One Handed - Hoof Nippers

[REO]

We got different ones. These are not mini nippers, but one handed foal nippers.

It's been great getting our whole herd caught up! I hated the old dull nippers we used to have!

Here's what we bought. They are 10" long so don't hit the horse's bellies during the trim.

http://www.horseshoes.net/mfc/nippers.asp

I do have to use 2 hands with the tougher adult hooves.

 

[Jill]

I inquired directly and was also quoted $120, which sounds reasonable to me based on the cost of our current nippers. But our current ones are "short" so easier to handled. I'm curious to know those who have used these type of nippers, do they fit okay in one hand? Looking at the picture again, I see the point about where the palm is and how spread the nippers are / would be.

 

[Jewels385]

I can't find either website to work. Everything4Equine, Hooftrimmer.org or even Innovative Concepts are not findable. Are these still for sale?

 

[Kelly]

Hi there, I have no idea as this thread is very old. But it is interesting that you bring this up.... I am taking a trim/farrier class/clinic at the end of the month and am so excited about it!! I only want to trim my 4 little ponies. Do you trim your own ponies?? I am reading the Essential Hoof book now.

Do you have any favorite books or tools that you use?

Some good websites that I frequent are:

https://www.lamenessprevention.org/site_home.cfm
https://www.hoofrehab.com/index.html

 

[Minimor]

I am pretty sure that the Barracudas were discontinued years ago. I just bought a new set of 15" GE nippers--they cut easily, and since I am down so many horses now I expect this new set will last me quite a few years. Previously I was trimming 40-some horses regularly, and a set of nippers were lasting 3 to 4 years. Now I should get 9 or 10 years out of this new set.

 

[Abby P]

I trim my own! ELPO is a great place to start, I was able to take several clinics with Gene Ovnicek back in the day and I really like his methods. Pete Ramey is good too. I haven't trimmed for anyone else in a long time but back when I did, it was sort of known that the GE nippers are the best off the shelf, Diamonds are not as good when new but great when rebuilt! But I don't think most people trimming their own would be likely to need to rebuild their nippers often.

I have both GE and Diamond nippers but have been mainly using the rasp since I only trim one pony, I just try to keep up with it! My nippers are old and need sharpening. I did just get a Hoofjack Mini though which is the cutest thing ever. Now I just need to teach Rowan that he's supposed to rest his foot on it like a diva for his pedicure, not use it as a stepstool...

I do find that most other mini-specific farrier tools are not as good as the regular ones so I would stick with regular rasps, nippers, etc.

 

[Jewels385]

Hi there, I have no idea as this thread is very old. But it is interesting that you bring this up.... I am taking a trim/farrier class/clinic at the end of the month and am so excited about it!! I only want to trim my 4 little ponies. Do you trim your own ponies?? I am reading the Essential Hoof book now.
View attachment 43527
Do you have any favorite books or tools that you use?

Some good websites that I frequent are:

https://www.lamenessprevention.org/site_home.cfm
https://www.hoofrehab.com/index.html

I am brand new to trying it. I have 3 minis and 3 regular size. Ordered the Tough 1 Pro spring loaded hoof nipper but the spring was missing! Was hoping to use it one handed just to get the edges off between farrier visits. I also have one mini that was super shy when I adopted her so we're still learning to let people touch our hooves and it not being scary. Would be great to help her. I found the nippers to be hard to use though so have been reading up on how to sharpen nippers. I also have 2 rasps that I think could work okay but just need to cut away some of the hard stuff first. If there were weekend courses or things in person here in MN I'd be happy to take classes. There's a farrier school here that has a 24 week course for about $18,000 with tools and a 12 week one that is under $9,000 with tools. Not only do I not plan to do this for a job I don't have the time for all of that schooling so neither option would work for me. Not a good use of money or time. If I could learn to do it well I'd consider just doing my 6 horses. In the meantime I'm building a Paddock Paradise Track System so long term it will probably wear down their hooves naturally so in the future it may all be moot. I am following one guy on Youtube that I'm impressed with. He seems very skilled and explains things well. Of course I'm aware you can really do damage if you don't know what you're doing which of course I don't. Was just hoping for some sharp nippers to do some trimming of overthrowth for now. Long story why my horses haven't seen the farrier for a few months. Thanks for responding!

