Any one here trim their own horses hooves?

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woodnldy said:
I learned how to use the diaganal cutters on my dairy goats feet years ago. works good  to.
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You mean the shears you use on goat's hooves?
 
no really they are diagonal cutters like you buy at ace hardware to cut wire. They can be sharpened and they don't take two hands to use. I tried the shears with my goat and they didn't like it at all. the wire citters took maller bites and didn't pinch. Dairy goats can be spoiled babys just like the mini's. my mini's all stand like darlings while i do them. I just need to build them a bench like i had for the goats. Ouch there goes the back again.
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I've been doing my horses hooves for about ten years now
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My regular farrier let me tag along for a few times to show me how to do it and I went from there
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Tammie
 
"Hands on training"- from a long time farrier was how I learned. It really comes in handy when there is no farrier available, to have that knowledge. I also really like to have "both" the right hand, and left hand knife, as it really makes dishing out the hoof an easier job. It has now become a luxury for me to have someone else do mine, unless my back is giving me trouble.. then I know I better.
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I have been doing all of the minis' feet since I first got one, in 1984. About 6 years before that, I got so frustrated with not being able to find a decent farrier around the little AZ town where we then lived, I'd gotten a really good book, studied it carefully(and I'd been paying attention to how my horses were being shod for YEARS), bought some tools, and then trimmed and shod him myself, a couple of times. So-when I got the minis, I already had a basis.

My best advice is to learn ALL you can first, then, buy GOOD tools! For years, I struggled to do a decent job with those 10' Diamonds that are "sold" as mini hoof nippers, but are really nail(as in, horseshoe nail)nippers-I bought my first pair at AMHA Nationals in '91, where they were being touted as being mini hoof nippers. About three years ago, I FINALLY got smart, and bought a pair of DS 12" nippers, from Centaur. They weren't cheap, but are worth every penny! Same goes for a GOOD hoof knife! I use one of those short rasps-easier to use. There are better quality rasps, but I haven't found 'top of the line' to be as important in the rasp as in the other tools. By all means, wear gloves-and if you do very many, a leather apron(I bought a hay apron; if you were actually shoeing, a genuine farrier's apron would be vital!) is an important safety feature, as hoof knives *can*slip! Be conservative in your approach; you can always take off a bit more, but you cannot put it back, if the horse is sore and/or bleeding!!
 

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