Owners of barefoot horses

[Vikki89]

Do you trim your horses yourself or do you have a farrier out?
My farrier has said to me in the past that he is surprised we don't trim our horses ourselves. I thought it was a strange thing for him to say, it would mean him loosing money and i have never considered it.

 

[Abbeygale]

I have had a couple of barefoot horses, and my current mare was barefoot for about 18months.

I would always have the farrier do it - I am not trained and I think it would be far to easy for me to mess up the foot balance.

And anyway, my old farrier charged my £20, and my new one charges £15 - so its hardly the end of the world moneywise to ensure they have been trimmed correctly

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

your farrier trained for 4 to 5 years! no i wouldnt trim my barefoot horses! foot balance is everything whether shod or barefoot!!!

 

[jens]

my OH is a farrier and does a fair bit of trimming for barefoot people.
A lot of the people will have a rasp of their own and will 'tidy up' the ragged edges themselves, however they still have my OH on a regular basis to trim properly and make sure balance is correct etc. I am not sure your farrier was recommending you completely do away with him!

 

[kerilli]

i have been taught to trim properly, and i have all the kit, but tbh it is SUCH hard work and really does my back in, so i only tend to do it if a horse has a crack or chip that i want to keep from getting worse.
i have my horses barefoot unless they are competing.

 

[Chico Mio]

Both mine are barefoot. OH has all the kit and keeps them trimmed up, he can also shoe if necessary.

I wouldn't trust any farrier I've seen up here to shoe properly and certainly not to trim for being able to work without shoes - which is a different thing from trimming a hoof to be shod.

 

[SouthWestWhippet]

I get farrier out. Trimming is the most important part of the shoeing process so although my pony is barefoot I wouldn't consider doing it myself.

My farrier reckons pretty much anyone can hammer a shoe on without doing too much damage but a poor initial trim can seriously harm the horse.

 

[Vikki89]

I havn't considered trimming myself and wouldn't, i just wondered if anyone did after him saying this. I know the gentleman i bought my youngster from used to trim all his himself, but personally i wouldn't.

 

[hairymolly]

I use the farrier.

 

[Annette4]

I've always had someone trim them but the woman who did my previous mare showed me how to run a rasp round properly to tidy up/reduce flair.

 

[666333YO]

I have had my two barefoot for just over three and a half years now, trimmed by an E.P. [equine podiatrist ]

I drive one and do dressage with the other.

 

[luckilotti]

I have 8 neds and always get a qualified farrier, despite it being £20 per horse, i wouldnt dream of doing it myself.

 

[zulu705]

I use 'Riders Rasp' to tidy up between trims, but it is hard work and I like the farrier to check up on them every so often.

 

[Chico Mio]

[ QUOTE ]
I get farrier out. Trimming is the most important part of the shoeing process so although my pony is barefoot I wouldn't consider doing it myself.

My farrier reckons pretty much anyone can hammer a shoe on without doing too much damage but a poor initial trim can seriously harm the horse.

[/ QUOTE ]

Which is exactly why I wont let the farriers round here touch my horses feet. Just to make things clear, I don't live in the UK and things here are a little less enlightened. My OH has had training to trim and shoe, plus experience with a farrier in Andalucia.

 

[Rudey]

Both of mine are barefooters at the moment. I will always have the farrier as I would be too worried to damage/harm them in any way.

My friend has 3 horses, the farrier does two of them, but one of her mares will NOT allow ANYONE near her unless it is her owner, she will just simply kick ten bells out of you!!

So my friend has no choice but do all the horsey jobs herself including feet and injections! I have seen the dentist do the wall of death around the stable witrh her before with the mare pirouetting on her front end shooting out double barrel kicks - and meaning every single one!!

xx

 

[Serenity087]

My farrier does it. I'd feel bad if I did it... I've seen what I do to sheep!!!

 

[_HP_]

I do my own rasping...wouldn't trim. I rasp every couple of weeks to keep on top of any cracks, splits or flare and then get my farrier to check every now and then to make sure I'm not making any cockups...
It was my farrier's suggestion and he showed me how. He is making me a stand too. It gets easier the more often you do it.
The first few times left me with chunks out of my nails, nuckles and kneecaps...much to the amusement of my farrier

 

[TheFarrier]

People could do their own electrics or plumbing too... that doesnt mean they should.

I have never been called out to a trim where the owner (or a friend) has been trimming the horses and its not been a mess.

Some people make more of a mess than others. Most people do more harm that good especially if its not done under the guidance of a farrier.

Doing maintenance or trims where a farrier cant get out is a different matter especially as the work tends to be monitored and checked.

Yes you could get away with it... the question is would you risk it?

No foot no horse!!!

 

[star]

i neaten any rough edges, chips etc but i have the farrier every 5wks in summer and 8wks in winter to do a proper job.

 

[Donkeymad]

7 out of 8 of my current herd are unshod. I would never dream of attempting to trim myself.

 

[Tinypony]

I couldn't trim myself, even if I wanted to, I have a bad back and even feet picking can be difficult at times. My (trained) trimmer will show people how to just tidy up cracks and flare between her visits if they want to, but not to do anything drastic. Ideally I would like to be able to just tidy them a bit sometimes, especially at times when we can't get out on the roads much, but it won't happen.

 

[russianhorse]

My horse is barefoot, and I always use the farrier - mainly because I would probably cause some untold damage if i attempted to trim them myself

 

[brucea]

I have 3 - do all my own trimming and have been on relevant training. Don't do it without training to heelp you inderstand what you are looking at, but it's really not as "black magic" as some would have you believe.

In any case mine get enough work, and therefore self trim, and there is seldom more than a bit of wall flare and the roll to do.

 

[Enfys]

More fool your farrier.

I pay a professional to do a professional job.

Sure, I can rasp ragged edges, but I am not going to trash my horse's feet, or my back, for the sake of a couple of hundred bucks per visit.

Several of my horses' feet are a work in progress, I have neither the inclination, nor the skill to tackle that sort of work.

 

[Ali2]

OH maintains the roll between trims but EP comes out regularly to do the trimming.

 

[Barleyboo]

I always have the farrier. It's not just the trimming, he is trained to spot all sorts of foot problems before they become something serious, for example he once released some pus from my pony's foot. I hadn't spotted it as the pony wasn't lame but I'm sure he soon would have been and I'd no doubt have had a vet's bill as well!

 

[jesterfaerie]

Both of mine are barefoot, I always have my farrier and certainly wouldn't do it myself.

 

[lilym]

some and some I trim them every few weeks or so and get the farrier to have a look every 3rd or so trim so I keep on the right track!

 

[TGM]

My friend's farrier actually suggested she trim her miniature ponies herself as he doesn't like doing the little ones! He would have been able to keep an eye on their feet when he visited to do the bigger horses, but she decided against it in the end!

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

all 3 of mine are BF...the 2 big boys in full work are trimmed by an EP and I do the shetland.
this is for 2 reasons, the shetland grows an excellent even foot, it needs minimal balancing, just an even trim and tidy up which is dead easy for me to do. he's also obviously very light so my back manages him fine.
the 2 bigger boys need some small balancing work each time and are my harder work for my bad back so i let the EP do them and i just tidy up in between.