Basic Hoof Trimming

This is the first in a series of videos I plan to post on hoof care. Please seek assistance from a qualified professional farrier before you attempt to try anything taught or shown on these videos.
As a note, I did pull the foot forward after the camera was turned off to check for and address any flares that were not obvious from the underside view. However, I wanted to keep this first video to a basic overview of the steps in trimming without going into addressing flares or corrective work, and so I chose not to include the final step.

[@deehurd9075]

Nicely done! Simply explained by someone who obviously knows what she is doing. Thank You!

[@skipstjsprat]

@thehappyhoof Exactly! As soon as a trimmer says "One important principle is no sole pressure," RUN AWAY! The sole is absolutely made to help carry the load of the horse, along with the wall and frog, and anyone who says otherwise hasn't studied enough healthy bare hooves. If anyone still thinks it's okay to carve out the sole, I dare you to watch Pete Ramey's DVD "That's My Horse #1" about an OTTB who had paper thin soles and severe sub-solar abscessing due to a farrier such as this one.

[@sparrowhawkd]

If you go to the American Farriers Association, you can find information on how you are supposed to trim a hoof. If you study the various barefoot trims, you will find more ways that you are supposed to trim a hoof. If you go overseas, you will find yet more ways that you are "supposed" to trim a hoof. I suggest that people keep in mind that there are other theories out there and that they find out for themselves what makes sense anatomically and what works for the horse.

[@sparrowhawkd]

I trim the frog primarily to avoid thrush. There are other reasons, but I don't have space to go into them here. When I am finished with a foot, I want the hoof wall to be the only part in direct contact with the ground. In my experience, anything else creates soreness. No sole pressure=no sole in direct contact with the ground. I feel that the foot functions best(absorbs concussion) when it has a concave shape on the bottom surface. I try to trim the sole leave the foot concave.

[@jett888]

so after taking the sole out like that- are you getting ready to put shoes on?? I couldn't/wouldn't dare do this to the sole on all my barefoot horses- so just curios what you are going to do with the foot after you've removed the mare callouses?? (anybody took my callouses away-when i run around barefoot-i'd want to kick them) lol

[@kseminolewind]

I think your trims are right on! People get freaked out about heels being all the way back to the widest part of the frog but forget about too low an angle. I think my hoof angles take priority. No duck feet for me. Thankyou , Sparrow , for mentioning sole pressure.

[@bmarshall4ron]

I trim my four horses, and always careful to try and leave the frog intact. It is one of the important pressure points, and contributes to a concave sole.

[@burrejo]

If you end up with tender footed horses all the time you may want to look into what you're doing to that frog and sole....you want a good calloused sole and frog...each part of a horses foot will change and mold to its terrain it lives in to carry its percentage of weight...softer muddy terrains will have deeper dished concave feet where if you have a horse that lives on flat hard ground will develop flatter feet.Trim frog only if has flaps or for comfort, trim sole only if flakey and dead.....

[@thehappyhoof]

@skipstjsprat Great comment! We need more people seeing the internal structures, you'd be surprised how even so called barfoot natural trimmers are butchering the toes and have not concept of how you GROW a good hoof you' don't CARVE a good hoof.

[@mydigitalcd]

kewl video... very informative... i really like your "reasoning" & "symmetrical" style... thanks for posting!!!

[@skipstjsprat]

I love the mustang roll, but cutting concavity in a flat-soled hoof terrifies me. You're putting the coffin bone corium dangerously close to the ground. You can build concavity if you keep up the mustang roll and let it grow the hoof it wants. Let me guess, this horse has had flat feet the whole time you've been trimming it? ANY horse can build concavity, if it's allowed.

[@Thekeyofawesome3]

When i grow up i wanna be a farrier SO bad! I know it's hard, but i'm really eager to learn when i'm older!

[@DUNNING1980]

Well yes I do from what I can see on this video ... I have been a farrier for 16 years . And just by not taking the heels back . They will start to run forward after time not good for a flat footed horse

[@TheTeapotte]

I was thinking that too.. does it make sense to take the heels back so they are in the correct place and then let them grow to a better length to gain concavity?

[@mayaraza1713]

I've seen other farriers trim what I would say is a perfectly shaped and healthy frog. Why is this done? Can't they get infected more easily? And why does the horse become agitated if you merely poke the frog with your hoof pick accidentally yet seems perfectly happy to have it shaved off roughly with a knife??? Me confused :(

[@arnoldstahl7592]

I like it very much i like the lesson never to old to learn new things

[@sparrowhawkd]

I watched hundreds of trims before I tried it. You just kind of know where everything is at after a while.

