Wedges & Gel pads?? (for the horse!!) Experiences please!!

Cliqmo

Cliqmo

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Hiya Guys,

My horse is getting fitted with heel wedges and gel pads tomorrow as my superhero farrier noticed on his xrays that the solar surface of his pedal bone was horizontal on his lame leg, instead of on a 3-5 degree angle, indicating it had counter rotated (opposite problem to laminitis type rotation!)

Has anyone else had experience of this type of problem? or of using wedges and/or gel pads? Good and bad, happy or sad experiences would all be gratefully received please as I wish to set myself up for all eventualities!!

Many thanks x x x
 
Can't be much help on the specific problem unfortunately, but I have used gel pads very successfully on a pigeon -toed mare to enable her to work on hard ground... it was a revelation!
Just watch out for thrush under the pads, but as your farrier seems to be so observant, he should notice any signs quickly.

I hope things improve, and the pads and wedges make a big difference!
 
We re-used ours, they were a weird sort of plastic mixture that was nailed on under the shoe. Mine... at the time were prototypes so if she lost one eventing (which was quite often as they create a sort of suction if the ground is wet) I HAD to find it as could only get them from USA at great cost and a long wait!

It really made such a difference and makes you realise the strain that must go through their joints, especially if slightly uneven!
 
Yuh huh, I think this is what Jesper had as the vets commented that on x-ray his pedal bones lie almost parallel to the ground. He didn't have wedges (too many other issues going on) but had silicone gel pads. They worked brilliantly for the pedal bone issues and he came sound almost immediately. They prevented constant concussion. Other issues mean he has since retired but I'd definitely go with the pads and wedges.
 
My horse has natural balance pads with wedge and magic filler. His action changed and he became very choppy and my farrier recommended some remedial shoeing to bring the heels up, for support and also bizarrely my horse used to put his front feet down toe first if that makes sense, so it was to change this. Fitting the new shoes has made a world of difference, his paces are now even better than they were originally and he is much more sure footed, he feels like a new horse. Worth their wait in gold as far as I'm concerned but that's only my opinion. If you've got a good farrier then listen to him and follow his advice but ask all the questions you want and good luck. Hope this helps and doesn't sound like a load of old waffle! PS Just to add I still go showjumping, cross country etc and they're fine. I kknow they weren't for an injury as such but I was skeptical about grip etc etc but they have been fine and I have just carried on as usual.
 
My farrier add's jelly 'stuff' into my horses front feet as he feels the hard ground in the summer, it really does make a difference, he goes so well now.

It is squeezed into his hoof after shoeing and it dries in a couple of minutes, it lasts through to the next shoeing.

Great stuff!
 
I am having this exact problem with my horse!!

We started off just with gel pads, but he remained lame although improved. We then have moved to heart bars with gel pads, so far he seems ok, but we go back to the vets on Wednesday for more xrays to see if it has improved the pedal bone. For us, the gel pads are £15 extra per shoeing, and they last until the next shoeing.

A horse I know had the wedges aswell, I don't know costs etc, but I do know they worked wonders for the horse and he's back in full work now.

I have my fingers crossed for your horse, sorry I can't give you a success story with my horse, but hopefully I will be able to on Wednesday!!
 
My mare has graduated egg bars (similar to wedges) with pads although they are rubber rather than gel.

She has them due to v flat feet, no heels, corns and the slight possibility that she is showing very early signs of navicular.

Totally sorted her out. She is sound, happy, in full work and moving really well. If she loses a pad, she is likely to go lame v quickly. Have had no issues with thrush etc so far. The pads tend to stay in well, have only lost one twice and she has had them in about 4 months now.

Vet came to re assess her last week and is really really happy with the way she is pregressing and is leaving her as she is over the summer. Once winter hits we may try her with some flat shoes.

Only annoying bit is she has to wear over reach boots 24/7!
 
