[RC] horseshoes and pads- reply to Dot - Laura Hayes
Hi Dot- In reply to your question of what to
use under pads and why.....I can only give you *my* experience and opinion- it
is no way meant as anything more....I am a farrier and rider and have the
dubious honor of saying that in many thousands of miles, I have only lost one
shoe, and that was because I was too lazy to fix it before the ride (and had to
fix it alongside the road- duh...) anyway:
I use pads whenever I think the terrain will be
rocky enough to warrant them, BUT I prefer the Ground Control plastic shoes if
that is an option. It is not an option when the ground is really muddy
also, as I think they slip slightly more than a good steel shoe with a
rim. That said, I DO NOT *usually* use packing under pads. It has
been my experience that it just doesn't stay. We used to always use oakum,
and I still carry it, but unless I think the sole is bruised and I want to
protect it further, or *feel* as if I am, I don't bother. I DO however,
cut the middle out of the pad when I get home, leaving just a rim. I don't
like to cover the sole for long lengths of time if I don't have to. BTW, I
rarely find anything but a little silt under the pads.
I remember when we used to use latex caulking under
pads- I guess I stopped because I did not find it neccesary.
Out west on XP04 this summer, Skip and Sue Dyke
reintroduced me to equithane, which we had tried in the east, and found it did
not stay in. Out west, with the foot being drier to start, and staying
drier, I found it to be fabulous. It is used with a shoe that is already
applied, and poured in on the sole to make a pad that DOES stay in (even in the
ultimate multi day -XP04) , but like I said, it didn't work well in the east-
and at about $20 to fill a front set of shoes, it is a little more costly
than pads.
In lieu of pads sometimes, I use a slightly larger
shoe and bring it around hard at the heels- this protects more of the foot than
just a regular set shoe. You do have to be careful of over reaching, but
if you balance your horses correctly, you will not have that or other
interference problems. I can honestly say that I have never used boots on
my horses legs (except a borrowed horse on Xp that I did not have the luxury of
'fixing' before we left) The time to fix those things is before you go to
a ride....but I digress....
Anyway, I know I am lucky in that I have the
ability to 'shoe for the event and terrain' and if you are not in complete
control of your shoeing schedule (at someone else's mercy...), you can't do
that, but my theory is to pad for the event using no packing and cut the pads
out after the ride if I don't need them later.
