Articles:
What is Natural Hoof Trimming?
How To Feed The Feet Right Off Of Your Horse
Tools You Will Need to Perform a Maintenance Trim
Looking for Custom Made Farrier Chaps?
Tools You Will Need to Perform a Maintenance Trim
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This page is intended for those of you who have chosen to trim and maintain your own horses feet. More than likely you have been instructed on how to do this by ourselves, videos we have recommended, or by another natural hoof care practitioner. You may also check out our new , " How to Perform a Maintenance Trim " (to come) page for instructions on how to do a two to three-week maintenance trim once a setup trim has been performed. The tools that we recommend are the same tools that a farrier would use, and the same tools that we use in our practice. We've tried to find a balance between cost, quality, and longevity, and we have tried a number of different products before settling on those that we will be recommending here. |
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Gloves This is the first tool that you simply cannot do without. When trimming horses feet, you will be using some very sharp tools. If you are using very dull tools, you probably won't need the gloves, but you probably won't get much trimming done either. So, use sharp tools and get good gloves. We have tried many different gloves from our local feed stores and places like L&M Fleet Supply. We have tried pigskin, goat, deerskin, and cow leather gloves. Unfortunately, these days most of these leathers are coming from China. The quality varies wildly. We have found that most of the pigskin and deerskin leathers are far too thin, and tear or cut too quickly. On the flip side, the thinness gives your fingers a lot more flexibility and a wider range of motion. Cow leather gloves tend to be much thicker making handling your tools a lot more cumbersome, but providing better cut resistance. Your main threats for cuts are the hoof knife, and the rasp, your two primary tools for maintenance trims. We are currently using some pretty decent goat skin gloves that we found at L&M Fleet for about 6 to 8 dollars a pair. My most recent pair has lasted me about 20 horses, but I have now cut and rasped them to the point that I will need to replace them before my next trimming session. It really comes down to a question of how frequently you are using them, or damaging them to the point that they need replacement. The gloves you see at right are just about ready to be replaced. |
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Hoof Pick and Brush |
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Hoof knives One of the two most essential tools for maintaining your horses feet. If you go shopping for knives, you will be met with a dizzying array of manufacturers, quality, and prices. Trying to sort them out can be a frustrating ordeal, but we have done some of the work for you and are going to make a recommendation. As usual, we are interested in a good combination of quality and price. We have seen hoof knives go for as little as three dollars each and for as much as $150. The knives also, come in different widths, lengths, and thicknesses. We have tried a number of different knives, but nothing that costs $150… yet. The knife we are going to recommend combines that ideal of economy and quality that we are looking for. Someday when we are rich and famous we may pop for the $150 knife, but today I feel a lot more comfortable spending about 10 bucks. For those of you who are occasional hoof trimmers, this knife could last you a lifetime, if you take reasonable care of it. The knives are made in Sweden by a company called Mora of Sweden. The quality of the steel is very high and these knives hold a pretty good edge. Depending on how clean the horses hooves are this knife might trim two to three horses before it needs to be sharpened again. Conversely if the hooves are not cleaned well before using the knife, it can dull very quickly. |
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| You can see that the edge of the knife is not straight. The curve that is put in the blade of the knife approximates the concavity that you find on the sole of a healthy hoof. See the picture at right to get an idea of the curve. The knives we are recommending are a good length and thickness for working on most horse hooves. If you have a draft horse, or a horse with very large feet, you may need to purchase a knife with a longer blade. But for most people, this blade is perfect. You will also notice that there is a hook at the end that is also sharpened. This hook gives you the ability to trim the cleft between the sole and the frog and open the small channel there to prevent dirt and crud from packing in there as easily. It also affords a way to clean the deep pockets on either side of the widest part of the frog. |  |
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Most hoof knives are either right-handed or left-handed. We are looking into another knife made by Mora of Sweden that is supposed to be a two edged knife. But we don't know where to get them yet and we don't know what the cost is. So for now, we recommend that you buy one each of the right hand and the left-handed Eric Frost hoof knife. You can purchase them from Jeffers Equine for about $10 each plus shipping. Knives can be ordered here . |
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The RaspThis is the second of the essential tools you will need for trimming. We have tried several brands and sizes with varying success. Most decent rasps will cost from $15.00 to $25.00 each and will last for 15 or 20 full-horse trims on dirty hooves. They will last much longer on clean hooves...keep that in mind. In reality you can get a lot more than 20 trims on a decent rasp, but you will notice that they don't cut as well as they age, meaning you will be working harder. We have had good luck using Save-Edge brand rasps and Skyler is developing a preference for the Simonds Black Master rasps, which have an extra row of teeth that reduce some of the resistance when making cuts. Any rasp will do, but the cheap Chinese rasps aren't even worth the shipping cost. Do yourself a favor and buy a good one first.. check the internet for suppliers. |
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Hoof Knife Sharpeners If you are going to use a hoof knife you will need a sharpener of some kind. the most basic hoof knife sharpener is simply a chainsaw file that you can buy at your local hardware store for less than $5.00. Stick it on a cheap handle and you're all set. If you want an even finer edge you can purchase one of many brands of diamond plated sharpeners. We tend to use the chainsaw files for rough sharpening and then fine tune the edge with the diamond sharpener. We can't say enough about having a sharp hoof knife, especially if the sole is hard and dry, or if you need to do some work in the frog. You can buy diamond sharpeners at Jeffers Equine for about $12.50 + shipping. |
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Making Natural Hoof Care Work for You If you are going to trim your horses feet you might as well know something about what you're doing. This book was written for people like you, to gain an understanding about horse feet, how they work and how to keep them healthy. Coupled with Pete's website this book will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about how to keep your horse sound using natural trimming techniques and management practices. A TON of new material has come out since this book was published and we know more than we have ever known about what makes horse feet tick. This book is an excellent primer for those of you just getting started in trimming your own feet. It is a MUST HAVE addition to your tools. You can order it new or used from Amazon.com....here. |
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Farrier Chaps (optional)Nobody likes to see their clothes ruined and let's face it...a horses feet don't live in the cleanest environment most of the time. Farrier chaps don't have to be anything fancy, but they can be if you want. Their basic function is to protect your legs from being soiled and to add another layer of protection against being cut, rasped, or kicked. We custom make our farrier chaps and can add pockets to hold tools wherever it works best for us. For the casual trimmer that only really needs a pick and a rasp, pockets are probably unnecessary...get a simple pair of chaps and you should be good to go. You can order them through Jeffers Equine for about $52.00 + shipping. If you are interested in a pair of custom made chaps please check out our custom made chaps . |
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Hoof Stand (optional)We call these items "back savers". This is one of those tools that, when it works well, it makes trimming much easier. How effective a stand is will depend a lot on the horse you are trimming. We feel that any horse can benefit from using a stand, but some will have to be trained to use it first. A stand can provide stability while working for both you and the horse. The horse can now put some weight on the leg, if necessary, without leaning on you...which is pretty common among horses. Stands aren't cheap and we have seen home built units going for about $100.00. Our hoof stands are made by Hoof-It and cost about $160.00 + shipping. |
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