Pads for Frog Support

[Miranda_and_Oscar]

Hi all,

I have seen some older threads about this but they were more situational, giving advice. I am curious to hear people’s opinions/stories of frog support pads. My horse is 17 h, 19yo and very anxious/hot. He tends to be stiff (probably a mix of arthritis, nerves, age, etc) at first until he works out of it.

I bought him a year ago and when I got him, he had front shoes but his feet had been left for wayyyyy too long. They were flat as a pancake and the bulbs of his heel were actually on the ground. He definitely needs front shoes but we slowly started getting them shorter and less pancake-like. We seem to have a good thing going on right now. Our farrier trims them a little shorter than typical and it help him stand with his legs underneath of him (and also allows us to go 6 weeks without them flattening out again).

The farrier has suggested that because he has thin soles and his feet tend to grow out flat, we may benefit from frog pads. He said he has other clients he has done this for and their dressage scores have improved, movement improved, etc. We event but not super seriously (we are taking the fall and winter stress-free so if we feel up to any shows/serious work, great…if not, that’s fine too). But I was just curious if anyone had used these or something similar and what their experiences were. Advice is also welcome This is my heart horse that I leased a few years back when I first started eventing so I just want him comfy and happy! Thanks!

[Frivian]

My horse has great feet, no issues, but last year I started putting pour-ins with frog support pads in his fronts for the summer through fall season for eventing. The ground is so hard around here that he just needed that extra little bit of protection. He goes great in them and his front feet stay really healthy. This year he started wearing the pads in May and will wear them through this month. I really think it makes a big difference in his willingness on cross country.

[walktrot]

Back in 2001 BO and I went horse shopping for me and bought a Paint gelding literally (really literally) off a trailer from Iowa. He was a little thin and his toes were terribly long, so he hadn’t been taken care of in a while. He had been purchased at a sale and had cheap flat shoes on the front. I placed him in the care of the farrier the barn had used for quite a while, who is excellent, and continues as his farrier today.

She started move his toes back slowly, unlike some who try to whack off too much at one sitting. She also put him in a Natural Balance shoe so she could round his toe off more and move the breakover back. NB came out with a “light” shoe, same shape but not as heavy.

At some point fairly early on he was x-rayed and the vet recommended a 2 degree pad because of his pastern angles. The pad is heavy plastic with a triangular wedge that supports the entire frog. It lasts for multiple shoeings, which helps with the cost. The farrier uses medicated packing and adds some powdered copper sulfate and oakum. In the winter he gets borium studs but keeps the frog pads because they work as well as snowball pads.

The strategy worked and his feet have been fine since. I have him on biotin now, but he still needs fronts. He’s 23. and we still ride daily year-round. He rarely has a problem with a little thrush. His frogs always look terrific. He goes very nicely, has done some dressage and loves to jump. He’s a great pleasure ride for me (I’m 69) and is a perfect horse for a lot of reasons. He’ll stay in this setup until the end.

[PNWjumper]

I think it’s definitely worth a try if your farrier thinks they can help.

I tried it many years ago on my TB who has very stereotypical feet (flat and no heel). He lives in wedge pads. My vet suggested trying frog support pads and so we gave it a go. It absolutely and completely crippled him. Turns out he can’t tolerate frog pressure at all. So back to regular pads we went.

YMMV, of course, and I’ve seen other horses do great in frog support pads. But advice would be to keep a close eye on him after you put them on (not that you wouldn’t!).

[Second_Star_To_The_R]

As stated before some horses can’t tolerate too much stiff frog support. I would be certain your farrier is one that could get out immediately if he got sore. Pour in pads are great for helping sole to grow but in wet and muddy or snowy conditions, I don’t like them. If it would be in a fairly dry area, that may be a good thing to try while he has time off.

also, keep in mind there are many shoe options with built in flexible frog support now. Some that can be nailed. If he doesn’t do well with a typical plastic type pad, he may with a softer support.

[IndysMom]

We use frog pads on the winter but pull them in the spring as they cause him to be footsore once the ground firms up.

[RodeoHunter]

Razor Propads + equithane have worked miracles on my pancake foot horse. You can get them in different levels of squishiness. This is after years of trying various wedges, leather and plastic pads, etc. So much more heel now!!

also, the frog part is like an accordion so you can lift it up and put copper sulfate or some other anti thrush agent in there to prevent sogginess.

[Mukluk]

Based on a brief perusal of the internet, it appears that most lily pads offer proper frog support.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=image+frog+on+a+lily+pad&id=66E047F9DF8300ECE7168DB45EF74EE50B94C03F&FORM=IQFRBA

[btswass]

Every horse is different. Mine lives in frog support pads and they have done wonders for him. He has pedal osteitis in his front right and is lame with just a shoe. We tried pour in pads and was also lame in those as he can’t tolerate sole pressure. The frog support pads are just right. Pulling his breakover back has really helped his movement as well. Try the frog support pads and listen to him. He’ll let you know if they are right or not.

[Mukluk]

@Mukluk

Based on a brief perusal of the internet, it appears that most lily pads offer proper frog support.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=image+frog+on+a+lily+pad&id=66E047F9DF8300ECE7168DB45EF74EE50B94C03F&FORM=IQFRBA

And you know, they all look pretty happy too!!!

[EmilyM]

i love frog pads.
Used them on a young horse to get more concavity and address heel soreness. Fixed him up.

Used them for a TB with awful feet to do the same. Changed his life.
Years ago a vet told me part of the magic is that because they add some pressure to the frog, they increase circulation in the foot. This sounds logical. I don’t know if their are studies to prove it. So in my second example, we used it help him grow his feet more as well as change shape.

One caveat: they may irritate a horse that has changes to the navicular bone.