The Brits, I think, would tell you that the purpose of the forend is to hold the barrels to the action.

If you're shooting a standard 5 man trap squad, chances are a light glove will do fine with a splinter forend. If you happen to be shooting a "short" squad, you may need either a padded glove (like by Gripswell--I've shot flurries with theirs without any problems) or a handguard on the barrels. Personally, I've never used a handguard. Some say it can hurt the bluing. But I always wear a glove on my leading hand whether shooting targets or hunting, to keep sweat off the barrels to the greatest extent possible.