How hard is it really...to trim hooves?

[Heinz_57]

I’ve been doing mine for the last… 4 years? After trying the only “barefoot” trimmer in my area, who I promptly fired mid-trim for being a jerk. Chocomare helped me get started, and I read, watch, and study religiously to this day.

Good tools make a difference. I just got a new shipment in yesterday, and I waited way too long to get a new rasp I really like my Heller Blackmaster, but it is aggressive. I always wear gloves because even after 4 years I still try to shave off the occasional knuckle.

I agree with all the educational recommendations. Less is more at first, if you don’t have supervision. Don’t be afraid to just do a little at a time - you’re not a farrier on a schedule, you don’t need to get all 12 feet done in one day (or even all 4 on one horse). Try to avoid trimming guides/techniques that seem overly drastic, making horses sore or bleeding is not normal.

Sometimes it seems like a lot of work, and it is, but it is also extremely rewarding and liberating. At least that’s what I tell myself on days like today when the 2yo accidentally stomped on my toe.

[candyappy]

@ChocoMare

Since you’re already comfortable with a rasp, get thee a Hoof Jack first. Then a 4" Makita Angle Grinder. Take off the guard, unscrew the flat nut, turn the hard disk over and place a 36 Grit Disposable Grinding Pad on, tighten it down. PRACTICE on logs first, a lot, so you get the feel for taking a hair’s breadth of bark, without gouging. Practice using both hands too. You can do it!!!

Can I ask what you are using the grinder for? I know in the sheep/ goat/ cow hoof trimming world it is a good resource but trimming their hooves is worlds different than our horses. Just curious.

[luvmyhackney]

Sounds like I must be doing something wrong if how I was going about trimming my pony.

Maybe I need to try again, it would be good way to cut back from every 4 weeks to say 8 weeks.

[OverandOnward]

@FjordBCRF

I was able to learn from a friend that took some courses

I first read this as “it took some curses” and thought “yeah same”.

[lenapesadie]

My farrier occasionally uses a grinder. I’m not sure if when he uses it is predicated by hoof hardness or perhaps his own body soreness. It’s just a motor driven rasp I reckon.

Farrier recently used the grinder for the first time on my riding horse. Horse’s eyes got big but he stood for it otherwise. If I had known in advance that farrier wanted to use the grinder I would have exposed horse to it beforehand but no harm no foul I guess.

[FjordBCRF]

[walkinthewalk]

What @wsmoak said:).

Learning to trim hooves is not something that can be done in one session. My grandfather taught me many many years ago; it was a huge help thru the years when money was tight.

Get lessons but, unless you hands are steady and you’ve got good gut instinct for such things, find a good farrier. I am retired and so is my back. I haven’t been able to trim my horses for quite a long time. I have an AFA certified farrier who puts a better trim on my horses than any barefoot trimmer I’ve run across:)

All that talk segways into the NewHorse.com link.

Click on the “farrier” page, then click on your region; hopefully you will find someone. If you live close to a border state, look in that state as well; farriers often travel.

Farrier

I apologize that I have not read all 40+ replies - maybe I am repeating someone else’s suggestion:)

[ChocoMare]

These are the only 2 videos I ever had someone take of me trimming my mare, 10 years ago, but it’ll give you an idea. This was the only time I ever trimmed in shorts cuz it was 99 degrees, with 100% humidity (and this was 60 pounds ago ). I also upgraded my gloves over time, to RanchHand with Kevlar in them.

PENNY TRIM 8 12 005

PENNY TRIM 8 12 012

This was my Clydesdale/Standardbred mare, Penny Lane. Sadly I lost her 7 weeks ago, totally unexpected.

[ChocoMare]

LOL It’s usually the owner that freaks, not the horse. When I meet a new one, I’ll stand about 6 feet away and chit-chat with the owner, while I turn it on/off quickly again and again, each time getting closer to the horse. If they’re gonna freak out, they’ll do it right away.

I’ll then pick up a hoof, turn it on/off, put the hoof down. Repeat. Usually by the 3rd time, I’ll turn it on/off and as it winds down, I’ll touch the grinder to the hoof. I usually only have to do that once or twice and then have at it.

At my peak, I was trimming 70 horses a month (part time, since I have a main full-time job). Out of those only 2 had to be done manually…and within a year, that dropped to 1 because the other got used to it.

[lenapesadie]

Hehe. I was accustomed to the idea of using a grinder so I was ok. The horse doesn’t watch YouTube so was surprised I admit I was very proud of the horse for behaving so well. I know for a fact he hasn’t had a grinder used on his hooves before as he’s homebred.

