Shoeing with 3D pads

[HelenBack]

Just wondering if anyone uses these and how you've found them in the long term? Specifically do you have problems with your horses losing shoes more easily? If so was there anything you did to overcome that?

I'm trying them at the moment for my horse and I'm convinced by the benefits of them in theory. The horse goes well in them and the feet, posture and whole stance look better for them being on. I just seem to have a bit of a problem with them not staying on and it's really frustrating!

It's early days and we didn't start from a good place for one reason and another but just was interested to hear other people's experiences really.

 

[mini-eventer]

Following because my horse has thin soles and flat feet that have improved tremendously with a great farrier. Has suffered from a nasty stone bruise this year though so it is something I have considered

 

[Jambarissa]

Just googled. Look like a great solution of you have a horse who is basically unrideable due to sore feet and you can't solve the issue.

I'd worry that by putting them on a horse who is occasionally sore you'll be storing up problems for the future. Will he need them forever? Will his feet get more and more sensitive?

If you only occasionally ride on bad ground I'd buy some boots to fit over your shoes in the first instance.

 

[mini-eventer]

These are my worried too, hence why I am following this post to see if anyone had experience. I was hoping just to use them over the summer

 

[HelenBack]

Following because my horse has thin soles and flat feet that have improved tremendously with a great farrier. Has suffered from a nasty stone bruise this year though so it is something I have considered

I'm not using them for that reason so can't really comment on if they'd be helpful in your case. My horse has got broken back HPA so we're using them to try and help with that.

Hopefully somebody will have used them and will be able to comment.

I think there have been quite a lot of horses suffering from bad bruises this year though with the ground going from soaking wet to rock hard in such a short space of time.

 

[Orangehorse]

Mine was shod with pads. They were quite pricey but the farrier said they would last a long time, and they did and he just put them back on when he was re-shod. Had no issues at all with losing shoes, but I must be honest and say that we weren't doing anything that exciting, I think a short gallop in a show ring or a canter in a dressage arena was about the most strenuous thing we did, although we did lots of hacking which is why he had them in the first place.

 

[Season’s Bleatings]

Mine was/is shod with these currently following a pretty serious tendon injury that required surgery.
He started off with a 3 degree wedge which has been gradually reduced to 1 degree and the plan is to take it away altogether eventually.
Not had any issues with lost shoes however he has been on a prolonged period of box rest / controlled movement so I can’t say how they stand up to “normal” turnout yet… give me a few weeks, he’s due to go out tomorrow for the first time in a long time

 

[santas_spotty_pony]

My boy has thin soles and was struggling on hard uneven ground and the pads have really really helped him. He’s been having them for about a year now. I don’t have the problem with him pulling them off but he has never been the kind of horse to overreach anyway. If I did I would use huge rubber over reach boots - the type that touch the floor! Our Friesian lives in them and he regularly pulls the boot off which I have to go round the field looking for but rarely a shoe these days. *touch wood*

 

[millitiger]

My boy has these on at the moment and they have really helped.
He was struggling with his feet flattening out with the hard ground and being quite a big mover.

Hopefully he will just be in them for the summer, his angles are already looking better and he is feeling much better
I will likely x-ray him before taking them off to double check everything is as it should be.

 

[mini-eventer]

Thanks Millitiger - so they have actually helped with his flat feet and angle? I have a constant battle with keeping his heels from under running, and his flat feet. Luckily I have a great farrier and we manage it well but it is useful to have another tool in the box.

I wondered whether a set of x rays would be beneficial, just because things look ok on the outside, sometimes they are not as expected inside

 

[Zoeypxo]

I used 3d wedge pad shoes for about 8 months for NPA and lameness
She never pulled one of and initially went well in them but unfortunately the lameness returned over and over again so we have now been barefoot since december and shes sound and back in work with boots for stoney hacks.
Her heels are the best theyve been in years .
As far as im aware though she has always had good thick soles so haven't had that issue.
She had an underlying tendon injury so the wedging actually made her more lame eventually, if its just the angles you are trying to improve progressive equine services on facebook have some good information and pictures!

