anyone with horses...?

Question

Do you trim their hooves yourself. What kind of classes did you have to take. I dont want to do it as a career I just want to save a bit of money and have the satisfaction of doing it myself.

My dad used to do it when I was a kid but being a kid I didn't really pay attention to what he was doing. I have all of his tools still.

Answer 1

I agree and disagree with Katie.
I used to trim my horses hoofs and remove the old shoes myself.
The farrier I used was really nice and helped me figure out how to do it correctly. Not all farriers will be so nice. I still used him to actually put their shoes on.
In the off season I would remove the shoes and just trim their hoof every 6 weeks.
I also had horses that were very accustomed to having their feet handled (I started ground work on them from the day they are born) I learned how on them.
When I first started, they would stand with one foot in the air (or on the stand) for hours to let me mess with them.
A TAME HORSE IS A MUST. I weigh 120 lb and I wont fight with a 1000 lb horse.
The tools you need are really cheap, and you only need a pick, rasp and hoof clippers. I even used one of my old brushes to buff the hoof out when I was done.
It will definitely save you money if you do the simple, basic care yourself.
You will still need the farrier to do any repairs to the hoof (like a split) and the actual shoeing, but the rest you can do yourself.
This is also why you will need a really nice farrier that wont think you are taking his business away from him.

Note: I dont know where "up all night" got his tools, but mine were from the CoOp and they were really reasonable in cost.

Answer 2

I rather spend 30-50 per trimming per horse on a good farrier.

However, if you insist no matter what anyone says on here. I recommend you attend school.

Call your local vet who should have a list or able to obtain a list. Or discuss where your farrier went prior. I would attend a school, not "class's" or "clinics".

When comes to horses, I attend the best of the best before I even do anything to my horses that will affect them permanently like their hooves or anything medical.

I want to stress very importantly that even the best farriers can mess up. I also want to stress very importantly that you won't know how to correct some mistakes that takes years to figure out or learn. That your horse might need a special way of doing so and you having obtained the knowledge and updated schooling on it.

My trimmer always goes to schooling and attends all he can. No matter how many years you have or no matter how many class's you taken or how many horses you done, you are always needing more education.

http://www.netpets.org/horses/horserv/farriersch.html

Some information and locations I have came across.

If in California, Cal Poly is an amazing University to attend for it. I been there a few times prior for Equine related things.

Answer 3

Do not do them your self just to save money.

However, I do know people who trim their horses feet themselves. Partly because they are really particular about feet, and partly because we live in an area where a farrier that knows how to do a proper barefoot trim is hard to find, and they usually tend to either be impossible to get a hold of, booked solid, or like to stand you up.

I've actually seen them do some rehabilitative trimming on horses with navicular. There was this horse who LITERALLY couldn't walk properly, and a few trims later he was running around the pasture, and within the year was starting light work under saddle again.

I've tried trimming my horses hoofs, but my horse isn't very cooperative if the foots up longer than 2 minutes and my back couldn't take it. If you want to trim yourself, I recommend a light trim every 3 weeks. Its easier than a big one every 6, and on three weeks you should never need clippers, just right and left hoof knifes and a rasp.

If you Trim yourself, you need to develop an eye for feet. You need to be able to recognize proper angels, whether the foot is inside high or out side high, etc. Once you know what a properly trimmed foot looks like, you may be surprised at how many horses' feet aren't trimmed well.

The person I know who trims her own horses was taught by her stepmother who was taught (i think) by someone she had come out a couple times to teach her. They both do a lot reading about horse hooves.

you might want to look at this site: http://www.barefoothorse.com/

Answer 4

I wouldn't recommend doing the horses feet yourself. The hoof is the most important part of the horse, and they need to be trimmed properly in order to keep your horse well balanced and healthy. If the hoof is trimmed incorrectly or out of balance, it places greater stress on the other parts of the body, especially the tendons and muscles in the leg. Sometimes it takes a while for the signs to show, but they will show. If you are really insistant on doing them yourself, may I suggest getting the farrier in every second time to make sure they are done correctly, and you just trim them up a bit.

I live in Australia, and they actually do training for it over here, not sure of cost or length of course though.

Good Luck

Answer 5

i think every horse owner should have the tools and knowledge to pull a shoe and do enough trimming to prevent further damage and maybe routine knock off the chips and rough spots. beyond that and you need some real training unless you are willing to damage your horse. any good farrier should be willing to teach you the basics and tell you what you need to buy. after all it will save him work and might save your horse injury from a loose ot torn shoe. a basic tool set would be a rasp, hoof knife, nipppers, clinch cutter, and pulling pliers. maybe a $100 or so new. you do not need top of the line stuff since you arn't using them every day. just something serviceable.

Answer 6

Our local community college offered noncredit courses on horseshoeing. I don't see that you save any money taking courses unless you owned multiple horses at the same time.

Answer 7

i do mine myself but i had the luxury of having my best friend being a farrier. he taught me how to do it. you can save money but it is alot of work and the tools required are very expensive.

Answer 8

yes you can do your own horse hoof. you will need a big rasp. it can be back breaking. I don't know where you can do any class to learn. If you have some older horse people round ask them and watch them do it.

Answer 9

As far as I understand... you definitely want to hire a farrier, dear. It takes SKILL, PATIENCE, and STRENGTH. In otherwords, a hired professional.

Answer 10

Anybody who's witnessed my old vet with a hoof knife knows the answer to this question...

DON'T DO IT.