[B_and_B]

@ChocoMare thank you for those videos! That hoof on your mare is about what my guys look like now, and I was curious to see how the grinder would work on a hoof that is overgrown. I’m sorry for your loss of her.
I’m very tempted to go in that direction with my drafts. A friend of mine, sadly not nearby, uses a Hoof Boss on everything they have. Their theory is that if it is good enough for their expensive show goats, its good enough for the bare foot pony. Which seems appalling at first, but on the other hand, if it saves wrenching on everybody’s joints as you wrestle with hard horn…? Husband looked at it (the Hoof Boss) and said: ‘isn’t that a fancy angle grinder?’ And then I saw your post. It is an entirely different method, but I can see as many positives as negatives with both it and the traditional method.
Reading through all the replies here, lots of great suggestions on tools and approaches.

[B_and_B]

Ha!!! Wonders never cease! Guess who just called to say he can come out Saturday? I would rather start learning how to do this with neatly trimmed hooves anyway and have a farrier who I have good relations with. Now, I will have to be honest and have an awkward conversation with him about how I want to be a client but stretch the schedule by doing them partially myself…

[Incantation]

FWIW, I tried the angle grinder a long while ago, and for me it was not easy to use. I don’t remember if it was too bulky or what. I find the Hoof Boss easier.

[PaddockWood]

What a great thread. I’ve had a conventional rasp for 25 yrs and ya’ll got me thinking it could all be easier? Better rasp designs these days? I find it to be hard work physically. Very hard. The hoof stand helps since you can use force down with the rasp but still. Not work for wimps.

But so important to know how to handle a rasp and hoof knife. The hoof knife to knock down bars that have grown too high. I’ve never used nippers and wouldn’t be comfortable. Cannot imagine driving a nail.

Regular rasp work between farrier visits is super helpful to back up toes and get a foot moving in the right direction. i.e. back under the foot.

Regular rasping and the hoof stand work also helps a horse get more comfortable (if they come with issues) so it’s all more relaxing when the farrier comes.

A skeeel every horse person should have. For sure.

But I’d always want the blessing of a farrier that angles are right - balance. We know it all starts with the foot and balance is critical.

[PaddockWood]

Oh and wear gloves right? OUCH some of the skin abrasions I’ve had when I forgot or was in a hurry and caught myself with the rasp.

[rubygirl1968]

@PaddockWood

What a great thread. I’ve had a conventional rasp for 25 yrs and ya’ll got me thinking it could all be easier? Better rasp designs these days? I find it to be hard work physically. Very hard.

Have you tried the Cody James rasp? I’m afraid I might take off more than I want but I’ve seen it recommended by many people.

They usually use the medium and then a finishing rasp.

I got some of the cheap cut proof gloves on Amazon. Works great and they were less than $10 for a pack of three.

[tabula_rashah]

My brother is a farrier so I’m quite lucky but he’s so incredibly swamped with business that I often do my barefoot guys myself to help him out. I took a 3 month class several years ago and did a sort of apprenticeship with a local farrier, enough that I did trimming for a side business for a while.
Is it hard? Well that depends on how physically hard it would be for you, are you comfortable with using tools etc, are your horses well behaved (ties into the physical), how well do you understand angles etc and can you transfer knowing what the angles should be like to actually doing it

[PaddockWood]

Never heard of it. Sound like I need to order one! Thank you! What other products do you recommend. My hoof knives are ancient and I just sharpen them occasionally but they are pretty pathetic. What tools are in your box?

Do you have the Littlefoot or the Dymondback?

Farrier Tools & Supplies - Cody James Tools

[rubygirl1968]

@PaddockWood, I don’t have a Cody James, just seen it recommended on a lot of the trimming groups I’m in. Most use the diamondback.

I use Heller Black master rasp. My farrier doesn’t like them, says for her they’re too bitey, but I like them.

Hall hoof knife, bonsai nippers, and a hoof jack. I got the medium I think. It’s not as tall as the regular and not as short as the geriatric.

I have a fjord and having his back legs up high isn’t comfortable.

I tend to use the bonsai nippers more on the frog when there’s a big flap and the hoof knife just on the bars if absolutely necessary.

I only maintain between farrier visits. He grows hoof fast.

[ChocoMare]

If you’re like me and have little hands, any grinder out there is too big and bulky – especially cordless. I just cannot use them. Makita is the only one that makes a four-inch grinder that us wee handed humans can easily hold and maneuver.

Thing to remember: Choke up on it. As you can see in my video, I hold over the motor itself. And again: practice on logs!!!

I am training a client to take over the trimming of her 4 horses herself, since she lives quite the distance from me. She practiced on logs for over a month before I let her touch it to a hoof. I still have her practice in between visits, to gain confidence for the feel of it. It’s not a grab-n-go-at-it tool.