 

[Jewels385]

I am pretty sure that the Barracudas were discontinued years ago. I just bought a new set of 15" GE nippers--they cut easily, and since I am down so many horses now I expect this new set will last me quite a few years. Previously I was trimming 40-some horses regularly, and a set of nippers were lasting 3 to 4 years. Now I should get 9 or 10 years out of this new set.

When you say "cut easily" does that mean they're very sharp and can cut the outer overgrowth with ease? Wonder why the Barracuda were discontinued.

 

[Jewels385]

I trim my own! ELPO is a great place to start, I was able to take several clinics with Gene Ovnicek back in the day and I really like his methods. Pete Ramey is good too. I haven't trimmed for anyone else in a long time but back when I did, it was sort of known that the GE nippers are the best off the shelf, Diamonds are not as good when new but great when rebuilt! But I don't think most people trimming their own would be likely to need to rebuild their nippers often.

I have both GE and Diamond nippers but have been mainly using the rasp since I only trim one pony, I just try to keep up with it! My nippers are old and need sharpening. I did just get a Hoofjack Mini though which is the cutest thing ever. Now I just need to teach Rowan that he's supposed to rest his foot on it like a diva for his pedicure, not use it as a stepstool...

I do find that most other mini-specific farrier tools are not as good as the regular ones so I would stick with regular rasps, nippers, etc.
[/QUOT

Thanks for the ELPO recommendation. I'm in MN and traveling there is not realistic for me. I'm also doing a lot of other trainings that are expensive and time consuming so it really is not in the cards for me. I wish there were some online courses just for some good overviews. I've been watching some Youtube videos and then will go and look at my horses hooves which is helpful. I have 3 big horses and 3 minis. My situation is a bit of a long story and I'm working on not being so verbose! So I'll spare you details except to say I'm looking to do some trimming between farrier visits as I complete my Paddock Paradise Track System and hope it'll wear down their hooves naturally.

 

[Minimor]

Yes, the GE nippers are very sharp, and cut easily.

 

[Abby P]

So if you're just learning I would highly recommend not starting with nippers! They take some practice to use well and you can take off a lot of foot really fast and therefore do more damage more easily. I find when people are learning to trim, the rasp is perfect, they get tired before they could possibly hurt their horse. So it's a good safety net. If you find that the feet are too hard to make any headway with the rough side of a sharp rasp, then wait for wet weather or use the fine side. That will make it a lot easier to get something off the foot with the rasp. But again, I wouldn't just start randomly rasping on their feet until you can get a bit of instruction, with the exception of rounding off an obvious chip or some such.

It's doubtful that your horses will wear their feet enough in the track system that they won't need to be trimmed, unless the track is on decomposed granite or some very abrasive surface. Even then - they don't generally wear them evenly and will still need to be balanced and maintained. We just don't have the kind of footing here in the US that really lends itself to self-maintaining feet unless the horses are traveling many many miles a day.

You shouldn't need to go to farrier school to learn to trim - you may be able to find someone locally who can show you, or attend a clinic or two. There are some good options out there.

 

[Taz]

I've been trimming my own for a few years now. I started with Maureen Tierny. She has a book and dvd that give lots of info but nothing complicated, very easy to follow. She also does online help. You can send her pictures and she'll mark them up and tell you what needs to be done if you're not sure. Yes, rasp before nipping until you are more comfortable knowing what you're doing.

