how many of you here trim your own horses feet?

china

china

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I dont trim my own but im just interested to hear if any of you trim your own horses feet, and what sort of training you did, if any, to trim their feet :-)
 
I don't do full trims on mine, but I do 'tidy up' in between EP visits, especially on my Standardbred X as he does quite a bit of mileage in between trims and wears his feet unevenly.
 
My OH and I keep my 4 trimmed ourselves. We have no formal qualifications, and would not be prepared to deal with anyone else's horse's feet. We both did a lot of training with the Aussie trimmer Peter Laidely over the years at times when he's run courses in the UK, and we didn't tackle our first trims until we were confident.

Touch wood, I have 4 sound horses, with good feet, no problems, and 2 of them competing in Endurance up to advanced level.

If I did begin to encounter problems, I would have no hesitation in calling in a professional however!
 
As LBM do keep mine tidy with rasp. When ridden that's ok. Now ground soggy and less ridden work will need trim. Going to try yard's farrier this time. Used to have EP. Difficult to get locally now. Wish me luck!!
 
well my thought is to get some knowledge and keep on top of them in between, he has only had his first trim 3 weeks ago but they are looking abit untidy and are breaking off in places where he keeps booting the crap out of the fence because his neighbour is watching him eat!
 
I don't but I would love to have the info to if I wanted to. I don't think I would ever want to trim but it would be useful to be able to roll her feet as we do alot of miles so trimming isn't really an issue, but it does mean the roll the farrier puts on is worn off very quickly.
 
i use "riders rasp" in between farrier visits. it is great as you can never take to much off the hoof! i use it to control flare and i even use it on the youngsters if they are getting too long before the farrier comes. you can roll or round the edges and you can even use it on shod horses too! i have to say it is one of the best things i have bought in a while .

http://www.rideaway.co.uk/filedepos...stableyardpaddock/farriery-equipment/feff.jpg
 
its fab it has two hand sizes so if you have littler hands you just turn it round the other way and when the rasp/blade thingy looses its sharpness they sell replacement blades. i have used it on 6 horses and it still like brand new i think it will last for a good while before replacing it. think in rideaway it was £38 but it def saves money and is well worth the price. also if you shop around there are some websites/stores that say buy the rasp and get replacement blade free so it is worth having a look about x
 
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i used to trim my mares feet myself - self taught thrugh books etc - had EP check her evry so often but she was always happy with the work
now i use farrier as i need shoes for studs
 
i was thinking of sticking one in the back of my car and the tack shop where my YO works, unfrotunatly we have a long of people round here that dont wear it and it really angers me! we have had alot of accidents round here, a horse only got hit last week luckily both survived but horse has a nasty injurie and only a year ago a friends horse got killed but it doesnt seem to be enough to highlight the importance of hi viz!
 
I trim my own having done lots of research and I get a farrier to cast an eye over the feet every now and again or if there is something I'm not sure of.

It's absolutely not true what the poster said above that 'you can't take off too much with a rasp'. You can DEFINATELY take off too much if you're not careful! Comments like that make me shudder.......
 
ferrador said:
i also shoe my own ,never had problems
chris
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Do you not need to have formal training then over in Portugal? Over in Britland I believe the current law is that you are not allowed to attach anything permanent to the horses foot - a shoe for instance!

If no formal training, was the info past on from family members? That's got to be the best way to learn I would say, 'Father to son' and all that....

:D
 
I think that comment was in relation to the riders rasp thing (sorry if I'm wrong) rather than rasping in general? My understanding is that because of the angle of the rasp and that it isn't a v rough one you can't take too much off - which makes it ok for non-professionals to use. (that said, I still worry too much, so it will remain a farrier only job for me!)
 
I trim my own and my horses hunt and hack a lot on roads. I learnt from a book and I would not recommend it! If there had been a trimmer near me I would have paid to have it done but at the time it wasn't an option. Neither was my farrier. He told me my horse would never cope. I laugh about that now, but at the time it was quite frightening.

BUT, if your horse wears his feet normally and has no quirks, footwise, then it's not rocket science. I know several very busy trimmers who are happy to teach the clients with "easy" horses how to do it for themselves, so that they are freed up to take on new and more difficult cases.

I'd recommend anyone to get a trimmer (could be a farrier) to do the horse for a while first, and then ask them to teach you to take over if the horse is a straightforward case and your own body will stand it - it's murder on the back and tough on the finger joints too.
 
foxy1 said:
It's absolutely not true what the poster said above that 'you can't take off too much with a rasp'. You can DEFINATELY take off too much if you're not careful! Comments like that make me shudder.......
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They were refering to the rider rasp, its is designed that it doesn't take the hoof wall off it just rounds the edges. i have just bought one of theses, dont think id take a normal rasp to his foot just incase i foooked it up!
 
We trim our own. OH did a short, residential course (in Spanish, so I had to go too!) a couple of years ago and he has done A LOT of research on the internet. Touch wood we have never had a problem. I think this is because we can make minute adjustments whenever the need arises. I do think it is important to understand how the hoof 'works' in conjunction with the rest of the legs/body and this was a large part of the course we attended.

Our two have completely different feet, but we know them inside out now. A suitable diet and keeping on top of the hoof trimming seems to work for us.
 
I have an EP come out to mine and I rasp in between visits, ensuring my pony gets really regular attention, little and often. Every time my EP comes out she teaches me a bit more and a bit more. A rasp is the ONLY tool I use, however. It gives great satisfaction and ownership to be involved with and learning about my pony's feet.
 
I thought it was illegal for anyone other than a farrier, a farriery apprentice, or a vet to do anything to a horses foot? Maybe I have that wrong - maybe it's just shoeing?

I personally wouldn't touch my horse's feet in case I did more harm than good but hubby is hoping to train to be a farrier so will happily let him do it when he's able!
 
In the UK it is the preparation of a foot to recieve a shoe and to shoe a foot that is illegal for anyone other than a registered farrier I believe.
So anyone can trim a foot if there is no intention of then shoeing it - which is where it can be rather a prob if you then use a 'trimmer' as anyone can call themselves this. Important if you don't use a farrier to ensure your trimmer has had sufficient training and also insurance.
 
*Shudder*! Farriers go through a 4 year apprenticeship for good reason! No foot no horse - I think it's crazy for anyone other than a vet / farrier to do anything to a horses foot as it's so important!
 
Farriers do go through a long training period, but most of that time is concerned with tools, making and shaping a shoe, preparing the hoof to recieve a shoe and fixing the shoe to the hoof. Not so much on trimming a hoof that will be working and nutrition to ensure good foot health. It is these aspects that people hire a trimmer to help them with. Farriers can also of course show more of an interest in these areas and be just as good as a trimmer. However, there are of course more and less forward thinking farriers like any other proffession, so not all are as helpful as each other when it comes to something other than shoeing a horse.
Fortunatly my farrier is fab and trimes my mare and shoes my oh mare. Not everyone unfortunatly has access to a barefoot friendly farrier!
 
FestiveNeighs said:
I think that comment was in relation to the riders rasp thing (sorry if I'm wrong) rather than rasping in general? My understanding is that because of the angle of the rasp and that it isn't a v rough one you can't take too much off - which makes it ok for non-professionals to use. (that said, I still worry too much, so it will remain a farrier only job for me!)
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yes that is right due to its shape. again though when you do it you can take as much off as you feel comfortable doing without the worry you will file down too much that is what it has been designed and tested for.
i do still us the farrier regularly but if something is a little long or farrier delays then it does come in handy.
not everyone would feel comfortable doing it themselves i only started with it a few months ago before that i wouldnt have dreamed of it.
 
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