[@sparrowhawkd]

I do trim occasionally trim horses at the Frankfort facility. The "Barefoot trim on a misbehaving horse" video was filmed there.

[@susanflowers6282]

You're the first female farrier that I thought did a really nice job. I've seen other's that I thought were ok, but not like you. Most that I've seen cut too much off.

[@TheWesternSource]

Studying hoof anatomy makes things easier. ;-)

[@LaurenLambChop]

She's taking out the horses sole ridge D:

[@sparrowhawkd]

I used to do that, and I ended up with long toe/low heel syndrome on horses because the toe was being left longer and longer as the sole callous thickened. I have fixed lame horses just by making one swipe with the knife at the "toe callous." It was acting like a pressure point, making them lame.

[@lainahiller2527]

Hmmm. Wondering if that is what is going on with my horse. Confused though, because I keep hearing never to touch the sole callous.

[@riderabc1]

@skipstjsprat HI I agree those bumps and ridges are the horse trying to grow a thicker sole- NEVER cut good hard sole ( unless there is a gross overgrowth). You are causing this horse to be flat- footed.

[@CrimsonInHumanBlood]

Good info. How do you know how much to take off? Most my horses are flat footed. I worry about taking too much off

[@Critterlover17]

I agree, trim the wall to the sole, not the sole to the wall. If you are having to cut sole out to make the wall higher, you cut the wall too short.

[@tpsossff]

What worries me is that people will think watching vids like this are a substitute for proper training. Having once watched an idiot butcher a horses feet I would seriously reccomend people have proper 'on the job' training by a proffessional. I intend no disrespect to sparrowhawkd, who is clearly adept at what she is doing.

[@aluz827]

foot doesn't look flat at all. And wide heels are good, nothing to do with flat feet.

[@kristinhladysh3540]

Yes!! Everyone is so used to looking at contracted heels apparently!

[@DJBelbe]

@sparrowhawkd you would solve the problem much better if you simply nipped the wall off at a 45º or more angle from the white like fowards. Actually, if there was any laminae detachment you'd have to nip past the white line. Fixes the problem in 2 trims usually...

[@mogges1]

I have live around farriers all my life, and I was going to take it up but my back goes to hurting after 30 sec.I tried to work on a Clydesdale and she tried sitting on me missed my back up So cant do it

[@DJBelbe]

@sparrowhawkd ...I really don line touching the sole. I've had chronic laminitic horses run over rocks happily just by letting that ugly sole keep its bumps and relieve the whole wall from weightbearing. It's not ideal, but when the dumb owner won't fix the feeding, there's no other choice.

[@showjumpergreenrider]

could you explain to me about how it does not hurt the frog? because when i touch horses frogs then they act like its super sensative?

[@DragonflyDore]

Hi! Out of curiousity do you work with the Indiana Horse Rescue?? Your voice is very familiar.

[@burrejo]

@skipstjsprat Nice...She is not a Pete Ramey fan...I can tell this.

[@burrejo]

@devikafayegw you only want to trim the frog if it has flaps where thrush can grow or for the horses comfort...( a horse that had extremely over grown feet and the frog had grown far below the height of the heels) you should be very critical of any cut you have to make into the frog and basically NOT do what she did in this video....only trimming of it I do is as mentioned above and a 45 degree at the apex of the frog. You want a nice calloused frog and sole.

[@SideviewStudios]

Doesen't it hurt if you touch the frog? Cause every time i pick out my horse's hoof if i touch the frog he pulls his foot away.

[@aluz827]

probably has horrible thrush

[@awesomeness5654]

she just said something about flares but yet she didn't take the flare out on the inside of the hoof

[@DopeJoker32x]

this looks fun

[@thehappyhoof]

Who told you that you "carve" concavity, and that the sole doesn't bare weight? What other creature in the whole animal kingdom walks on it's fingernails? Maybe you ought to rethink what you'be been taught about periphrial loading.

[@TheTeapotte]

Just found this video and squealed out loud when she started carving out the sole from the toe

[@burrejo]

@jccrick123 that comment and the last comment....please don't even try by yourself....find somebody to train under and watch. It's not something you can just got at, its hard work and def takes skills.

[@sdcb27]

Good job

[@ScopedOUT2]

Hey, Why is hoof trimming required? And, what about wild mustangs, they don't get someone to trim their hoofs, aren't they doing fine?

[@fonjadidi]

Heey awesome video could you tell what what exactly the frog is because i thought it was highly sensitive ;)

[@TwisterSidster]

dose it hurt the horse?

