Shocked at survey results!!

[barkinghorse]

Just looked at the HHO survey on whether owners should be allowed to trim their own horses feet, and was shocked to see 54% think they should be able to.
I only use a qualified experienced farrier, so the thought of having a go myself is unthinkable.
Maybe some people would be happy to do it, but would they know about balancing, too much toe and not enough heel?
I think the world is going mad!!

 

[magic104]

54% looking at saving money perhaps. Leave it to the professionals I say.

 

[severnmiles]

[ QUOTE ]
54% looking at saving money perhaps. Leave it to the professionals I say.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree, if it were banned we wouldn't have problems that silly woman attempting to do strasser.

Whats a trim anyway? £10/15, a few packets of ciggies, not even the price of a meal out! If you can't afford that, can you afford a horse?

 

[PoppyPony]

I totally agree...54% is shocking! Some may be able to do it right but the majority definately can't do it properly.

 

[cazza]

I agree with your comments, although we currently have 55 on the yard and have been supervised by the farrier as to how to file a foot if it has started to crack so it isn't past repairable damage before the farrier can get out to us. Usually within a couple of days. I think the farriers study long and hard to get where they are and are experts in their field. Would never go anywhere near trimming a foot only an odd file here or there to stop a minor crack turning into a nightmare.

 

[ru-fi-do]

I thought the same, was very surprised to see this amount. I can understand the eed to maybe rasp a little bit of the foot, which i have never done myself and would only ever do if advised by my farrier, but no way trim! This should not be allowed!

 

[filly190]

No foot - no horse. I would not dream of messing with my horses feet. Even if a shoe has come loose, I secure it, keep the horse in, until the farrier has been.

 

[shadowboy]

I would agree! I would hate to touch my horse's feet. Even the though of letting an unknown farrier do it without reccomendation by word of mouth would be unthinkable. I also agree with the above- if its for money saving reasons rather than health issues/benefit to the horse then really people should reconsider owning one. No foot no horse! Imagine the pain of an ingrowing toenail - who would wish that upon their horse. We dont hack into our feet - we leave it to professionals, so we should do the same for our horses!

 

[RobinHood]

One of my friends trims her own pony's feet. All her other horses are shod but the pony isn't too keen on the farrier so he gives her his old rasps to use. To be honest there's never particulary much to do, and she doesn;t touch the sole/frog etc just the toe. It's more a case of keeping them tidy so cracks don't develop. The farrier checks them every now and then so I don't have a problem with it.

My farrier trims our unshod 3yr old for free so I have albsolutely no inclination to do it myelf.

 

[PapaFrita]

Perhaps the people who replied to the poll were not thinking of trimming working horses and hopefully not of remedial trimming, but of being able to stay on top of horses and ponies that live out and only need a bit of a rasp?

 

[jemima]

I leave it all up to my farrier who is very self-opinionated and is very proud of how he has improved my horses' feet since I have got them! I trust him always to do what is best for the animal and I have not had any lameness in four years (apart from little welshie's self-inflicted laminitis).

 

[Alibear]

hmm I know a few people who trim/rasp their ponies feet and do it very well. It would be a shame to inflict a rule that stopped them , because lets face it the people who do nasty jobs of it are exactly the sort who will cary on doing it anyway or just not bother and let the feet grow far too long.

That's the trouble with these things it's only the those who are lawabiding/decent in the first place that get affected by it. The others just carry on regardless.

 

[bellgave]

My first instinct is to say OMG, yes leave it to the pros!! However, I do rasp my horses back feet (only shoe fonts) if he needs then doing and its not caused any problems, better I rasp off rough bits than leave it till the farrier comes!!
Also I have worked a lot in Spain and the spaniards I worked with shoe their own horses. If they cant they seem to have a friend who can. Its just a different culture thing I guess, they all think I am mad for paying to get it done when I could do it myself if I learnt how.
My Grand father was a farrier so I have had it drummed into me no foot no horse!! And I have a great farrier, so personally, apart from the odd rasping here and there I am going to leave it to the pros!!!

 

[MagicMelon]

Would love to save money - even trims mount up when you have a few horses! However I wouldnt dare trim my horses hooves, no way - thats what the farriers been trained to do!!

 

[clipclop]

OK, I am being brave here. I trim my own.

It is certainly not about saving money! Blooming heck it's hard work and I had to buy all the tools. TO buy decent ones? They ain't cheap!!

I have struggled for a long time to find a farrier to do it properly. (How dare I question a Farrier

).

I then went to a "Swear word" trimmer. But she could only come down this way every now and then. Not enough!!

So,,,,,that left moi!!

However I am not stupid, I have owned horses for over 25 years and have seen enough bad farriery and good to know the difference and what needs to be done.

