Pads are just a piece of material; leather, plastic, etc., that you place between a horses hoof and shoe. There are also wedge pads that change the hoof degree angle and snow pads. There are many reasons for applying pads to a horse.  Pads can help a horse or pads can make a horse worse. All depends on what you are applying the pads for.

    In the gaited horse industry pads are used a lot to make horses gait. They increase toe length with pads. In other words they change a typical 3 inch toe into a 6 inch toe hoof.  Shoeing a foot to obtain optimum leg action is the name of the game. Generally only the front hooves are padded in gaited horses. These gaits are completely unnatural for the horse. This is why there are so many unnatural and artificial techniques in shoeing them.

    I use pads a lot for limb length disparity. Limb length disparity is where one limb is shorter than the other(s).  I’ve seen limb length disparity a lot down south, not sure why. I don’t see too many cases up here in the north east. Not to say there are none I just haven’t seen that many and I don’t see every horse out there by any means.  The pad would be added to the shorter limb to make the limbs of equal length.

    Wedge pads are used to increase an angle. I use wedge pads when I mess up with taking too much toe off of a low angle hoof, which would be decreasing the angle to make the limb stable. Most farriers use wedge pads to increase hoof angles but this is; one unnatural and two if you look at how the weight is distributed on the hoof. The wedge pads crush the heels faster with the increase pressure on the heel.

    Snow pads are made to keep snow from packing up in the hoof. Snowballs can pack on the bottom of horse’s hooves with shoes on. These snowballs cause the limbs to be completely unstable. This can lead to strains and sprains as well as other joint issues. There are two types of snow pads one is a rim pad, these are the kind I use, and the other is a full pad. The rim pad is a pad shaped like the shoe with a tube on the inside of the shoe. This tube is what “shoots” the snow, as well as mud and muck, out of the hoof.

     I do not like full pads because you have no access to the bottom of the hoof.  This is keep moisture on the bottom of the hoof and breed bacteria. Think of wearing your muck boots 24/7 and unable to take them off your feet. Imagine how your feet would feel! This is what horse’s feet are like with full pads on. I never put full pads on a hoof. Even when I pad for limb length disparity I cut the center of the pad out to match the shape of the shoe, leave access to the bottom of the hoof.

    I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog. Please fill free to comment, tweet, facebook, etc. This information is for all. I only ask that you make sure that the author me Gene Fletcher is put on all the copies. Thank you and if you have suggestions on topics please fill free to contact me.