I do have a thread on here with some hoof pictures from shod to bf if you were interested

 

[millitiger]

Thanks Millitiger - so they have actually helped with his flat feet and angle? I have a constant battle with keeping his heels from under running, and his flat feet. Luckily I have a great farrier and we manage it well but it is useful to have another tool in the box.

I wondered whether a set of x rays would be beneficial, just because things look ok on the outside, sometimes they are not as expected inside

I would definitely x-ray before doing anything.
Feet x-rays really aren't expensive at all and will tell you (and your farrier) exactly what is going on.

I had a different horse x-rayed 2 years ago, expecting poor angles from what we could see outside the hoof and actually he x-rayed really well.

 

[HelenBack]

I used 3d wedge pad shoes for about 8 months for NPA and lameness
She never pulled one of and initially went well in them but unfortunately the lameness returned over and over again so we have now been barefoot since december and shes sound and back in work with boots for stoney hacks.
Her heels are the best theyve been in years .
As far as im aware though she has always had good thick soles so haven't had that issue.
She had an underlying tendon injury so the wedging actually made her more lame eventually, if its just the angles you are trying to improve progressive equine services on facebook have some good information and pictures!

I do have a thread on here with some hoof pictures from shod to bf if you were interested

Thanks for that info. Did you get any improvement in her heels/ angles with the pads at all or not until you took the shoes off?

My guy isn't lame and "just" has the NPA and his heels are totally collapsed. I'm pretty sure he will end up lame if I don't do something to sort it out! I am actually planning to go barefoot with him in the autumn but wanted to use the pads first to hopefully give him a headstart with improving the angles and also to try and give him immediate support to help make him more comfortable. I felt that if I could do that with a view to removing the shoes once we'd improved things a bit and the ground is softer this would hopefully give him the best chance. I will take them off sooner if I'm not seeing any improvement though.

I already follow PES on Facebook and they seem to get great results but are obviously shoeing in a very different environment and I noticed they like to remove the shoes in winter so I was just interested to hear from people in soggy Britain who've used them!

 

[Zoeypxo]

Thanks for that info. Did you get any improvement in her heels/ angles with the pads at all or not until you took the shoes off?

My guy isn't lame and "just" has the NPA and his heels are totally collapsed. I'm pretty sure he will end up lame if I don't do something to sort it out! I am actually planning to go barefoot with him in the autumn but wanted to use the pads first to hopefully give him a headstart with improving the angles and also to try and give him immediate support to help make him more comfortable. I felt that if I could do that with a view to removing the shoes once we'd improved things a bit and the ground is softer this would hopefully give him the best chance. I will take them off sooner if I'm not seeing any improvement though.

I already follow PES on Facebook and they seem to get great results but are obviously shoeing in a very different environment and I noticed they like to remove the shoes in winter so I was just interested to hear from people in soggy Britain who've used them!

The angles on x ray were perfect with the 3 degree wedge but the heels looked exactly the same . Her heels didnt bulk up until she had shoes off for atleast 3 months

 

[HelenBack]

The angles on x ray were perfect with the 3 degree wedge but the heels looked exactly the same . Her heels didnt bulk up until she had shoes off for atleast 3 months

Yes that's what I'm wondering about too. Haven't x-rayed with the shoes and pads on (also with a wedge) but from the outside all the angles look great. I'm not seeing any improvement in the heels yet though to make me think that we'd be able to come out of wedges any time if we carried on to shoe. I know the PES guy manages to achieve it but I think he's probably a bit better at what he does than most farriers!

I'll give it another couple of rounds of shoeing as now I've started down this path I might as well give it enough chance to see if it does help. Perhaps I won't expect much in the way of changes to the feet until the winter when the shoes come off though.

 

[piglet2001]

I’ve used these on a hunter. Only lost one (touch wood) in three seasons and it was a bottomless day. I do turn out and hunt in over reach boots.

 

[HelenBack]

I’ve used these on a hunter. Only lost one (touch wood) in three seasons and it was a bottomless day. I do turn out and hunt in over reach boots.

Do you turn out in over reach boots behind too? It tends to be more the back shoes that come off with us.

 

[piglet2001]

Do you turn out in over reach boots behind too? It tends to be more the back shoes that come off with us.

Yes