IME heart bars and sole guard helped keep my old horse comfortable for a while. Once he deteriorated to the point where they tried wedges, they added to the problem, he responded badly to them and they didn't work at all. My mare absolutely couldn't tolerate the wedges either, but there is a horse on my yard that they seem to suit. I'm very wary of them now and I would avoid them, but both my horses have had soft tissue damage along with the flat feet, collapsed heels, etc.

The thing to do is listen to you horse. You know him, even better than the vets and you will know if he is genuinely feeling better and happy in them. Don't let anyone tell you that because his foot angles now look great its all hunky dory, if your horse isn't comfortable with them. I really hope your horse responds well and they do the trick, but it might be worth trying just the heart bars and sole guard first if you haven't already.
 
Am going through the exact same problem as you (read my previous posts for all the details but basically lameness on front feet, suspected Navicular bought on by very flat feet, collapsed heels etc, xrays showed flat pedal bones)

We initially put very wide shoes (not wedges) on with plastic frog protectors (again see the photos) on the advice of the vet but this made my boy worse. Next visit 5 weeks later saw no improvement - changed to heart bars plus we had the Tildren IV. This week vet came and said he looks better, and sound on straight. Wasnt particularly happy with the way he was being shod (after some good advice off here I felt knowledgeable enough to start querying decisions) and spoke to an excellent farrier used to dealing with this exact problem in Newmarket. He had a good look at xrays and took toes even further back, cut the collapsed heels right back (his heels had almost rolled over on themselves which the farrier said probably had not been helped by the eggbars (!!) reshod with natural balance shoes and raised heels using some stuff called Equilox (not cheap) which basically is like building the hoof wall. His feet look completely different and the fake heels look almost pefect angle and is off the ground. Cost me £105 for this and trim on back feet. Must take some photos so I can compare before and after.

We trotted up sound and then he said ' up you get I want to see how he goes ridden" Cue me panicking as I havent sat on him in over 3 months but all was fine and he trotted out well although very stiff. Outcome is that I give him 5 days to get used to raised heels / different pressures and then start light hacking for 15mins every other day to see how he copes. Its a bit of a waiting game for us

Every horse is different but I think the key is a very good farrier who sees the xrays and acts accordingly and as Flame says seeing what works for your horse.

Pads / sole guards work for some and not for others (not for us)

As an aside note Marchtime / Flame were particularly helpful to me as they have had similar problems so thanks to them!

Good luck and fingers crossed.
 
Hi Guys thank you for all the replies: for your perusal please find some piccies from today... My hero farrier said I could post these photos on the condition that I give him a mention so many thanks Mark Olliver
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Gel-i-fied foot (technically half foot, Mark wanted space for foot to breathe)
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Right foot (Offside fore) with normal shoe on (Mark decided not to elevate the heel of this foot as the pedal bone lies correctly and he feared it would do more harm than good)
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Left foot (nearside fore!) with wedge
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Mark was whining about the amount of construction that had gone into making these shoes, they are 7" feet!!
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My horse has the same problem with the pedal bone going up instead of slightly down. Just wondered how your horse is? My vet told me mine needed six months off and is shod with wedges on both hind legs.
 
Gel pads are common place on my yard, horses what don't do well on hard ground wear them and they generally help. I was surprised that they weren't used more.
 
Hi Karen, thanks for your interest. Bentley seems okay *touches wood* I think it is a long road but we are heading in the right direction and he is being absolutely super coping with the box rest. Hod did yours come to rotate his pedal bone? Is he on box rest or turned away? Fingers crossed they both make a full and speedy recovery
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My old horse was intermittently lame and had a few issue due to v flat feet and typical TB ex racer feet! Farrier taped rolled up bandages unde his heel, I trotted him up and he was sound. From then on he had plastic wedges and eggbars on, and never had problems really. Only thing was he wore over reach boots constantly as he was forever pulling them off in his loony moments
 
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