I have tried vasoline and I have tried pam cooking spray to no avail. Any other suggestions (without pulling shoes) on how to keep or lesson the snow/ice balls from forming in the hooves.
Have your farrier put these on under the shoes. Really work! the “tube” compresses and just pushes out any snow or ice.
http://www.wolfdenfarm.ca/images/pads.jpg
cool…especially since my farrier comes on friday…are they very pricey? (i do have a really good farrier, he’s not cheap, but ball park helps)
They’re cheaper than hospital or vet bills.
I ‘think’ I recall having used this type, have also used the full pad with the little ‘tennis ball’ type bump in the center that pops the snow out before it can build to excessive levels.
When I was hunting regularly in VA- snow pads and borium were standard, every winter.
I love these pads! Put my guy’s set on a few weeks ago. I believe they were $30 or $40/pair (and my farrier isn’t cheap either). That w/ the drive-ins added up, but worth it if it helps.
[QUOTE=lindasp62;4611502]
Have your farrier put these on under the shoes. Really work! the “tube” compresses and just pushes out any snow or ice.
http://www.wolfdenfarm.ca/images/pads.jpg[/QUOTE]
Buy them yourself (that’s what I did) for $10 a pair http://www.centaurforge.com/Mustad-Blue-Anti-Snowball-Rim-Front-Pad/productinfo/07501/
They are amazing. My horse is the only one who doesnt’ have terrble snowballs in his fronts (all the horses are bare foot behind right now). He has aluminum shoes, so no borium for us, but these have been GREAT!
Our whole barn used the “tube pads” for a winter a couple of years ago. They worked just fine but several of us had to have the shoes pulled and the tubes replaced when they broke or worked loose.
I think that the full rubber pad with the little “popper” bump in the middle works very well and seems to stay put. We ride all winter here in Michigan and full studs and snow ball pads are the only way to go.
Good Luck!
Do you have problems with thrush with the full popper? My farrier said that he’s seen the packing (farriers) put in work out and then junk gets under the popper pad and causes terrible thrush.
Someone else mentioned on a thread that they had a popper invert and cause a bad sole bruise.
I’m just curious…I have no first hand experience with the popper pad.
how well do the tubes hold up?
my horses are turned out about 12+ hours a day, rain, shine, sleet, snow. Does that effect how well these work or last? my horses are on a 5-6 week schedule for shoeing too
I used the full pads w/poppers for years- my horses were out 24/7 on 5 acres, clipped and blanketed and with access to the barn. Never had a thrush problem, never had a bruising or inverted ‘popper’ problem, the same set of pads held up for the entire winter season, and I was hunting hard 2-3 times per week. The packing never pulled out- maybe that’s a farrier capability issue!
Used the tubes here in Utah- again horse out w/access to barn. They worked well and lasted me the season- not as much hard hunting/ hard riding, though. I do recall little breaks in the tubes once- but it didn’t seem to affect the snow removal effectiveness.
My farrier actually rivets the tube ones to my horses shoes and they seem very secure…I have never had one move or get displaced at all. He told be he had seen where farriers just fit them under the shoe and nail them on, but he does not recommend that approach. I think they are great, not only for riding, but also my horses seem more active and confident playing in turnout. At the end of the season, if the shoe still has a lot of wear time, he has me just store those shoes until the next winter and I start the next snow season with the shoes he removed the previous season.
[QUOTE=TrotTrotPumpkn;4612319]
Do you have problems with thrush with the full popper? My farrier said that he’s seen the packing (farriers) put in work out and then junk gets under the popper pad and causes terrible thrush.
Someone else mentioned on a thread that they had a popper invert and cause a bad sole bruise.
I’m just curious…I have no first hand experience with the popper pad.[/QUOTE]
With these “full coverage” type pads, I have had problems in the past with sand, mud, dirt, etc getting trapped under the pad…not good! Stick with the tube ones…nice and open on the sole to let the sole be healthy with no trapped build up of anything!
As for the price, I cannot remember exactly, as both of my guys are barefoot now, but certainly worth whatever price!
I think ice deballing horse hooves is like waxing cross country skis, where it depends on the snow, the horse hoof, the terrain…the temp now and the temp an hour later…The snow under a full moon, …
Just like waxing skiies! An art form if you will…to be discussed for all time…
I use just the plain flat pads without the ball and do very well with the snow problem. Around here (Montana) they are much cheaper than the official ball “snow pads”. I do all 4 feet because I need all shod d/t the rocks etc.
One of the vet supply catalogs or dog supply catalogs had an ad for an animal-friendly de-icer on the back cover. I’m sorry, I didn’t pay any attention to the catalog – just the ad caught my eye.
The last time it snowed here (three years ago), my dog’s legs were like elephant legs with ice balls all around them. I spent the whole day blow drying his legs! So, I noticed the ad and thought that would be a cool thing to have on hand if it ever snowed again.
But I would think it would work on horses too. It was supposed to prevent ice balls as well as melt them.
When I lived in Maine, we had no choice… pads or go barefoot.
I also use the rims, but they are very inexpensive in relation to the shoes and saving your horse from ice balls. They still get them, but they pop out much easier when they move. If you buy the pads through your farrier, they may charge more, but i just buy them on line directly from a farrier supply place (there are many) and they were between $10 - 15/set. So I buy extras to have onhand.
gel stuff?
my farrier squeezes a blue gel into his hooves. It hardems like a pad and nothing gets underneath. His hooves have no issues when i pull them in the spring. Have no trouble with it making it between appt.s or causing shoes to pull.
Probably cost the same as snowball pads. Not cheaper - just works better.
Any chance you can remember the name of the “blue gel” FatOrangeHorse?
huh…go figure. my farrier had the rim pads. he’s an excellent farrier but never mentioned the pads before. when I asked him about them…he said “yeh” those are standard…why haven’t we put them on your horses before". I laughed, and said “cuz at the last barn, my horses were never out enought to get the ice balls, or weren’t turned out at all!”. he had them all ready for my horses and made sure he added to his notes for next year to start putting them on in december…
and of course, it’s been warm and all mud since he’s put those one!
