No wonder Fany did not like the farrier! Vid.

First time I've seen anything like this. Reading through the comments there seems to be a mixture of opinions...

I was quite surprised by the technique used and I can sort of understand the tying up of the legs as he's a big horse. I wouldn't do it to my horse but I can imagine those feet are damn heavy :eek:

Not sure I agree with the whole angle grinder thing though... One slip and it could be a nightmare waiting to happen.

Good job that horse was quiet! His feet initially are discusting though :mad:
 
Not my personal choice of method to trim a horses hoof, for a horse with that kind of growth, I'd prefer the little and often approach.

Must admit I've heard of trimming horses hooves with grinders before, especially in the states and using a cattle crush!

My husband is an experienced cattle hoof trimmer and he uses grinders all the time, but he knows what he's doing and has the cow firmly held in a hydraulic elevator crush. He was at a cattle hoof trimming conference in the States a couple of years ago and met a trimmer who trimmed horses, he said that he went to a horse sanctuary regularly where he trimmed 23 semi feral horses a day in his crush with grinders and they were very accepting of it, not sure if I believe him though!

Oh and yes grinders can be lethal, we know if quite a few cattle hoof trimmers who have lost digits, mainly due to lack of concentration or the cow kicking the grinder out their Hand!

This is how they trim cows with grinders: http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=/&gl=GB#/watch?v=WA4XCrA9fsg
 
I am not as horrified as some on this thread by this video. The horse does not appear to be distressed and seems quite settled so I would suggest that this is the most important thing.

I can see the potential for accidents with the grinder although I suppose if the handler is experienced they are less likely. For what it's worth my farrier used a grinder to shape his shoes the other day (new farrier) and was worried it would upset the horses using it to close to them (socket was coincidentally quite close to where we tie up)...three out of three horses did not bat an eyelid at the noise and sparks. I think they expect this sort of excitement from farriers!! :)
 
MrVelvet said:
eek that made me cringe.. I had to turn it off. Not read all the comments but FDC do you have a Belgian Draft?? They are very beautiful.. but Id be interested to know what they could be used for?
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Fany is an Ardennes (Trait Ardennais) she is used for hacking as she is almost 100% bombproof, no horse is 100% but we have never found anything she is scared of. She was a show horse and broodmare in Belgium. They are often used for logging and RDA use them a lot too but basically they make a good all around horse, never going to set the world on fire jumping but they can do it.
Check here for pictures of her
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=487491

FDC
 
wow she looks ace!! Looks like you just snuggle up to her :D I must ask though... does it not hurt ones pelvis when astride the beast?!?! Im glad shes bmbproof though.. her hooves are too huge to be naughty :O xx
 
Leviathan -"why did they not sedate the horse and trim it in the normal way" - seriously?? Do you think farriers are like supermen? The average farrier's job is tough enough with sporthorses but heavies are a different story! These horses weigh 800kg+. And (as those with heavy horses who have posted on this thread have said) they already like to lean on the farrier without sedation. His job would be completely impossible to do in the normal way under sedation. So many farriers end up having back surgery by the time they are in their fifties - and in this country they will have predominantly sporthorse/tb work! I have seen a poor 16yo apprentice left to struggle with trimming 4 Clyde foster mares while his boss got on with the TBs - he was crippled for days after it (at 16 too!)!

For those who have heavies and have stated that their farrier would never do it that way - I doubt your farrier has a significant proprtion of heavy horse clients. All the French national studs have a stocks and leg tie set up for the Bretons and Percherons. It is par for the course abroad. Remember with their increased bulk they also have a greater diameter of bone so less likely to cause themselves damage with their leg tied up (though of course not impossible).

As was already stated, cows feet are often trimmed with anglegrinders as they are tougher than most horses. there really isnt much difference in the tough healthy hoof of the draft horse and the average cow strength wise - if anything those shire types that often have dry hooves may be a fair bit harder. It is fairly normal for farriers in the US to use angle grinders - even on Thoroughbred feet!

Didnt think there was anything particularly horrendous about it but would have liked a sturdier crush as that one looked a bit flimsy - an old style one would be safer for beast and farrier. And those ropes are not suitable for tying up a horses leg. He requires a wider padded strap (think hobbles type) to avoid injury tendons etc and spread the pressure.
 
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Its a possiblity that the "angle grinder" power tool is a sanding grinder.THey both look very similar.Ive seen them used on cattles feet for lameness treatment abroad and they do quite a good job.Though our ones were all handheld so there was no risk of entanglement in wires.They are much safer to use than an angle grinder!no risk of losing appendages for a start.Id reckon they are that bit safer than the knives as well as they are not as deadly when kicked out of your hand! :P

We were using much better set ups crush wise and better ropes etc for those cattle just to be clear on that!.
What that video seems to be is what not to do! just asking for issues and injurys!
 
