I have been using these pads about 3 months. I put her on them 2-3 x per week. Frankly, I don’t know if they are helping her proprioception but they have done fantastic things for her feet. She was moving well and working well before the pads and has continued to work well. I often put her on the pads while tacking up. I figured they would be something to help with her core muscling during the winter when I am not riding as much.
She has a small foot. Her front heels have always been contracted and her frogs pretty skinny and her central sulcus deep. This horse is barefoot. She has been trimmed well and very regularly since I’ve had her (17 years). She has always been sound. I do work her in boots to compensate for the rocks we have locally. She hated being shod…to the point of needing sedation so the boots have been a compromise with her. She doesn’t need them in good footing.
To the Surefoot pads…her heels have expanded quite a bit. The central sulcus is filling in. Even my trimmer that has been impressed with the progress in such a short time. She is usually on them for only 1-2 minutes at a time.
They are pricey. They get damaged easily (top cracked, foam gouged) but thus far none of it is extensive enough to affect the function of the pads.
One of my barn mates that is on a shoestring budget bought a gym pad (Amazon has ton). Many are about $60 so about 1/2 the price of a pair of Surefoot. They have some that are a bit firmer foam. Hers has held up well. The nice thing about them is you can get the whole horse on it instead of futzing around trying to get each foot on a separate pad. One can also fold the pad to get multiple layers and change the effect. I am going to order one soon and compare the effect.
My experience so far.
Susan