There are times when a fresh look at an old problem can make your job much easier.

Equine vet and farrier Scott Morrison was handling a case in which a horse was experiencing bruising over the toe on the sole. He wanted to use Equi-Pak; however, he wanted to protect the area that was sore from direct contact. He turned to his local hardware store for help.

“Sometimes you can put these little felt pads for putting under your furniture (Figure 1),” says the Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital vet. “You can put those little things in the sore areas on the horse’s foot (Figure 2) after you nail the shoe on. Then you can pour it with Equi-Pak. It acts like little spacers.”

The felt pads, which retail for about $4 for a pack of 80, also can work on other parts of the foot to provide protection for sore areas such as when a horse has pain in the bars.

Figure 1, Figure 2

“It’s just a real neat way of protecting one area that’s sore,” he says, “and still use a pour-in.”

For more tips from Hall Of Fame vet Scott Morrison, read “Better Practices, Better Results” in the April issue of American Farriers Journal.