You probably are not using him enough to justify getting him shod.
But if you don't mind the expense, they have snow-rim pads that are
put on hooves, between the hoof wall and shoe, that DO work well
for keeping snow out of the sole. The pad is a tube that runs inside
the shoe edge and flexes each time animal steps down and kind of
prevents snow from packing in the sole. We also have pin studs on
shoes with a collar, "ice stud" model, for traction. You NEVER want
plain shoes on your animal on snow, cold ground or ice. He is likely
to slip and fall or injure himself as the cold steel slides on the cold surfaces.
There is also a "bubble" type snow pad, but they will get dirt and mud
underneath, as the ground changes from snow to mud and back again.
So animal ends up walking on a hardened bubble, not flexible like it
should be. Think Tennis ball half under your foot! With no flex, the
bubble pad doesn't throw out the snow packing either.
On bare hooves, you can do the lard on sole, cooking spray, vasaline,
but they only last for short times, less than an hour most times.
Ask Farrier if he can add a bit more "cup" to the sole when he trims, so
it is easier to "flick" the packed snow out when pony moves. If pony
only ever moves slow, walks quietly, they are just unlikely to have
enough movement of the leg to get the flick action going and lose the snowball.
Our horses run and play, trot briskly about, so they are throwing snow
every stride, hooves stay clean on the barefoot ones. The shod horses
also flick out the packed snow with the snow-rim pads inside the shoe
edges. Losing the snow really has a lot to do with how lively the animal
moves around. My old horse needed me to chunk out her hooves daily,
since she didn't run or play much at her advanced age. Especially if it was
a wet snow, good for packing into weapons for snow fights! We have a
tool called an "ice hammer" which is from old times, made to remove
hoof snow build up. Works great with that pointed end, removing hard
packed stuff my hoof pick won't touch. Pointed end used carefully just
chunks out the icy build up.
