Steve Kraus says non-snow pads should be fit around the perimeter of the shoe like any rim pad. A copper rivet in each heel is the customary way to hold them in place. While they can be installed without rivets, the Trumansburg, N.Y., farrier finds it's easier to have the pad and shoe packaged together when nailing.

"Sometimes the front or hind pattern needs to be riveted if it doesn't conform well to the shoe shape," he says. "Occasionally, a hind-pad pattern works better on a narrow-shaped front foot. On very large feet, a toe rivet helps keep the pad in place, especially with a horse that is constantly pawing the ground."

Kraus says the main advantage of a rim style pad, like the Delta Mustad No-Sno pad, occurs with varying weather conditions. This pad is particularly useful in the Northeast when there are weeks of heavy snow, followed by a thaw that turns paddocks into slushy, mushy soup.

"A full pad of any kind will eventually fill up with mud or sand, but the rim style No-Sno pad will leave the bottom of the hoof open and keep the hoof healthy," he says. "This pad will not have any negative effect in muddy conditions, but will still be there when it snows again."

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