I had a horse in pour-in pads for almost a year, and had no trouble with problems under the pads.
The ‘8 month to a year’ mark is generally where mine all fall apart. I try to pull the pads before then, but in the case of 3ds and pour ins, you can lose a lot of progress in a short period without the frog/sole pressure. It’s a catch 22.
In my case, the need for pour in pads was based on a traumatic injury to the structure of the hoof. By the end of “almost a year” the defect had grown out, and the pads were no longer needed.
1 Like
I had a horse who wore pads for 2 years with no breaks. Completely stopped any and all abscess issues. Leather pads with packings, we could get several resets out of the leather pads. Only reason the pads came off was the horse had a different issue elsewhere.
My young one has very soft feet in front. Putting pads on, with a special material my farrier developed squished in underneath, has made him a much happier kid. No more little pony trots, and he is obviously more comfortable. He’s had them on for several cycles now and there have been zero issues with anything getting in there, no thrush, nothing.
We are hoping we can get his feet to be a bit harder and healthier over time with diet changes, but if he has to stay in pads I have no problem with it.
My farrier mixed copper sulfate with silicone and applies it before putting shoes with leather pads on… the foot stays very healthy under the pads this way (and it keeps dirt out).
1 Like
