I am wondering if any of you have any special techniques for trimming hard hooves. You know the ones where the sole won't slough off on its own and the hoof wall is too thick to cut with nippers. I'm thinking about soaking them in water or some type of solution to soften them up. Any tricks that you can share?
Trimming hard hooves
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Margaret
Well-Known Member
Water can be very effective in softening up the hoof.. With very hard hooves I have had to allow them to stand in water prior to trimming for several hours, and with one in particular it required a whole day.. It depends on the horse. With most 20 minutes will do. Have you trimmed this horse before?
I'll try the soaking. The problem for me this time of year is that we have lots of snow and ice. He stays in the barn for the most part and can't really stand in any mud or wet sand. I may have to get a shallow pan for him to step into.
He has those super hard black hooves. He gets good grain, hay, and mineral supplements. My farrier gave up saying they were too hard to trim so I started rasping and trimming on him as much as I could. Actually they look much better now anyways. I have been trimming all of the other minis (6 total) for about a year now too and he is the only one that just seem to be too hard to get trimmed to the right length. I'm very happy with the trimming that I'm doing otherwise, but just want to be able to soften up his soles so that I can trim them properly. I was wondering if I could put on a pair of those little horse boots filled with something to let them soak. ??
He has those super hard black hooves. He gets good grain, hay, and mineral supplements. My farrier gave up saying they were too hard to trim so I started rasping and trimming on him as much as I could. Actually they look much better now anyways. I have been trimming all of the other minis (6 total) for about a year now too and he is the only one that just seem to be too hard to get trimmed to the right length. I'm very happy with the trimming that I'm doing otherwise, but just want to be able to soften up his soles so that I can trim them properly. I was wondering if I could put on a pair of those little horse boots filled with something to let them soak. ??
Jill
Aspiring Cowgirl
What kind of nippers are you using?
We used like $25 or so "mini nippers" for years, but then I upgraded to some nippers that were about $80, and it made a tremendous difference in how easy it is to trim the feet. I never knew it would make that kind of a difference.
We used like $25 or so "mini nippers" for years, but then I upgraded to some nippers that were about $80, and it made a tremendous difference in how easy it is to trim the feet. I never knew it would make that kind of a difference.
Jill said:
Jill is right about the quality of your nippers. A good set are well worth the money spent for sure. Don't give up on em'you'll be happy in the end. Check out a tack supply shop and see what may be on the market for what you're wanting/needing for the sole. Have a blessed weekend. Barb
K
kaykay
Guest
really the key is to find out why they are so hard and solve the problem there. horses that are stalled alot especially on pine shavings get very hard dry hooves. you may want to switch bedding if hes in a stall a lot. i would most definately get a hoof dressing on him
ChrystalPaths
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Our "Fred" aka LindaB is my farrier and 2 trims ago she remarked how hard the kids feet were. It had been a remarkably dry summer. She suggested I make a mud pit.
They were so funny, I found a low spot, drug out the hose and left it run. They kept looking at me as if to say, "Mom, you left the water on!" Then when I had it all full and yukky they looked at me as if to say, "Mom, what do we do with it now?" SO I had to get in with my tall boots and dig and scrape and stomp, after watching me make fool of myself they decided it looked like fun and jumped right in. I had (they had) nice soft muddy feet after a while and mudbathed ponies too! Needless to say Linda said the feet were softer next time.
She hardly trimed any the hard time. She said it just wasn't worth risking hurting one of them I luv her!
They were so funny, I found a low spot, drug out the hose and left it run. They kept looking at me as if to say, "Mom, you left the water on!" Then when I had it all full and yukky they looked at me as if to say, "Mom, what do we do with it now?" SO I had to get in with my tall boots and dig and scrape and stomp, after watching me make fool of myself they decided it looked like fun and jumped right in. I had (they had) nice soft muddy feet after a while and mudbathed ponies too! Needless to say Linda said the feet were softer next time.
She hardly trimed any the hard time. She said it just wasn't worth risking hurting one of them I luv her!
K
kaykay
Guest
i love pine shavings! but i rarely stall my horses so its not an issue. the only time we use them is for show horses during show season. during show season at home we only put shavings in one half of the stall and they learn to only go there. the rest of the time they stand on mats or dirt.
pine is absorbant which is why we all use it to absorb urine. so think of a horse standing on it all day and it sucking the moisture right out of the hoof! This is especially true for horses stalled daily.
if i had to stall a horse daily i would use pine shavings in the corner and then dirt or mats. I really hate straw as it doesnt control smell but that is also an option.
I have to say horses i have seen personally with hard hooves are ones that are stalled alot and especially ones stalled on pine shavings day after day. i dont have any hard hoofed horses but i do know this is one of the number one complaints of farriers and they will refuse to trim these horses. Especially if they give advice to soften the hoof and that advice is not followed.
we also during summer let all water tanks run over. during winter the snow does it for us.
pine is absorbant which is why we all use it to absorb urine. so think of a horse standing on it all day and it sucking the moisture right out of the hoof! This is especially true for horses stalled daily.
if i had to stall a horse daily i would use pine shavings in the corner and then dirt or mats. I really hate straw as it doesnt control smell but that is also an option.
I have to say horses i have seen personally with hard hooves are ones that are stalled alot and especially ones stalled on pine shavings day after day. i dont have any hard hoofed horses but i do know this is one of the number one complaints of farriers and they will refuse to trim these horses. Especially if they give advice to soften the hoof and that advice is not followed.
we also during summer let all water tanks run over. during winter the snow does it for us.
Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the ideas. He is stalled quite a lot this time of year on pine shavings. I've started keeping the shavings mostly in the rear of his stall with rubber mats exposed in the front. I still try to give him enough to be able to lie in the shavings when he wants.
I got a pair of the more expensive 12" Diamond nippers as well as a hoof knife and several quality rasps. I think the $200 has been well worth it! They work very well on the horses where I can get the right angle, just cant seem to get the clippers in to trim the hoof wall because the whole hoof is like a solid piece of granite.
Kaykay: I picked up some Absorbine Hooflex conditioner. It says I can apply it to the entire hoof several times per week. I'll give this a try in combination with periodic soaking.
I got a pair of the more expensive 12" Diamond nippers as well as a hoof knife and several quality rasps. I think the $200 has been well worth it! They work very well on the horses where I can get the right angle, just cant seem to get the clippers in to trim the hoof wall because the whole hoof is like a solid piece of granite.
Kaykay: I picked up some Absorbine Hooflex conditioner. It says I can apply it to the entire hoof several times per week. I'll give this a try in combination with periodic soaking.
Fred
Well-Known Member
You might want to use rainmaker or hoofmaker as they don't have a pine tar base.
The pine tar will actually keep the water out. The only feet I find sometimes too
hard to trim are draft horses as their hoof wall is so wide. If a minis feet are so
hard the hoof knife skids off the sole I don't trim it unless I can soften it up. It is
just too easy to make a mistake. GE nippers are the absolute best but they are
extremely expensive. I go through several pairs in a year. The price tag on them
is $150 or more. Kay Kay is right pine shavings will draw the moisture right out of
the feet [as does dry ground]. Linda B
