How hard is it to trim your own horse(s)?

[RhythmNCruise]

I’m just thinking about this due to some issues with my current trimmer (actually with a horse other than my own). She’s great, I love her, but I’ve always wondered if I could trim my own horse. I see him twice a day, every day. I feel like I could keep his tootsies in shape if I took the time to learn how. He’s just a pleasure/trail horse, barefoot, lives out 24/7. He’s got thin soles and his feet will flare and chip if not kept in check.

What would be a good resource for me if I’m thinking of doing this? Anyone who trims their own, tell me your experience. Tell me I can do it. LOL.

[Scribbler]

It’s really really easy to rasp a bit every day. It’s physically a bit awkward at first. It’s much easier of you can have the horse rest on a hoof stand rather than try to straddle the leg like a real farrier does.

I would suggest rasping to start with and then move up to using nippers when you feel.yiu have a sense of hoof balance.

[Willesdon]

And remember: no foot, no horse.

Here on the sunny isles of Britain, there is a three year practical apprenticeship to qualify as a journeyman farrier and it is also illegal (except in the Highlands of Scotland) for anyone other than a qualified farrier to shoe a horse. What’s more, the law is enforced.

[JB]

Assumimg she’s busy enough that she won’t miss a (fulltime) client, then ask your trimmer (because she’s apparently doing work you like) to teach you. That’s how I learned. First trim, she did it all because it was about removing shoes and putting a good trim on the feet. But she talked me through all she was doing and why.

I studied all I could, and over multiple visits, we progressed from her trimming and talking, to her doing 1 front and 1 hind and me doing the other so I could learn how to use the tools and she could talk me through how AND why of what to leave and what to trim, to me trimming all 4 within a week of her coming, then her coming every other cycle.

This is material I learned about later, and wish I’d had it from the start, so this is where I’d suggest you start. The ELPO mapping protocol means you can map, and remap, as many times as you need, without every rasping the foot. When you get it right, it’s all laid out where to take hoof material off and how much
https://www.lamenessprevention.org/site_page.cfm?pk_association_webpage_menu=6600&pk_association_webpage=13307

Get a hoof stand with a cradle. Your back will thank you!

Be prepared at first to work on just fronts, or just hinds. It’s a new way of using your body that will make you cry a little at first LOL

If you trim frequently enough, you don’t need nippers.

[Snowdenfarm]

You absolutely can trim! Easiest way to start is weekly maintenance after professional trims. When they come back, ask what they would change. I have found trimmers very supportive of clients trying to learn. You will be able to stretch out the time between their visits. I still get professional consults every six months to one year. Also, lots of online courses, YouTube videos and FB groups for instruction, help and to develop your eye.

[Weezer]

You may be able to extend the time between farrier visits if you learn how to rasp them properly. But there are so many opportunities to seriously affect your horse by getting it slightly wrong. It also helps to have a professional eye on their feet to catch early warning signs for problems elsewhere in your horse. I would be reluctant to go more than about 6 weeks without having a professional check in on my horses feet. I took a hoof trimming course at college to see if I wanted to do the farrier program. To REALLY know what you are doing, you have to be an expert in horse anatomy and physiology.

[outerbanks77]

I learned similarly to @JB - started picking away at it >14 years ago with some help and oversight from a professional, and a couple check ins with a good vet.

A big advantage to doing your own is that it can be way more frequent, and you can just address any little thing you see right away rather than waiting for your trimmer to come out.

Lately I’ve been following David Landreville on recommendation of another vet, and some small tweaks have been improving my horses’ feet more. He has a website with a membership that also gets you into his FB page.

A couple weeks ago I got fed up with trying to trim hard dry summer feet and bought a little cordless angle grinder. SO glad I did. Not only is it easier on my body, but I’m able to get some areas of the bars and quarters where I wasn’t satisfied with what I could do with my hand tools.

Do buy good tools. Skimping there will make it much more frustrating. Think trying to learn to ride in a cheap saddle that is always putting you in a chair seat.