Vizslak said:
This didnt exactly horrify me to be honest. Interesting video though.
Have you never watched a farrier put sliders on the hinds of a QH? Power tools galore there! That also fascinates me...more because the horses stand there and go to sleep with sparks flying and all that noise!
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Same here, I wasn't shocked.
Mennonite horses here are all put in stocks to have their feet trimmed.

I haven't seen sliders put on but knowing QH's I can well imagine them taking little notice. A mare at my barn has her shoes glued on with is what can best be described as a hot glue gun sort of thing and that makes a racket, the mare just dozes.
 
Showed my oh this as was interested to hear his opinion..

Apparently, it's a flap disk which is not like a conventional angle grider disk, it's a sand disk. However the first disk he used was a cutting disk - to cut the hoof. The reason for the crush is that it's more comfortable for the horse as they can lean on the crush to support there weight, safer for the farrier (how could he hold the foot up whilst holding an angle grinder) and the fact that you wouldn't hold the foot up for any amount of time - or you wouldn't be able to - because one its to heavy and two it would be more uncomfortable for the horse (because of the anatomy of the horse) a bit like Suffolk punches in this country. So tying to foot up is actually a safety precaution for both horse and farrier, unlikely to cause any pain in the short time they are tied up.

Please don't shoot the messenger!

I should state he is a farrier:-), he has said if anyone thinks they would like to have a go at trimming a Belgium draft the conventional way without power tools they can borrow his tools.

The feet were just long at the beginning and had naturally broken back. due to dry conditions the feet break back by them selves.
 
the stocks and the tying up of the feet was in no way cruel or horrendous or any other emotive type word, just seems bloomin sensible to me considering the size of the horse! As for the power tools, looks like thats all they could use with the density of those feet:eek: have you ever tried nipping off even just a tiny bit of an ordinary foot? not as easy as the farrier makes it look, as as for being dangerous, have you ever slipped with a paring knife and caught yourself? feck those things are pretty bloody lethal too:eek:
I think i would rather see a farrier work like that on a horse than some of the pushy stroppy farriers lashing out with rasps etc that we have in this country:rolleyes:
 
One of my cobs has feet that are very hard to trim in summer when they are dry. Poor farrier really works up a sweat so I can well beleive that it would be a farrier killer if they had to do heavy horse hooves on a regular basis. TBH I was shocked at first but the horse seemed comfortable with it all.
 
Wow, well thats a different way of doing it. Didnt like the tying up of the legs, pretty awful.

Thing is with this, yes its hooves looked dreadful to begin with but surely you have to cut hooves back a little at a time? Doing it all in one go must surely make the horse lame??
 
SpottyTB said:
Showed my oh this as was interested to hear his opinion..

Apparently, it's a flap disk which is not like a conventional angle grider disk, it's a sand disk. However the first disk he used was a cutting disk - to cut the hoof. The reason for the crush is that it's more comfortable for the horse as they can lean on the crush to support there weight, safer for the farrier (how could he hold the foot up whilst holding an angle grinder) and the fact that you wouldn't hold the foot up for any amount of time - or you wouldn't be able to - because one its to heavy and two it would be more uncomfortable for the horse (because of the anatomy of the horse) a bit like Suffolk punches in this country. So tying to foot up is actually a safety precaution for both horse and farrier, unlikely to cause any pain in the short time they are tied up.

Please don't shoot the messenger!

I should state he is a farrier:-), he has said if anyone thinks they would like to have a go at trimming a Belgium draft the conventional way without power tools they can borrow his tools.

The feet were just long at the beginning and had naturally broken back. due to dry conditions the feet break back by them selves.
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Interesting to hear a farrier's pov, thanks.

Tell him my farrier does Fany's the conventional way, she is learning not to lean on him, he is a very patient and good farrier we are lucky to have him.
FDC
 
My farrier does a lot of heavy horses, therefore a battery operated sander is very much part of his kit. All the horses he uses it on are very accepting, it significantly cuts down the time he has to support the leg. It is just like an electric rasp really.

The grinding equipment is just the next step - I don't see how it could be safely used without restraint so stocks make perfect sense
 
saddlesore said:
Wow looks a bit odd! Have to say though feet were unbelievably bad at the start :mad: did look much better at the end so in this instance I think the end justifies the means!
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I haven't read all the replies (only got to the above!) but i'm glad someone else took note of the horrific state of the horsesfeet - if it was lame coming out of the van it's no suprise really!! An angle grinder may not have been the way to go but the horse didnt seem bothered and it's feet looked tonnes better afterwards.
 
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