Trimming Mini Hooves

[mgranch]

I am learning to do my horses trimmings myself (4 minis and one big horse) after a farrier lamed my best guy Buddy this year. It has taken 6 months and several vet's visits to get him back on track. Anyway, back to my question!! I have my Son-In-Law helping me and he is a cowboy farrier. Is it possible to keep a mini's feet healthy and nice with just rasping and clipping out dead frog and such or do you have to use nippers and actually trim hoof off?? I do my minis feet often and rarely trim with nippers just rasp and use a hoof knife but my Son-In-Law says that won't work it will eventually weaken the hoof wall. Is he right??

Thanks

Gina

 

[Katiean]

There is a barefoot trim site that I have gotten a lot of info off of. On that site the guy only uses a rasp. I don't see how it would weaken the hoof wall. I use the rasp a lot. I don't think it matters how you remove the extra hoof as long as it is removed.

 

[mgranch]

Thanks I think so too!! I do go to the barefoot trimming websites in fact we have a school near me who has free clinics in the summer so I will go to them as soon as they start up again. I so appreciate your help!!

Gina

 

[Jill]

I would think if you did it often enough, you could do the rasp and not the nippers. We do use nippers. We've been trimming our own horses for several years now. Our farrier helped us get started and for awhile, we'd do them one time, then he'd do them the next time. We also watched a video. I think Harvey (husband) does a really good job and I like being able to do them when it suits us and the horses, and to do a few at a time, or many at a time depending...

 

[Georgine]

I don't think I could keep the hooves looking their best only using the rasp and hoof knife.

I am one of the barracuda nipper purchasers and due to my advanced age, and arthritic problems, they have already justified the price.

I believe climate has something to do with the hoof condition and what would be required with regard to its' care.

 

[minie812]

My husband, John has been doing the hooves with a reg.nipper (we have our farrier out for the big horses) Our farrier is awesome but with his wife having cancer it was sometimes difficult for him to get out to our place. he was nice enough to show John over the last year or so anything we needed to know. When John had heart issues in Oct. that is when I decided I would get the Barracudas for him for Christmas (we did 6 of our minis this past New Years eve. He will not go back to the other nippers now.

 

[MyFriendFlicker]

Google is failing me right now.

Could you possibly link to the barefoot trim site that you mentioned? I found several, but all were advertising type sites, not really informational.

Thanks!

 

[mgranch]

Yes, I'd like to see the website too!!

 

[outlawridge]

IMHO I would never continually only rasp off the hoof wall and parr out the sole and frog. Remember, rasping literally tears and chews away the hoof wall in a large toothed filing motion. Super hard hooves may not be affected but a softer hoof wall would feel some stress of that motion. Plus you would have to rasp every horse a minimum of once a week I would think to keep the amount needed to be taken off at a minimum. Cutting off the hoof, (especially with those awesome Barracuda nippers we just love!) is a clean, precise, and quicker motion. Rasping is constant. I wouldn't like to put a hoof and leg through an extended rasping vibration and motion for a hoof left any longer than a week. It also would depend on each horse, the health and strength and condition of the hoof.

 

[dangerranger]

Try ironfreehoof.com or Iron Free Hoof .com they have good pics and good discriptions. I like there methods but am not convinced that every horse would be better off barefoot.. DR.