[Scribbler]

@outerbanks77

I learned similarly to @JB - started picking away at it >14 years ago with some help and oversight from a professional, and a couple check ins with a good vet.

A big advantage to doing your own is that it can be way more frequent, and you can just address any little thing you see right away rather than waiting for your trimmer to come out.

Lately I’ve been following David Landreville on recommendation of another vet, and some small tweaks have been improving my horses’ feet more. He has a website with a membership that also gets you into his FB page.

A couple weeks ago I got fed up with trying to trim hard dry summer feet and bought a little cordless angle grinder. SO glad I did. Not only is it easier on my body, but I’m able to get some areas of the bars and quarters where I wasn’t satisfied with what I could do with my hand tools.

Do buy good tools. Skimping there will make it much more frustrating. Think trying to learn to ride in a cheap saddle that is always putting you in a chair seat.

Tell me about the cordless angle grinder

[outerbanks77]

@Scribbler

Tell me about the cordless angle grinder

I have this one:

Cordless Angle Grinder, Mini 12.6V Battery Brushless Power Motor 19500 tr/min...

I use the flap sanding disks. I’ll say the battery life is abysmal, but otherwise I’m happy with it.

[Scribbler]

How do the horses react?

[Bonnie2]

I’m an old lady with bad hands and I maintain my horse’s bare feet. He has crooked movement and hi/low left/right but good quality wall. Rasping a little every few days has maintained his angles much better than when he was shod and on a 4 week cycle. If he comes in with a chip, I can smooth it out and prevent it from catching or cracking up worse. He is checked by the farrier when he’s in the barn for other horses. Offer to pay your farrier for a quick “rasping 101” and advice on tools. Personally, I would not recommend power tools to start. You may not make a lot of headway by hand but you won’t do much harm either. Wear gloves! It’s a remarkable amount of work. I do either fronts or hinds on a day and always end up in a sweat. Totally worth it - my horse’s feet have never looked better! You can do this!

[Obsidian_Fire]

This is a timely thread as I’ve been thinking about doing some rasping in between farrier cycles for my mare. It would only be hinds, as she wears shoes up front. She is NPA behind and we battle it constantly. We know she trims up positive, and my thinking is if I could keep on her a bit in between visits it could only help.
I will have to study the materials JB linked.

[beowulf]

I am right with you @RhythmNCruise - I made the jump about 10 months ago when my farrier, who I really like, began to cut back on clientele because they are so busy, and asked me to go to a 10 week schedule ( ) . JB is right - it is a new way of using your body that will make your body cry at first. Start small. In my situation, I am just maintaining the trim and not looking to replace my farrier. But it is scary to me how much we rely on hoof health practitioners and their schedules, and I never want to be in the position of having horses needing to be seen and no farrier I trust to see them.

A few things I’ve learned:

1. Start with the hardest hoof/leg first.
2. Never trim to the deficit
3. Take off less - you can always come back tomorrow
4. Take photos
5. Buy the best tools for the job

Don’t skimp on the rasp, hoof cradle, or trimmer quality. You will work harder if your tools are not high quality.

I’m learning a mix of the ELPO mapping and the ABC hoof care. If you are interested, here is the ABC Hoof Care group. I think there is a lot to learn in there, and everyone in there is like you and started this journey because they want what’s best for their horse:

ABC Hoof Care -natural hooves | Facebook

The ABC mapping method is simple and for someone just stepping into the world, as long as you follow the mapping protocol, you can do very little harm to the horse. I remember my first time nipping my heart was going a mile a minute.

This rasp is my favorite of all the rasps I’ve bought so far. I bought the Aggressive Tread because all of mine live outside and have hard hooves:

Cody James Tools - Dymondback Rasp

And JB is right - if you trim often enough, you won’t need to use your nippers.