That said, I am hoping that our lovely bunch of newly qualified Farriers in my area will allow my back a break and I can hand my £10-20 over to someone else. Ooooh that will be heaven!!

I am awaiting an answer at the moment. I will be so happy if someone will just come and do a proper job instead of charging me for threatening the hoof with a rasp.

OK, Shoot me now

 

[SpruceRI]

I've also rasped my ponies - all of them when youngsters including 2 that were feral. My farrier wasn't keen on doing the babies - he's been kicked/bitten/flattened many times so who can blame him? He told me he was fed up with having to train people's youngsters to be good with the farrier - that's the owners' job, and I agree. And to train them, you've got to do it yourself. Trim I mean, not shoe.

So I did their feet until they were OK with it, then he took over. So no stress on their part or his.

I certainly wouldn't be trying to change hoof balance/axis, just rounding the hoof wall off to stop it flaking and cracking

 

[barkinghorse]

BANG!!

Only joking,
I don't think a quick rasp of a crack untill the farrier gets there is any problem, I have a friend who trims her own because she doesn't trust these "newfangled young things straight out of college" types LOL!!

she is in her late 60's and does all her own ponies but i think that when you have been doing it all your life it's a bit different to just allowing anyone that has just come into horses to willynilly have a bash!!

 

[PapaFrita]

[ QUOTE ]
OK, I am being brave here. I trim my own.

[/ QUOTE ]

OOooh! you ARE brave!! For admitting it though, not for actually doing it!
I think I'd do quite a good job of it; I have a good eye and I know PF's feet back to front. I don't think I'd have a go at anything drastic, like remedial farriery, but I'd be quite happy for PF to go back to barefoot if the terrain weren't quite so rough round here

 

[WishfulThinker]

If farriers in my area keep going the way they are going and not taking on any more clients people might have to resort ot self trimming or sell their horses!

 

[Thistle]

I keep a set of tools. I will rasp off flare or cracks in between farriers visits (every 6 weeks) on the unshod ones. I will not hesitate to remove a shoe either.

 

[jackrussell]

Can you IMAGINE what would happen if people were allowed to trim their own horses' feet? Maybe the 54% voting for it are competent people who know about horses' feet, but if they are allowed to do it all the muppets will try to imitate them and cause god knows how much damage.

 

[eohippus]

cant find the survey, can you point me to it?
was a very high percentage though. the thing is there is a hugh difference between tidying up with a rasp and actually trimming the horse.
The 1975 farrier act is a bit ambiguos in regards to the level of 'maintenance' that an owner can do. Changes are trying to be made to bring it upto date in light of all the trimming advovcates and marketers now.
regards
Dawn

 

[barkinghorse]

As you go onto horse and hound website, before clicking on the forum, it's on the lefthand side
Jo

 

[eohippus]

found it thanks. the survey says 61% now. rather worrying.
regards
Dawn

 

[Tia]

Yes of course owners should be allowed to trim their horses feet. If they are knowledgeable and have years of experience, or even to tidy up a ragged hoof inbetween the farrier coming. Most people use a farrier - therefore I believe that most people who voted on this poll are talking about the act of rasping, lightly trimming not instead of using the farrier but along with. That's my take on it anyway.

If there were to be a law that people couldn't do this then I think that would be completely wrong. More damage could be done to the foot if a loose shoe is left on or if raggy bits are not smoothed down.

I was given fairly indepth tuition from my farrier in England as when my pony had laminitis she needed her feet trimming every 3 or 4 days - he showed me exactly how to do it - but he still came religiously every 6 weeks to do the angles and shapes - I only followed his lines.

I agree with the rule that we shouldn't be allowed to put a shoe on.

 

[eohippus]

Yes I agree that the survey was a bit open ended and could have meant any depth of trimming.
you are allowed to take a shoe off and rasp/trim for maintenance anyway.
But with the high incidence of new barefoot trimmers around they are trimming further than for maintenance and without the help of farriers. Some may only have the guide of a 'qualified' trimmer, which on some parts have only 'qualified' through short and online courses.
the barefoot keeping of horses has always been around, nothing new here. and most, not all can rely on their farrier to give them sound advice and show them how to maintain between visits.
regards
Dawn

 

[Tia]

Sorry my reply was Quick Reply as a general comment.

 

[PapaFrita]

[ QUOTE ]
Can you IMAGINE what would happen if people were allowed to trim their own horses' feet?

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe people ARE legally allowed to trim feet as long as it's not in preparation for a shoe. There are plenty of numptys (as well as competent people) out there doing it, which is why we keep hearing about (as an example) Strasser advocates who cripple their ponies, etc, etc. and I expect they will continue to do it regardless of whether it's the law or not.