I’m just about fed up. Wonderful old farrier hurt his back and sent me over to new farrier. New farrier was excellent and seemed happy to have me as a client. Next visit was scheduled, but surprisingly hard to get scheduled requiring several weeks of phone tag. Then it was cancelled due to a truck issue, no problem, sh-t happens. But now I can’t get him to call me back. The horses are now a month overdue. The real kicker is that two of the three are drafts. Farriers that do drafts are rare, hard to find, and expensive.
All they need are trims, but they really, really need trims. The pony especially since I am watching all of our careful progress with a quarter crack vanish.
The cost of trimming the drafts is eye watering. I hate phone tag. How hard is it really??? Someone talk me off the ledge! 
How good are your spatial relations skills? And your hand-eye coordination?
And then how good are the horses at holding up their feet and not leaning on you?
I have the book. I have all the tools and have on occasion attempted some repair work between trims.
But my big horse will not leave his foot on the stand and I can’t do the crouch and hold his leg between my knees thing. I’m sure this could be trained, but there are only so many hours in the day, and he’s ancient and I’m sure it hurts to hold it in those positions. After 20 minutes I have usually fallen over backwards at least once and am done with this game. If I get hurt I can’t pay for all of his other needs, his feet can just be long until the farrier comes.
I can’t imagine trying this with a real draft horse, mine is big enough!
I touched up my ponies feet when my farrier was out for a few weeks with a medical issue. I didn’t attempt the bigger horses. I did a decent job according to my farrier.
It’s hard to coordinate holding the foot, using the tools and improving usage of the tools on one or two horses. Plus it took for a good 30 minutes a foot, I spent a lot of time mapping and measuring. It doesn’t feel natural. I do rasp any chips, etc.
Basically it made me decide to make my farrier homemade treats and tip really well.
Conceptually it’s not that difficult. Physically it is quite difficult, both strength and precision. If you dont have the strength it’s impossible. Filing is easiest. I can’t shift anything with a knife.
It’s not hard at all. I took two retirees barefoot myself, successfully. I just did 2 hooves per day, vs trying to do 4.
You can do it.
Lots of us can do it. We can be a bit overwhelmed by farrier mystique, but just basic barefoot hoof maintenance is something that most owners could do if they wanted to. It’s about as mysterious and difficult as filing your own nails from time to time (that is, it’s not).
You might feel more confident if you can find a farrier school locally, take a class or a course for some expert teaching and guidance. I had a friend - a small-ish woman, maybe 5’5" 125 lbs - who did this just to trim her own horses. I’ve never seen a better eye for an angle, and I’m picky about farriers. She was so good she ended up with side job, a word-of-mouth client list of barefoot trims. 
Also - trim or rasp? I use a farrier for ‘real’ farrier work, but just keeping a retiree in shape is something that I can do. At one point with a mostly-retired horse I didn’t want to cut off any foot, so I didn’t trim. I bought a farrier’s rasp and just filed away for a few minutes at a time at minor irregularities, as I would with my own toenails and fingernails. On that horse it was enough, he didn’t need anything else. He was only lightly ridden on soft ground at the time.
Do just a little bit every few days. Not the whole thing all at once. Turn it into a much smaller task, done more frequently.
I can’t imagine working on a hoof for 20 minutes. I just file away until it feels like I’m not really making progress any more (not many minutes), and then do more the next time.
Farriers obviously have a very physical job in probably the worst ergonomic position of virtually any job in the universe. I’ve been told by insiders that farriers are like professional football players, their bodies break down over time and they need to be prepared to exit to a second career. The justification for being a farrier is that they make very good money, if they are good at it and in the right market.
Just my experience, but older farriers tend to need time off on a regular basis. Of course they also know a lot about what they are doing, so it’s hard to see them eventually retire.
Look up something called a radius rasp. I have one and it is awesome for between trims. Especially since trying to get a farrier out is so hard since I only had 1, well now 2 horses but still. Hard to get them out. The radius rasp and some rough and smoother sheets of sandpaper have worked wonders for me a few times!
My farrier must be an anomaly.
He’s been trimming my horses for over 20yrs.
I’m pretty sure he’s older than me & I’m 72.
The only concession he’s made is trimming my mini in tagteam with his (40ish) son.
He’ll do the fronts, then son does the hinds.
For the other 2 - horse & pony - he does the pony while son does the horse.
I’ve been trimming my own for almost 14 years now. What happened is, the regular barn farrier was trimming my gelding. The horse had been to the vet for a lameness exam, but didn’t find anything conclusive. I told the farrier he was lame and farrier shrugged and did his regular trim without apparently a second thought about whether he could do anything to help the horse. I took good photos and posted them on an internet forum and got some pointers to improve the trim, so I thought I could get a rasp and touch up a few things. As it happened, I had to move my horse out of that barn shortly after, so I just continued on trimming the horse myself. The first year I had a barefoot trimmer come out and trim and give me pointers about every three months, and I had the horse in to a good lameness vet for hoof x-rays and additional guidance on my trimming. I also did lots of reading online, in a few books, and watched Pete Ramey’s DVDs. My horses’ feet aren’t perfect, but I’d say they look better than most “professionally” trimmed/shod hooves I see around. And I love not being beholden to a farrier. A couple years ago my mare fractured her coffin bone wing and had to be in a bar shoe for 3-4 cycles. The first farrier was amazing, but then he ghosted me, and the second one let her toe run way out. I was so relieved when that shoe got pulled and I got control of her feet again!
