Equi-pak for hooves - Experiences?

[Luna]

I have a gelding who has had chronic abscesses, and despite bloodwork, antibiotics, supplements, muzzles to reduce food intake and a litany of other things we’ve tried with vet/farrier supervision, he continues to have these abscesses. They present in all feet and will come every 8ish weeks, but this month he blew 5 in a row. I really just want this horse to be comfortable. He has never had shoes on and the farrier advised against it strongly, citing that the feet were very good and that shoes would exacerbate the issue (they blow out at the bulb of the heel, not the sole). I am looking at trying a new farrier, but they suggested shoes with equi-pak. I have never seen this product nor do I know of anyone that uses it. I’m not convinced that this is the solution (though generally I tend to believe the experts on these matters–which includes the farrier), but would love to hear what others have experienced if they have used this product before.

Thanks in advance!

[Crash_Helmet]

Five abscesses in one month? That is shocking. Have you got good x-rays of his feet? I cannot believe that a farrier would advise against shoes in a case like this. Yikes.

Re: Equi-Pak, a barn mate used the product rehabbing a horse that had mild rotation. The horse seemed much more comfortable but she also had complicated therapeutic shoeing so it’s hard to know how much of that was related to the product. The specialist farrier did recommend it.

Good luck!

[LarkspurCO]

You should post this in Horse Care. Obviously what you’re doing isn’t working. Why not give the new approach a try? Equi-Pak is one of the widely used pour-in products, to support and protect the sole. I’ve had it on several horses over the years for various reasons and never once had a problem with it.

@Crash Helmet;8693642

Five abscesses in one month? That is shocking. Have you got good x-rays of his feet? I cannot believe that a farrier would advise against shoes in a case like this. Yikes.

Ditto.

[Luna]

It has been a long haul of much trial and error, but this is why I am also looking into a new farrier. Thank you for the info!

[RedmondDressage]

[QUOTE=Luna;8693828]
It has been a long haul of much trial and error, but this is why I am also looking into a new farrier. Thank you for the info![/QUOTE]

I think you’re smart to get the opinion of another farrier. A shoe should not impede the exit of the abscess in any way… I can verify because one of my horses blew an abscess two weeks ago out the sole with both a shoe and pad on. Farrier came and pulled the shoe so that we could wrap it and make sure it drained well but she came back and put shoe and pad right back on to prevent further issues. I wouldn’t say that my horse has chronic abscesses, but we’ve had issues on and off and it was the reason we put front shoes on. The advice you’re currently getting is polar opposite of what I’ve had two farriers tell me.

[Luna]

[QUOTE=RedmondDressage;8693870]
I think you’re smart to get the opinion of another farrier. A shoe should not impede the exit of the abscess in any way… I can verify because one of my horses blew an abscess two weeks ago out the sole with both a shoe and pad on. Farrier came and pulled the shoe so that we could wrap it and make sure it drained well but she came back and put shoe and pad right back on to prevent further issues. I wouldn’t say that my horse has chronic abscesses, but we’ve had issues on and off and it was the reason we put front shoes on. The advice you’re currently getting is polar opposite of what I’ve had two farriers tell me.[/QUOTE]

Thank you–this is really helpful. I had reservations about shoeing after he’d said that it would make things worse, but I couldn’t help the gut feeling that it was worth trying–with or without the equi-pak. I am quite certain that this farrier does a great job with other horses, but I’ve had a few concerns and while he always addresses them and explains his process, they just don’t look balanced to me and I think that may be contributing.

Fortunately there is no rotation, though frustratingly, there is also no one obvious catalyst, but I think starting with shoes would hopefully be a good start?

[enjoytheride]

Odd as my farrier suggested shoes to see if getting my mare’s feet up off the ground would help lessen impact/bruising. I’d lose months of riding on her in the fall/winter/spring when the ground was soft and wet and she’d abscess during the summer when the ground was hard as well. It did a bit and we upped the ante by adding leather full pads and packing and she didn’t have a single abscess for 2 solid years until I eventually retired her for other issues. She wore them year round and never had a problem.

[Simbalism]

My OTTB mare has thin soles on her front feet. Good quality feet, but even with shoes kind of mincey on even lightly graveled or hard areas. We tried using leather pads to see if that helped, but I do some trail riding and stuff was getting under the pad and making it worse. My farrier recommended using Sole Guard which is by the same company. It is actually meant for bare foot horses and is supposed to stay in place for 2-3 weeks. He showed me how to apply it and when he did it, stayed in for 5 weeks. He knows I am retired and want to keep my expenses down so he had me order the supplies( gun, sole guard, and application tips). I apply right after he changes shoes, and usually get it to stay in at least 2-3 weeks. It is definitely a learning curve. As with most farrier type tools, they are meant for men’s hands. My technique is getting better, so hope I can soon get it to stay on for the whole shoeing cycle. When you get the product, it is about 180 ml. I can get multiple applications from this. It costs about $30 for the tube.

[mayhew]

Five different abscesses, or five abscesses in the same place?