# Pour in pads and bare feet.



## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

I was talking to my farrier about rocky ride options for my thin soled mare. I prefer to keep her barefoot, but that is not going to happen in rocky places. (Shoes also don't protect her sole, which is the danger prone area. She came up bruised/sore almost every ride, even shod all around.) I've experimented with boots. I have a pair of renegades I use for the front two feet I really like, but I can't seem to get renegades to stay on the back. 

My farrier said he was doing just pour in pads (no shoes) for a couple endurance riders and said the horses did well in them. Anyone have any experience? Enlighten me!


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

do you train on rocks ? or is it only endurance rides on rocks ? Glue ons are popular with endurance folks on rocky rides. I have seen mixed results with pour ins and shoes. I think it is all about the prep. The soles must be very clean and dry for them to hold up. 
I think many farriers take to much sole off for some reason, not sure why seems like leaving the sole alone would thicken and harden it.


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

There isn't a single rock where I train. Only sand and grass. Which might explain why her soles are so thin -- not anything to harden them up around here. Heck, I was riding down a little forest service road in Florida with patches of rocks here and here, but mostly clay. Horse stepped on one rock and the rock punched through her sole. :? Had to pull. 


I recently switched farriers. Now I have a guy who does the whole "natural barefoot trim" thing, where the sole is left perfectly alone and the foot is trimmed enough to where the sole makes contact with the ground. Her frog and heels are looking a ton better, but her sole still leaves much to be desired...


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

buy some gravel and throw it down in a bottleneck in the pasture, like near the water, or in a gate opening they go through every day.


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## Fort fireman (Mar 5, 2011)

Venice of turpentine can help toughen the soles up to. I don't know much about the pour in stuff but some pads under the shoe can help to.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Brighteyes said:


> My farrier said he was doing just pour in pads (no shoes) for a couple endurance riders and said the horses did well in them. Anyone have any experience? Enlighten me!



What does he pour them into? How do they stay attached to the foot?

I love pour-in pads (with shoes) and use them for the majority of the season as most of our rides are very rocky. I am having trouble picturing how they would work without the shoes (and the mesh) to keep them in place. What stopped them from just popping off?


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