 

[Jewels385]

So if you're just learning I would highly recommend not starting with nippers! They take some practice to use well and you can take off a lot of foot really fast and therefore do more damage more easily. I find when people are learning to trim, the rasp is perfect, they get tired before they could possibly hurt their horse. So it's a good safety net. If you find that the feet are too hard to make any headway with the rough side of a sharp rasp, then wait for wet weather or use the fine side. That will make it a lot easier to get something off the foot with the rasp. But again, I wouldn't just start randomly rasping on their feet until you can get a bit of instruction, with the exception of rounding off an obvious chip or some such.

It's doubtful that your horses will wear their feet enough in the track system that they won't need to be trimmed, unless the track is on decomposed granite or some very abrasive surface. Even then - they don't generally wear them evenly and will still need to be balanced and maintained. We just don't have the kind of footing here in the US that really lends itself to self-maintaining feet unless the horses are traveling many many miles a day.

You shouldn't need to go to farrier school to learn to trim - you may be able to find someone locally who can show you, or attend a clinic or two. There are some good options out there.

I tried the rasp first hoping that's all I need and the hooves the 3 horses I tried it were absolutely way too hard. Their hooves are way too long and the more I learn about hooves there's no way I could cut off too much. Their over growth is embarassingly long. Please trust me when I tell you that the rasps will NOT do anything. Total waste of my time.

I'll need to agree to disagree with you on the track system naturally trimming their hooves. Are you familiar with the Paddock Paradise Approach? It follows what the author learned by watching horses in the wild. The Facebook group I follow has over 17,000 members from all over the world including the US and everyone says their track system helps cut down on farrier visits, especially those that have invested in different hard surfaces. I'm disappointed by your opinion to be honest.

 

[Jewels385]

I've been trimming my own for a few years now. I started with Maureen Tierny. She has a book and dvd that give lots of info but nothing complicated, very easy to follow. She also does online help. You can send her pictures and she'll mark them up and tell you what needs to be done if you're not sure. Yes, rasp before nipping until you are more comfortable knowing what you're doing.

Thanks for the info.

I tried rasping and I stopped after the third horse's hooves were WAY WAY WAY TOO HARD. Please believe me when I tell you this. It was a complete waste of my time trying it. Very frustrating.

 

[Minimor]

Key words there --"cuts down on farrier visits"....that is different than "eliminates farrier visits".

 

[Jewels385]

Key words there --"cuts down on farrier visits"....that is different than "eliminates farrier visits".

Actually I put a post up in the group inquiring about people's experiences with their track and how often they need a farrier. The record response so far is 8 year no farrier. All depends on what surfaces the track has.

 

[Taz]

Thanks for the info.

I tried rasping and I stopped after the third horse's hooves were WAY WAY WAY TOO HARD. Please believe me when I tell you this. It was a complete waste of my time trying it. Very frustrating.

If you have the time and strength you might get it to work...I don't! If you can nip off some you can rasp closer to the foot without worrying about getting it wrong or just follow the sole and leave about 1/8th inch above the sole on heels and 1/4's. As long as they're feet don't have any issues like sheared heels it's a very straight forward trim. That doesn't help with what this was originally about....nippers. I've never tried one handed nippers. Whatever nippers you use you want to be flat when you look across the cutting edge. I use a Hoofjack hoof stand for my big guys so I can use two hands to nip and hold my little ones and position the nippers one handed (hold near the cutting end) and then nip one handed or start to close them one handed then use two while the nippers hold the foot up. I hope that makes sense. If their feet are really hard and long you need to get them standing in mud or water and they'll soften up enough to be easier.

 

[BSharpRanch]

Two things here.

RASPS...buy very good rasps, Heller Black is what I use. These rasps are SHARP! They run around $30+ depending on where you buy them, and will definitely cut through the hoof and skin. Always wear good fitting gloves. Cheap rasps aren't even worth throwing away, they will hardly go through a soft foot and skin.

As for not wearing hooves, I had a friend that had a donkey and a mini in about an eighth acre corral I would go out once every six months and spend about 5 minutes total to rebalance. It wasn't much. His ground was a mix of sand and decomposed granite. He had a small enclosure that was matted for food time.

Buy the best tools to get the best results is my advice.