Sand between hoof and pad??

[remedyroo]

Our TB horse was just shod 3 days ago and came up lame.

Farrier pulled shoe, leather pad and hoof tested. Farrier said he was very sore because sand had accumulated and packed inside between the pad and his hoof and thinks it caused a bruise.

Has this ever happened to anyone?? Our horse has had this type of shoe and pad for at least a year and has NEVER had this happen.

When farrier puts shoes on with leather pads he usually inserts some magic cushion between, which I would think would help prevent anything from getting in, at least for a week. The magic cushion doesn't dissolve very quickly.

[merrygoround]

Absolutely possible. That's one of the problems with pads.;)

[LDavis104]

This weekend the farrier came out for one of the TBs at my barn (I just happened to be there at the same time), owners thought he might have an abcess but the farrier said some mud had packed up under the pad and was making him sore. He put some orangey looking stuff in there (I think it may have iodine in it?) and said this horse has thin soles.

I'm not an expert on any of this, just wanted to share since we just had one with the same story.

[mroades]

yep, we are rarely able to use pads down here in sand-ville because of that issue. We have the best luck with the por in pads, as they seal to the sole (at least for about 4 weeks)

[SunshineSummertime]

Try not using leather pads when there is excess moisture in the ground ie every season except summer really. Try a rubber or plastic pat. You can still get a pour in underneath. The only downfall is that a pour in can also casut that pressure build up if too much is applied...With all of our horses that require pads, we tend to stay with a hard plastic pad or a "no vibe" pad with a pour in the contains a thrush eliminator component. Hope this helps

[Patty Stiller]

I find no problem with pads when they are packed correctly. Whenever I use pads I not only put in a soft sole pack like magic cushion or similar to keep the soles healthy. I also run a flattened strip of Oakum (a loose fiber-rope like material)across the back of the foot under the pad to seal out any debris. I have rarely had a problem with sand packing in under the pad when I properly sealed it.The few cases over the years were those in very wet soupy mud or those where I did not use any oakum.

[remedyroo]

Thank you all for your responses.

Sunshinesummertime- Could you please tell me what a "no vibe"
pad is?

Patty Stiller- can Oakum be purchased by a farrier? By running the oakum strip under the pad, do you mean between the pad and the shoe? would it make it too bulky for a low heeled TB?

[Tom Bloomer]

I've encountered this problem with leather pads when the manufacturer changed to a different tannery. It is extremely frustrating.

A good leather pad will suck up against the sole and stay there regardless of how wet and sloppy the turnout conditions.

A bad leather pad will turn floppy in a few days and suck whatever the horse has stepped in lately under the foot until and wash out whatever hoof packing, oakum, hoof felt is supposed to be keeping the good in and the bad out.


Having encountered this problem with 3 different pad manufacturers, I will not buy leather pads without a 100% money back guarantee because there is no way to tell until you apply a set and send the horse off to "test" the pad.

[Tom Bloomer]

. . . can Oakum be purchased by a farrier?
A farrier, or anybody else, can purchase Oakum and custom blended hoof packing from Ray Steele:

http://www.bestbuyhorseshoes.com/index.html

[matryoshka]

It would seem that Sole Guard or another similar product would be helpful in this situation. You can learn to apply it yourself.

I'm not a fan of leather pads, having seen the softness of the soles on the few I've removed. Not much of a sample, I know. I like leather pads for use inside hoof boots, though. :D One can have several pairs and change them out to let them dry, apply meds to the pads for the sole, etc.

[remedyroo]

What other product do you like in place of a leather pad?

I've seen post here for the Vibram hoof pads, anyone tried those?

Thanks for your responses:winkgrin:

[Tom Bloomer]

What other product do you like in place of a leather pad?
http://Durasole.com (http://durasole.com/) :cool:

[SunshineSummertime]

sorry for the late post- but a NO -VIBE pad is easily compared to hard gel i guess. when you look at it- it's about 1/8-1/4" thick and sits flat. if you pick it up and shake it, it will wiggle. I like it that it is not hard like plastic or hard rubber but rather forgiving. I do hoever like an equipak under there...but your choice on what you are trying to accomplish.

If you have a sole that is in tact, try just using a leather rim pad, to protect the white line or if you get a lot of stone bruising around the shoe. Leather rim pads don't have the same issue as full pads as they are good at breathing and are flush between foot and shoe...I do this with my show hunter and it tends to be easier on his feet when we are heavy in show season.