have to replace every 2nd shoeing. He has built up a much thicker sole, has no problems with thrush, and no longer winces if he steps on something stoney. He also does not have any other filler under the pads, we tried silicone but it all fell out over a couple of days after shoeing. My farrier is quite 'basic' no fancy ideas but he keeps my lad sound & that is all that matters to me.

 

[Tnavas]

I've used leather pads in the past but generally for horses that have had an abscess. They have also been sealed by using Stockholm Tar and Cotton wool.

I've found the pads have always worked well and prior to all the inventions of different pads and materials seen them used for horses that have become a bit sensitive to the hard ground.

I remember when the Stromsholm pads first came in - they were hoof shaped and just covered the outer area of the sole. They seemed to work well but sometimes caused shoes to be pulled off easily

 

[Nari]

That's the other problem I've had with non-leather pads Tnavas, my farrier is a lovely man but there's a limit to how often I want to call him out!

 

[Tnavas]

That's the other problem I've had with non-leather pads Tnavas, my farrier is a lovely man but there's a limit to how often I want to call him out!

That's why I'd use the leather pads, packing with Stockholm tar was far healthier than any synthetic filler. My farrier also commented that some horses can have a reaction to the synthetic space fillers. At one time it was a trend to fill the gap from seedy toe with a resin compound, but for some it increased lameness.

 

[jjsblackhorse]

To be honest I had the feeling my farrier had no idea of what he was doing. I have had a different farrier use leather pads and Stockholm tar on a previous horse which worked over 10 yrs ago but he was a different generation of farrier. I am open to alternative suggestions!

 

[jjsblackhorse]

I have now spoken to 2 different vets regarding the use of hot shoes.
They both said the idea was to touch the shoe to the hoof briefly then trim the foot appropriately, not use the heat of the shoe to burn and mold the hoof to the shoe. Which has always been my understanding.
My own vet went on to say that in the case of my horse, a laminitic with thin soles, this practice was not only bad but could cause lasting problems to the hoof.
He was even more unhappy that the farrier had rasped the front hoof walls back so far that an ark of white line was visible!

 

[Nari]

Burning the shoes on like that doesn't sound good - cold shoeing with heat!

Rasping the front wall back I wouldn't want to pass an opinion on, even an amateur one, without seeing exactly what's been done. He may be taking away the long toe of dead material that a laminitic tends to develop & lining the hoof wall up with where he thinks the pedal bone is. Ideally I'd want x-rays to tell how much was too much.