Equithane Sole Guard..

[hoofinit]

Anybody tried it yet? Did it stay put?
What did you use it for?
We have a thin soled TB that has very little wall left for nails.
Thought about trying the sole guard out until the walls grow
a little more.
Thanks!

[Bruce Anderson]

That would be a good option, I have a horse in it for the same reason. an experiment really. I am on the second setting. first one lasted almost a month, this one is two weeks so far. I'll let you know how it goes

[hoofinit]

Great Bruce!
When this horse is in boots he is happy as a lark.
Can you put boots on them for riding while they have the sole
guard applied?

[hoofinit]

Oh and is the horse a lot more comfortable with the sole guard?

[KarenStandefer]

There are a couple people on the BarefootEnduranceHorse list that have used this stuff with boots. There are also people on that list who have let the horse wear boots 24x7 for weeks on end.

[hoofinit]

Hi Karen,
Thanks for the tip - I'll check out the site.
I don't think I like leaving boots on 24/7 - I think sores..
Nicci

[pickupgirl]

So far I have used Sole Guard twice. The first time I loved it. The second time..... not so much. Both applications were on the same horse. Application is easy and the stuff stays as long as it says, but the second time around my horse was still tender on rocks. I suspect that the issue the second time was that my horse had worn down the hoof wall so the layer of Sole Guard wasn't as thick as the first time.

I am toying with the idea of using Super Fast to create a "shoe" and then using the Sole Guard with that, but I'm not sure how well the Super Fast would hold up to riding. Has anyone tried it?

I am going to try the Sole Guard on another horse that has really tough hoof walls, but gets a little tender on the rocks and see how it goes with him.

[Kaydence]

I'm waiting to hear feedback on how it effects the sole after a few applications because it seems far too firm for my liking. I know it is supposed to be put in fairly thin but if someone gets over zealous and puts in extra sole guard, how lame is the horse going to be?

Has anyone tried putting it in and then removing it after a short period of time? I have one endurance rider who is interested in using snowball rim pads on her horse for protection on one ride and we were debating if she should try the sole guard for the weekend and then rip it out right after instead of using the rim pads (because I'm worried about rocks lodging up under the pad on the ride). Her horse has such excellent feet that I hate putting any extras on him but she's going to a ride with some really nasty footing and is looking for ideas.

Cheri

[pickupgirl]

I'm waiting to hear feedback on how it effects the sole after a few applications because it seems far too firm for my liking. I know it is supposed to be put in fairly thin but if someone gets over zealous and puts in extra sole guard, how lame is the horse going to be?

Has anyone tried putting it in and then removing it after a short period of time? I have one endurance rider who is interested in using snowball rim pads on her horse for protection on one ride and we were debating if she should try the sole guard for the weekend and then rip it out right after instead of using the rim pads (because I'm worried about rocks lodging up under the pad on the ride). Her horse has such excellent feet that I hate putting any extras on him but she's going to a ride with some really nasty footing and is looking for ideas.

Cheri

Is there some reason she doesn't want to use Equi-Pak? For rocky trails I use it on my horse that tends to get tenderfooted. I don't ride as far as an endurance rider (typically only 15 to 25 miles in a day) but my horse does great with it.

I know some people here have had issues with the sole/frog getting spongy and such, but I don't don't seem to run into those problems. It tends to be very wet and muddy where I live (in the Northwest) so I make sure that the hoof is clean and REALLY dry and it seems to work.

[Kaydence]

I'm just a bit north of you so I'm used to the wet too. I'm not sure why she declined the equi thane (the purple stuff would need a pad and she wants to avoid full pads). I've forgotten but perhaps I'll run that by her again and be reminded. :)

Cheri

[lonestar]

Is good...

[THamilton]

I would not try "rimming out" the Sole Guard. It needs the entire sole to bond tofor structural integrity. By doing this, you will weaken the bond and thus increase the likelihood of having it all come out; defeating yourselves.

What would the purpose of the snowball rim pads this time of year be? Is it muddy and snowy? I have used many of these, but never for keeping rocks out of shoes.

If she is looking for more protection but for a imited amount of time, go with the Equi-Pak, then cut that out after the one ride. To me it is a waste of $$ as I would charge her for the time to remove the material after having installed it. If she is worried about fungus developing underneath it, there are many things that you as a farrier can do to alleviate that.

Good Luck1
Tony

[LarkinGreene]

Hi Folks - just a few fyi notes on Sole Guard.

1. Sole Guard is designed to protect a good footed horse on trail rides and possibly endurance events. A horse that is already lame for whatever reason may benefit but may not. It's important to identify the causes of lameness or you're just throwing money at it hoping your horse feels better.