[FjordBCRF]

@JB

Be prepared at first to work on just fronts, or just hinds. It’s a new way of using your body that will make you cry a little at first LOL

This is an understatement

I learned to trim from my endurance riding barn mate who trims both his and his wife’s horses. He took a couple courses at the local ag branch of Ohio State and spent a lot of time teaching me when I pulled shoes and went the boot route. It was really helpful being stall neighbors because I could ask him to check my work any time. And I did.

Physically…it’s very hard. Exhausting even at first. It would take me an hour for all 4’s and Id be sore and drenched in sweat when I first started. I can get by in 20 mins now. I don’t like going any more than two - three weeks or its a lot to take off with just a rasp. I will also do a super baby trim inbetween which helps too.

You definitely want to have someone how knows what they are doing to work with at first. I have been trimming now for 3 years and will have either my friend out every now and again to take a look or will hop onto a farrier thats coming to my barn for a trim and ask for feedback. Did that about 6 weeks ago; farrier that didn’t know me but said I am doing a good job. He said most people that self trim that have him come check once a year are a hot mess. My trainer had put in a good word for me.

Personally, I have to watch that I keep his heels level. For whatever reason, if I am not mindful, I will end up having higher heels on the insides of both his fronts. I think it’s more of a strength/comfort with rasp and those specific angles to get. When I first started, I was also very worried I’d take them back too much but I’ve gotten more comfortable with that over time.

[JB]

@FjordBCRF

Personally, I have to watch that I keep his heels level. For whatever reason, if I am not mindful, I will end up having higher heels on the insides of both his fronts. I think it’s more of a strength/comfort with rasp and those specific angles to get.

VERY common, even among farriers/trimmers who have been doing it for years. It IS harder to get the insides of feet, especially fronts where you’ve got the horse’s body in the way. But it’s just one of those things, among others, that means you constantly need to check balance

[trubandloki]

To the OP, if you find you really struggle with doing your own, don’t feel like you failed. There are lots of us out here in the world who admitted defeat. I have tried and just never felt like it was something I was being successful at. I am not the most coordinated person and I just could never make it all work.
I think it is great that so many can do this. I just don’t want the OP to think they are the one and only out there that just could not make it happen.

[OzarksRider]

Has anyone used the Radius Rasp from Evo Hoof Care? What are the pros/cons?

This is a timely topic for me. I would like to be able to touch up my horses’ hooves in between farrier visits. I just want to keep the edges rolled but I’m not sure what rasp would be best for that. Any thoughts?

[JB]

I wouldn’t bother with the Radius Rasp. It doesn’t guarantee you do the right stuff, or that you don’t take off too much. Rasping a roll on the outer wall isn’t difficult with a straight rasp. Have your farrier/trimmer show you how to do that with a straight rasp.

[Weezer]

See above comments about the difficulty of getting level or misaligned heels. This might seem like a minor issue but it can lead to significant musculoskeletal problems. A light raps between farrier visits is a good approach to address chips, flares, etc. But anything more really requires expertise.

[Heinz_57]

My experience, having done mine for the last four years - starting with one horse, and now up to four:

It’s not that hard, and it’s very hard, all at the same time. If you already have a trimmer who does good work, and they are willing to teach you, you are starting out with an advantage. If not, welcome to the club. I did not have any professionals around whose work I wanted to emulate and I did not have time to travel to take in person courses. I ended up teaching myself through books, videos, websites, etc. and then having my work critiqued by pros via photos. My horses’ feet have never looked or functioned better, but be prepared for constant and continuous learning!

Your body will hurt. You will cut yourself (even with gloves). You might get blisters. Your horse will have a bad day. Don’t be afraid to step back and finish the job tomorrow.

Free resources:

Pete Ramey Articles:
https://www.hoofrehab.com/Articles.html

ELPO Study Guides:
https://www.lamenessprevention.org/site_page.cfm?pk_association_webpage_menu=6600&pk_association_webpage=13307

ETA: I just want to mention one more thing. You will inevitably feel some judgment for learning to trim your own horses. People who think you can’t possibly know what you’re doing because you’re not a “professional farrier” (for which there are no regulated qualifications in the US). It’s just the way it is.