I will say draft feet are a lot more work. Even my WB mare’s big feet are a lot more work than my QH’s feet. I trimmed a Shire I was riding last summer and would definitely charge extra if I was doing it professionally!
Also, good tools are almost more important as a beginner. I love Vallorb Spirit rasps. They are more expensive, but stay sharp and don’t require as much strength to bite into the hooves. Also GE nippers and a Hoof Jack are a must. My knives are middle of the road; that is something I could probably stand to upgrade.
I really want to start trimming mine. The final straw was a bad first experience for my foal, who was prepared for her first appointment and would have been fine had the farrier been more gentle and compassionate to the fact it was a young foal. Instead her legs were cranked up high to the point of discomfort and expected to respond like an adult horse.
A lot of places are now offering online courses or hybrid models with short workshops combined with online lessons.
Can anyone recommend any tools specifically?
I have one of these, it was not nearly as expensive when I bought it back in 2019 for my mare who couldn’t really lift one of her back legs. It was nice because I could just sit on the ground next to her, she was beyond bomb proof, and tilt her hoof up and just rasp her gently with it. Now I use it between trims on my pony. It has gotten duller. But for my amature butt that is a plus so I cannot take too much off as long as I am using at least 20% of my brain that day haha. Then I have used a sanding sponge/sand paper/hubs orbital sanding circle paper thingies to smooth out the edges when I am done.
https://www.evohoofcare.com/Radius-Rasp-2_p_15.html
A lot of the online companies sell a farrier kit now. Prices vary but to get started you could get a cheaper one while you get the feel of the tools, the kits have lightweight and professional options depending on your age and hand strength. The lighter versions may not be as sharp but again, then just starting out it would be hard to take too much off then.
The hardest part of trimming is learning how to assess what the hoof needs and to see imbalances and incorrect movement. Before starting to trim I would concentrate on learning about these things first. Until you can identify a well trimmed and balanced hoof it’s too early to start trimming on your own. You usually can’t just trim excess wall without the hoof shape getting away from you over time, so you need to know how and when to make adjustments (if you’re not going to have someone check your work occasionally).
If you already understand this, then you’re 2/3 of the way there and the rest is just getting used to using the tools.
I personally like Heller black master rasp, but alot of people don’t. Try different ones you see recommended until you find the one you like.
I’ve also tried Bellota Top Sharp, SaveEdge, andExim. SaveEdge was great until I got a bad one from the box. My farrier said she got a whole bad box so I switched to Heller then.
Another vote for Hoof Jack. Back saver!
Hoof knife is Hall. It’s good and sharp, however I saw someone recommend bonsai nippers for the frog and got some. I rarely use the knife anymore.
I trim the frog only if there’s some ragged pieces.
It depends on your physical ability, eye, and education. I’ve considered doing it with my yearling. If you have a horse that stands still 'till the cows come home, that helps too. Especially in the initial stages when you’re slower.
Do not skimp on tools. Buy quality (a real rasp, but a radius rasp), and make sure they’re sharp. You should always wear gloves. You can also sharpen your own knives. My last horse has very hard hooves so the trimmer often needed to do this after trimming him. The right tools, can make a difference! You’ll expend a bit less energy.
If you can get them accustomed to a hoof stand, that’s a huge help. Even if it’s something custom for drafts.
I’ve done some of my own trimming in days gone by. Nothing fancy but I kept three horses sound for three years without issue.
Imo, critical factors are the strength of your own body and the relative health of the hooves you wish to trim (presumes the horses are cooperative).
If you’ve got a wrecked spine or a horse with legit hoof issues, it’s worth continuing to farrier hunt imo.
I do understand how hard it is to get a farrier for drafts. My mom has two draft horses and it has always been a struggle to find a farrier that is willing to work on them.
This has always been my concern. With a history of back troubles, I’m worried I won’t be able to sustain trimming my whole herd.
But it’s something I’m passionate about. For a long time, I was lucky to have fabulous trimmers available. Lately, I’m less than satisfied with the farriers available in my area and feel like I couldn’t possibly do worse (with training)… unless my back prevents me from maintaining trim cycles.
Yes. I considered starting to trim my own again when I was having farrier issues. With today’s technology, educational materials are readily available to help anyone interested. But with my back, I’m lucky to be able to muck and ride a little, for now.
Regardless of your eye, you can grab a rasp and take some of the extra toe length off if you’re going to continue to try and call the farrier. Be conservative. You can do this with the foot in the “hoof picking” position - rasp at a 45 deg angle, and take a titch off every day until you’re content that they’ll hold until you get the farrier out.
I’ve been trimming my own by necessity for several years now. Having seen the quality of work available in this area, it was necessary. DH was a good farrier for many years but is “seriously retired”, so I have a coach and critic, so that is very helpful. How hard is it? Depends on how accommodating your horse is, and how strong your back is. Hand strength is also necessary. You don’t have to do all four feet on the same day if you don’t want to. You and your horse may well come to some agreements about how to do the job that suits both of you, which may be different from how real farriers do the work. That’s OK. The work will feel very HARD at first, but don’t let that scare you off. It gets easier.
