rasping, ..doing it yourself ?????????

[thecantlefamily]

personally, i always have done, and will always have a farrier, but i was out hacking yesturday and stop 2 chat with a lady in her field , she was rasping her horses feet, and she said she has been doing it herself 4 the last 10 years, also at my old field a lady used to do her horse herself too. i mean is becoming the norm, will farriers be left just 4 the shoeing bit ???? does any body here rasp their horses hooves themselves

 

[_daisy_]

ive been taught how to rasp the edges in between trims so they dont break up but certainly wouldnt do it without the aid of a farrier/barefoot trimmer doing work aswell

 

[thecantlefamily]

yeh, that sounds like wat i would like to do , my 3 horses hate the farrier and 2 r just foals, and my farrier has said i need to dope them 4 next time , but they arnt nasty just nervous, course being foals their feet grow really quick, so i m not keen to dope every 5 to 6 weeks, i would just like to round off the edges,

 

[Dotilas]

honeyrose... I would get a new farrier if he isn't willing to deal with nervous foals. That is trusting that you are doing all the proper groundwork with them?

 

[dwi]

Unless you are planning on keeping them barefoot for ever they will need to get used to the farrier so I think you're best to persevere with that route. Equally, unless you are very experienced I would have thought that you could take off not enough/too much and damage your foals at a crucial stage in their development. I would leave the rasping to the professionals and just prepare them with lots of hoof holding/banging/slapping etc first.

 

[_daisy_]

well ive just gone barefoot with 2 of mine so just keeping the edges nice is a main priority. At first I was nervous but next time my barefoot trimmer came she got me to do it whilst she supervised me. I still worry about it but im not doing anything major just like you rounding the edges.

Cant see that doping would help long term with youngsters. Best thing is what youre doing with handling them and getting them used to having their feet held up etc.
My 4 yo isnt fond on being clenched up as my farriers apprentice takes his time and she gets bored with it all. But shes getting worse as time goes on. At the moment though, she hasnt been worked under saddle since the beginning of March and i cant ride for a while so shes had her shoes off too, so shes not getting stressed having shoes on for no reason

 

[thecantlefamily]

actually, i have just changed, my old farrier was bout 7 ft tall, so i think he scared my girls ha , i got a really small one comin this wk....... ha

 

[MagicMelon]

Are you legally allowed to?

 

[Moggy in Manolos]

Personally i do like to have my farrier do it all, he is the expert, in saying that i am sure there are some capable people out there, but on the flip side there are more than likely people out there who should definately not be doing it either

 

[Doublethyme]

Yes anyone can legally trim, except if the foot is being specifically prepared for a shoe at that time - then it must be done by a farrier.

My mare is barefoot and I occasionally will rasp of any jagged edges to stop them getting worse (hardly happens though now as her feet are like rock!), but leave the proper trimming to my barefoot professional, but my instructor has always rasped her herd's feet (well the ones that don't have shoes!).

Personally, I tend to end up rasping more of me than the hoof (but then I am rubbish at doing a manicure on me too!!), so I prefer to leave it to the pros!!!

 

[brightmount]

My EP gave me one of his old rasps to tidy up with between trims. They can only get around 10 trims out of one rasp.

He makes it look so easy though, whereas me .. well I don't have a hoof stand, but I know there's a technique using knees and stuff, but I just don't have it!

Luckily I don't live in some out of the way Scottish Island, but for those that do, I believe learning to maintain your own horse's hooves is essential.

 

[pixie]

Where I come from its essential to learn how to rasp, as its incredibly hard to come by a farrier (large country, not enough farriers!). Its just something that you learn, like what to feed or how to clean tack..

 

[_daisy_]

same here lynwood. ive got my trimmers old rasp. Again she makes it look so easy. Its a bit kinder on your legs if youve got suede chaps on! its a funny stance youve got to adopt - you look a bit knock-kneed

 

[burtie]

I always rasped my horses feet in between proper trims to stop any splitting and to tidy up for shows. I do however get them trimmed by the farrier every 8-12 weeks depending on the time of year and the horse.

 

[freckles22uk]

I rasp and trim all mine, had a problem getting a farrier where I live, (in the sticks in Spain) so had no choice, plus the farrier I did have did not think you should do young horses, (I have 2 foals!)

 

[Caroline1239]

Hi Honeyrose,

Yep - I do my 6 myself.
Rasping is not that hard - providing you are shown by a GOOD proffesinal how to do it.