Hello. I am looking for any type of a snow guard product to help keep snow and mud out of my horse’s hooves during the winter. I have read that there is a product like this in Sweden and it is used instead of having to place a flat pad on the bottom of the hoof to prevent snowballing in the sole of the foot. It is a rubber like product which fits inside of the hoof. I think that they call them “snow guards” there. Currently, my farrier puts pads plus studded shoes on my horse. My feeling is that with the pad I am now using that there is still room for mud and moisture to get in behind it and pack into the sole. I live in Oregon and have to deal with mud and snow all year. Let me know if you have any ideas.   Cindy.  Hi Cindy. You are correct, there is such a thing as a “snow guard”. However, as you know, you have to have your farrier pull your horse’s shoes and apply the pads. I have found a product that works really well in the wet seasonal conditions that I deal with in the winter and spring up here at Lake Tahoe and Western Nevada. It is called HOOF-it II.  It is a pour able pad which makes an excellent functional snow pad. It is a product that the average horse owner can apply by themselves without needing to pull shoes. In my experience, which is a lot of back country riding in less that ideal conditions; it works better than the traditional snow pad since it solidly fills the sole of the hoof. It simply does not allow water, mud or snow to back fill behind it. And, as I mentioned, you can do it yourself.

Submitted by Cyndee Pryor and United Steele: If one is very lucky, a great horse comes your way once in a lifetime. We all define a great horse according to our own criteria - a horse that can tolerate our inexperience, be patient with children, go fast, go slow, do trail work, arena work, dressage, hunter jumper, or work cows. Regardless of the definition, all great horses share the uncanny ability of figuring out what we want them to do and then do it well. I have been so blessed with such a horse. He came to me with lots of energy and a great spirit of competition. He was capable of listening to me, and I listened to him. We started with NATRC, went into endurance and competitive trail riding, IAHA Sweepstake Competitions, and even tried our hand and hoof at dressage. He took me to many regional and national competitions with ribbons, plaques, titles, placings in the money, and memories. But one issue plagued us regardless of the sport we entered - he had terrible hooves. We would come home from a competition, and my farrier would shake his head back and forth. However athletically gifted my horse was, his hooves couldn't hold up in spite of our best efforts. We tried competing in boots, we tried flat pads, wedge pads, we tried taking off as much of the front toes as we dared. We tried most everything during the ten years of hoof problems, all to no avail. That horse refused nothing I asked except to grow a heel on those front hooves. He naturally wanted to have almost no heel growth, contracted heels, and flat soles. His quarters were always broken away on all four hooves which put too much pressure on the heels. I had to miss important competitions, not because he was tired, needed a break, or wasn’t ready, but because his hooves wouldn’t hold up. Then I found HOOF-it II Pads. I was at a 100-mile endurance ride with another horse and as always, had my eye on anything new that might help US’s hooves. The riders parked next to us showed me how HOOF-it II Pads had worked for them and gave me a catalog. I couldn’t get home fast enough to make that phone call. HOOF-it II Pads have worked wonders for United Steele. After an early retirement, he is back in competition. His hooves look great - even with training and 50 mile rides. After the farrier finishes putting on new shoes, we apply HOOF-it II Pads to all four hooves. The pads fill in where quarters are weak and prevent them from breaking out. I fill in the nail holes to keep his hooves moist, and also use the Hoof-it to fill in around the heels on the outside of the hoof to give more support to the heels on the shoes. We fill in all around the inside of the shoe and the sole area. If it's winter and the horse isn’t being used, I can take the pads off myself without worry of thrush due to the wet weather. When I want to ride, I can easily put the Hoof-it on, regardless of my shoeing schedule. My farrier is amazed with how well US’s hooves look now. He is no longer flat soled, his heels grow and are no longer contracted, and his quarters hold up to the workload. US hated his early retirement, and thanks to HOOF-it II Pads, US and I are quite happy and back in competition.