Sensitive soles? advice/pads/etc

[tinker88]

hi,

My farrier is coming tomorrow.

To cut alongs tory short,
my 16hh warmblood x has always (for last 10ys) had poor feet, but since lossing a shoe in Feb he has been very very sore whilst walking down the farm track. Hes fine then once on roads/fields etc, jumps ok (was a pit pottery a month or so ago) but he seems to be improving.

He did go off jumping but last week at a xc he flew around no probs, no stops and no lamness so i think weve over come that, or the hotter weather is helping?

anyway my plan was to have pads put on him, to help with the soreness and concusion (though maybe he had arthitis coming in his knee - but seems ok now), 3 farriers ive spoke to said not to bother with pads now, and try Formhadahite to harden the feet up?

Any advice with sore feet.

they crack easy too?

 

[ihatework]

Pads are in some ways good if you have a horse with thin soles that bruise easily as they obviously provide a barrier. However they do have their downsides as well!
Some horses seem to pull their shoes off more easily whilst wearing pads and this in itself is a pain and can also mean you get bruised soles, it is unlikely to help that your horses feet are prone to cracking.
There are different types of materials used in pads, each has pro's and con's, but those pads that are just placed directly between shoe and hoof usually have a gap around the heel which can let grit get trapped.

If money is no issue then I would highly reccomend equithane, this is a gel that is syringed to fill the entire hoof and then sets hard. It removes many of the problems associated with pads. Unfortunately you are looking at in the region of £35 a foot for these pads, although if your farrier is clever like mine you can get 2-3 shoeings out of each pad.

The above is aside from any potential arthritic type problems which I am sure you have discussed with your vet

 

[brightmount]

I had a TB with very shelly, crumbly hooves a few years ago, and the farrier used pads to stabilise things as he really had nothing to nail to at the beginning. They did a great job and the hoof reocovered well with supplementation and care from the top down.

There was at least one occasion though when he went lame from grit trapped between the pad and the sole.

These were the equithane pads that B&J mentioned.

Why not try it for a few shoeings and see if it makes a difference? It will also help with concussion over the summer when the ground bakes hard.

 

[Nari]

I've got an ID with flat feet & sensitive soles so I can sympathise, not that that helps you! Luckily he has large solid frogs that protect his soles & take a lot of wear.

We've tried a few different types of pad with him but they don't help & sometimes make him worse. With him I find the best bet is regular use of Antibac on his sole & frog, being sensible about where & how I ride & keeping him well shod by a good farrier so his foot stays in balance.

 

[slimdizzy]

if three farriers have all said the same thing i would take that course of action first but give it a while to see improvment good luck