2. People are always applying human ideology to horses and it doesn't always work. Sole Guard is firm to us, but that doesn't mean it's too firm for the horse. Thickness does matter in these applications though. If Sole Guard gets more than a 1/4" thick it will be firmer. If a horse has very deep commissures, you may want to flow some EquiPak in there first, then cover it with SG. Flat feet may require a bit of sole paring to make room for SG. Making a protective shoe out of SuperFast is a good option to make room for pad material on a flat foot.

3. If you just want a few days of padding, EquiPak can work in place of Sole Guard; EPak doesn't stick quite as well (designed for the shod foot) but it's softer.

4. Drying the surface of the sole and frog is critical to getting the full two to three weeks out of the SG pad.

5. Sole Guard should not adversely affect the sole and frog beneath it, unless there is already pathology present. Since it tends to limit exfoliation, the sole depth should increase and help the foot maintain moisture balance.

Hope this info helps. -Larkin

[Kaydence]

What would the purpose of the snowball rim pads this time of year be? Is it muddy and snowy? I have used many of these, but never for keeping rocks out of shoes.

If she is looking for more protection but for a imited amount of time, go with the Equi-Pak, then cut that out after the one ride. To me it is a waste of $$ as I would charge her for the time to remove the material after having installed it. If she is worried about fungus developing underneath it, there are many things that you as a farrier can do to alleviate that.

Good Luck1
Tony


As a follow up to the snowball rim pads, the client's last farrier had moved from our area but they still see eachother at competitions. He'd suggested to her that he'd experimented with different rim pad ideas for protection and the clear snowball rim pads (as opposed to the black ones) have worked extremely well for him on his endurance horses. They provide enough protection and he hadn't had any trouble with rocks getting caught up under them, they were very affordable, easy for the farrier to work with and didn't have the draw backs of a full pad. I just reset her first pair of these pads for the third time (she's on a 4-5 week schedule with this horse, depending on the timing of her competions. She's done two 100 mile competition rides on them if memory serves me and all the training for them.) and they have worked just as she'd hoped.

To clarify on my comment of the sole guard seeming far too hard for my liking, I didn't mean from a human liking comfy things perspective but rather from the perspective that the sole guard, as I understand it, is firmer than sil pac, the equi-thane and I forget what the other ones are called. Not all horses can tolerate more than the sil pac or the equi-thane and after watching how the sole guard was done in the demo we were given at one of the clinics, I can see people going far thicker than that just because they can.

Cheri

[LarkinGreene]

You're right Cheri - Sole Guard in the same thickness as EquiPak is much firmer and that is why we do not recommend it for the shod foot, though some farriers are already experimenting with that on horses in climates like the Southwest where feet are rock hard anyway and can tolerate the firmness.
As mentioned previously, you can combine EquiPak and Sole Guard on deep feet; fill Pak in the heel (deep) area, then immediately follow it with SG.

Over filling SG is hard to do if you set the foot down at one minute...excess pushes out the back or is sheared off by the wall contacting the ground, but still we like to see the fill contained within the white line area. The pink plastic is very helpful in economizing the fill because when placed on top it allows you to move the material around in the first 30 seconds to create the desired fill level without wasting it. It's hard to know until you do it how much you'll need for each foot....suggest counting trigger pulls to find the right amount for your horse. -Larkin

[Kaydence]

I haven't tried any yet Larkin but Moens @ High Country Horseshoes says it is selling like hotcakes so someone out there is liking it. I haven't had any specific feedback from people using it to say what they do and don't like.

Cheri

[LarkinGreene]

There are a fair number of folks who want Sole Guard for fixing their lame horse, and it's not really designed for that, which just means we don't have a lot of experience with it on therapeutic cases. We never recommend covering soft spots or abscesses. Sole Guard is basically for the healthy unshod foot, possibly the short trimmed unshod foot, but it's really meant to protect and support the bare foot for general use and trail riding, and can also be very beneficial to brood mares carrying extra load on their front feet.

[THamilton]

Larkin,

If you are going to include brood mares in late term with extra weight on their feet, why not include horses that have had surgery on one leg and need extra support on the oposite so they do not get sore or founder?

Just a thought.

Thanks,
Tony

[Guy_Buck]

As a farrier that works to many Endurance rides, I am constantly asked about this product. I do not give endorsements easily but I have to admit I was impressed with 2 horses competing at Big South Fork this weekend. Both finished 50 miles with the same Sole Guard that they started with. I checked them at each vet check, the product did wear at the toe and lateral portion of back feet but it stayed in and looked good at the end.

That said anouther horse that started the 30 mile ride with SoleGuard was pulled at the first vet check for a sore foot. The Sole Guard looked great.