Applying Pads With Happy Hoofwear™ Shoes
Happy Hoofwear shoes can be used with any type of flat or wedge pad. Combining the shoe and pad into a package is very simple to do. The two pads used in the following examples are both leather pads. You can follow the same procedure for plastic and/or wedge pads.
FULL PAD APPLICATION
In this picture, the shoe has already been cut to fit the horse’s foot. (See Getting the Right Fit.) Using a sharp knife, cut a notch into the top of the pad to fit the clip on the shoe.
Fit the pad and shoe together. Using two horseshoe nails, drive one on each side through the shoe and the pad so that the nails stick out the other side by ½ to 3/4ths of an inch. Bend the top of the nails over towards the center of the shoe. The exact placement of these nails in the shoe does not matter. They are used only to temporarily hold the shoe and pad together. These nails will be pulled in a few minutes, and bending them over makes it easy to do so.
Turn the shoe/pad package over and where the tips of the nails stick out, bend them to the inside.
Cut the pad as close to the shoe as possible. Any pad material left sticking out can be rasped off when you dress up the foot.
Trim the foot as you normally would.
In this picture our Certified Journeyman Farrier consultant has used Garvin's ISP Ointment*, which has been applied to the sole and frog. This helps prevent bacteria and fungus from growing between the pad and the foot. (*Reference to this product is being provided as informational in nature only. There may be other similar products you as the farrier use to serve this function. Reference to this product is not intended to serve as a guarantee of the product nor is Happy Hoofwear™ affiliated with said product. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.)
When a foot is covered with a full pad, a warm, dark, moist pocket has been created. These are prime conditions for the growth of bacteria and fungus. This empty space left between sole and pad will soon fill up with sawdust, arena dirt, manure, and urine. To prevent this from happening, and to maintain a healthy foot, this pocket must be filled with some type of hoof packing. There are many types available on the market today. Most of them work well so long as they are properly applied. Here is one suggestion from our Farrier Consultant.
In this photograph, our Certified Journeyman Farrier consultant used a material called Sorbent as his personal choice for hoof packing material. He has shared with us that there are two (2) types of Sorbent – Universal and Oil Only. The Universal Sorbent is designed to absorb almost any liquid, including water and urine from the barn or horse. You do not want to use this type of packing under a pad!
Oil Only Sorbent is designed to repel water, absorbing only petroleum products. These two properties make it an excellent choice for hoof packing material. It can be purchased at any NAPA store, under the label “Oil Only Sorbent Pad L -100”*. (Its primary use is for cleaning up oil spills in both marine and industrial environments.) HELPFUL HINT: To be sure you have the correct type of Sorbent: pour a little water on to the packing. It should instantly bead up and run off.) The Oil Only Sorbent absorbs and then holds the ISP Ointment in contact with the sole and frog. It is soft, providing cushioning and shock absorption, yet still transfers the weight of the horse to the sole and frog. It repels moisture and does not break down over a shoeing period, thereby keeping the “pocket” filled the entire time. (*Reference to this product is being provided as informational in nature only. There may be other similar products you as the farrier use to serve this function. Reference to this product is not intended to serve as a guarantee of the product nor is Happy Hoofwear™ affiliated with said product. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.)
The shoe/pad package has been nailed to the foot with two nails, just as you would normally start nailing. If the shoe position is satisfactory, pull the two bent over nails that were used to temporarily hold the shoe and pad together. Finish nailing as normal, remembering to aim your nails a little deeper to compensate for going through the pad.
Clinch and dress up the foot like you normally would.
RIM PAD APPLICATION
The shoe has already been shaped to fit the hoof. To make a rim pad, lay the shaped shoe on top of the pad and trace around both the outside and the inside of the shoe. The bump in the tracing at the toe of the shoe is where the clip has been traced around. When you cut the pad, cut straight across this clip area. The two nails laying on the pad are 7/8” galvanized roofing nails. They will be used to attach the shoe and rim pad together.
The pad has been cut to fit and the roofing nails have been driven FROM THE HOOF SIDE, through the pad, into the shoe. In this photograph the nails are still sticking out so that they can easily be seen. They must be driven down tight against the pad with the tips of the nails sticking out of the ground surface of the shoe. Location of these roofing nails is important. They must be at the ends of the heels of the pad/shoe. If they are located too far forward, then as the hoof expands and contracts, the ends of the pad will gradually be pushed from underneath the foot.
The photos below show how an unsecured rim pad gradually spreads out to the side of the foot and shoe. This heel, and therefore, the leg, is no longer being supported by the rim pad.
Look closely at the left heel. The tip of the roofing nail is sticking out of the shoe. Use a pair of wire cutters, and cut the nail flush with the ground surface of the shoe. The nail in the right heel has already been cut, and so it cannot be seen.
Trim the foot just as you normally would.
Nail on the shoe and rim pad package just as you normally would. Remember to aim your nails a little deeper to compensate for going through the pad.
Clinch and dress the foot as usual.
A perfect fit!