# Trimming Your Own Horses' Hooves



## HowClever (Feb 16, 2010)

I have seen someone who trims their own horses feet without any real knowledge under their belt. It's not pretty. 

I have no problems using the rasp on my horses between trims, but I leave the actual trimming to the professionals.


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## Curly_Horse_CMT (Jun 8, 2008)

My farrier went to both farrier school as well as a "hands on" kind of thing with a vetran farrier that he worked under as a apprentice, so to speak. He was kind of rough around the edges at first, but he got a good grip on how to do things correctly and he does very nicely now


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## MN Tigerstripes (Feb 20, 2009)

I would take the course AND find and farrier to work with for at least a little while. In my opinion it is definitely worth it. 

I trim my horses hooves. No formal training, watched the Ramey DVD, read a bunch of stuff off the internet, and had a friend who was more expereinced watch me for awhile. Last summer I had a trimmer/farrier come out to see how I was doing and this year I've had my friend out again. 

One of these days I'll post some pics up in the critique section. Oh and I wouldn't feel comfortable dealing with some sort of "problem." At least not at this point. My horses have pretty easy/normal hooves, so it hasn't been difficult yet.


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## CecilliaB (Jan 21, 2010)

I have known people who trim their own horses and it takes months for these horses feet to be corrected. I think a light rasping between is no biggy but I would never attempt to trim. I know absolutely nothing about horses feet other then they need to be cleaned and preventing/treating thrush


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## kmacdougall (Feb 12, 2010)

I think in order to do it you have to be incredibly knowledgeable and confident in your ability, and while I am quite knowledgeable about the hoof of a horse, I am nowhere near confident enough to do it myself.
My friend's dad is a big time dairy farmer though, and he decided to trim their pony after a farrier made a complete mess.. and ended up getting the pony sound and back on good feet. (THIS IS NOT THE NORM. I am by NO MEANS telling you to trim your own horse.)

And, food for thought, has anyone tried out one of these?
Rider's Rasp


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

MN Tigerstripes said:


> I would take the course AND find and farrier to work with for at least a little while.


If you really want to trim your own horse do this.


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## CecilliaB (Jan 21, 2010)

Never seen that kmacdougall but I like it! I'd love it to practice on Sonata and get her more comfortable with work on her feet and Aidan usually gets flairs in the back (only front shoes) that'd be nice to keep them from getting bad.


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## kmacdougall (Feb 12, 2010)

CecilliaB said:


> Never seen that kmacdougall but I like it! I'd love it to practice on Sonata and get her more comfortable with work on her feet and Aidan usually gets flairs in the back (only front shoes) that'd be nice to keep them from getting bad.


I really like the fact that they're designed by a farrier, and they seem pretty straightforward to use. I'm gonna look into picking one up myself. They're also very affordable!


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## MN Tigerstripes (Feb 20, 2009)

I haven't used the rider's rasp, but I don't really like it. I think it will encourage people to trim without guidance. "Well, I'm using the Rider's Rasp so I can't hurt my horse" type of thing. Besides that I don't really like the square edge, seems it would make it difficult to get a good roll. 

I didn't say this before, but I think it is very important to get input from someone who you know does good work and is more experienced than you. I talk to my friend quite often and she is with an experienced barefoot trimmer for about 4-5 hrs a month. She could explain to me why she was doing what she was doing and I really liked her horse's hooves. Also, keep reading and learning! I go online and read, check out farrier forums, am constantly looking at my horse's hooves and other's hooves. I've considered getting certified or going to a class or two, but money has been very tight for a while here. In the next year when the situation improves I will definitely be taking advantage of some classes/clinics.

Bottom line is that you can't go into this lightly. Learn learn learn everything you can about horse's hooves, movement, and conformation. At the very least if you decide you don't want to do it you will be very knowledgeble with your farrier.

Edit - Just looked at the RR again.. It says it's good for rounding, so maybe I'm wrong about the square edge. I'd like to see one in person. Maybe I'd prefer it over my rasp?


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## Kaioti (Dec 3, 2009)

As a farrier, I will say that I studied for two years prior to taking a 4 week (live in) farrier course. I knew in my head what was right, but knowing and experience are two different things and even with my training, I was admittedly not very good at first. I got good, by studying more and getting under many, many, many horses. If you really want to trim for yourself, take the course (but make sure it is a quality course) and tell your farrier your plans and ask him to help you learn for the next year. He probably won't mind, though he might ask for a bit more money if the lessons take much time, and he can be there to explain everything AND make sure you don't screw up (and help you fix it if you do ^_^)

I don't have a problem with the Riders Rasp. The way it is designed, they make it small, and fine toothed (so no taking off large amounts of wall without a bit of effort) and they are clear about what it is to be used for. It is kind of a good idea, for lost shoes, would reduce chipping a lot until a farrier could get out.


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

I'm going to a weekend course in July that is designed to start people on maintenance trims on their own horses in between farrier visits.

Very excited - And I figure just doing maintenance n between is a good start.


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