[@Skylarkien]

No, the hoof wall and the base has no nerve endings, it's made of similar stuff as your fingernails. If you remove too much off the frog (you'd have to take off a lot more than she did) you get to live tissue, then you'd bee hurting the horse, but they'd probably kick you before you got that far down!

[@keciamartens6785]

M

[@djgouge575]

So your not going to trim heels on a horse that is already under run to gather foot into a proper trim ? Y the massive gloves?

[@kidthebilly7766]

she doesn't need to trim the heels as much because the horse is flat footed

[@sparrowhawkd]

I will acknowledge that some horses do not grow much sole and are also tender on rocks and hard ground. In these cases I may trim to the sole, making sure that the sole is even to avoid pressure points and that it is below the level of the hoof wall and not bearing weight.

[@aluz827]

that sounds like an abc principle - part of the hoof being pushed up into the live tissue. not true. the sole should bear some weight.

[@gembug4j]

I don't think you have enough understanding of how to trim a flat footed hoof to post a "how to video" on here. Leave the sole alone at the toe, it's toe callous developing which in turn makes concavity. Bevel the toe more from 10 to 2 o'clock. The frog is nice and thick because a flat hoof needs more cushing to protect itself. I have successfully taken a flat hoof to concavity, but never by your methods. IMO.

[@HarryandApril]

thank you great vid

[@cherylfleischfresser93]

Why is everyone ready to pick faults with someone who is obviously doing what she is good at?

[@aluz827]

there are plenty of bad/misinformed trimmers.

[@Delkolovr2]

My mare is very flat footed as well

[@chechnya]

I imagine trimming a horse hoof is like getting your fingernails clipped/trimmed.. couldn't imagine it hurting unless you go too deep.

[@Skylarkien]

And I suppose you know more? She know how to trim a foot to suit the needs of that particular horse, since there's no shoe. The toe needs to be trimmed so the mare doesn't cut into herself when laying down (I've seen a pony do this, it is possible).

[@Skylarkien]

I think she was mainly trying to get the frog level with the toe, you could see it was slightly over grown.

[@princesskimbie]

Does it hurt the horse?

[@SoullessMermaidGames]

Kimberly Enriquez No unless you cut too much off or hack away at the frog. Think of it as trimming your own nails, cutting off too much hurts and can make it sore.

[@vermillionskye3298]

Nope. They don't feel a thing. The hoof walls are like our fingernails. They only have nerves on the inside, which is why when horse shoes are put on, they can be nailed into the hoof.

[@riderabc1]

@bdg4146432 anyone can post a video - one should be careful as people will take these as gospel so one has a responsibility to ensure what is said is correct. She makes some serious mistakes. There are different ways to trim but more and more are in agreement about leaving live hard sole alone ( those bumps and ridges are new sole growth - leave them and more will come and eventually the horse will not be flat-footed) it takes quite a while.

[@josephmedlow536]

She should have finished taking out the flare on the hoof wall so we could get a better understanding on flares.

[@SoldByBrock]

agreed

[@mayaraza1713]

sorry - I didn't mean to repeat your comment :/

[@Skylarkien]

She didn't actually remove that much, I've seen a vet take off more.

[@hoofforeeya]

You should trim more heel and bar and leave the toe callous on the sole. JMO

[@LonelyWolfesss]

@miabear13 LOL i just came back to read this and i was like HAHAHA and my brother looked at me creepily

[@jonathonhowes]

every 6 to 8 weeks

[@GoodRedBlackRatio]

@wllmbbtt1 I don't agree with everything she does 100%, but she is not making horses lame in the videos I have seen. Hoof trimming is somewhere between an art and a science and every single person will do it a little differently which would be fine if everyone could just relax and not go on the attack instantly like you just did. How about a constructive comment in which you add tips, corrections and knowledge from your (I'm assuming) years of experience? Drop the elitism.

[@sunaJH]

Something about a girl farrier that is hot... Thanks for the fine video

[@ShapeShifterKibayo]

I literally do not have the strength to use nippers -_-

[@Skylarkien]

Yeah basically. You'd have to dig in pretty deep to cause any pain, most of the hoof wall and sole is insensitive.

[@adobroccucci6716]

che bella cosa se questi filmati fossero in ITALIANO

[@jessesimms2376]

you cant see balance by looking down the leg either, you can see flat though smh

[@miabear13]

@LonelyWolfesss ur funny :)

[@JB-xn6pm]

Poor horse. This is cruelty. Just take the toes back and let the hoof fix itself. Carving out soles and taking down the frog? How about an update on this horses condition?

[@hfelton]

What's the matter with some of you? If it hurt the horse he'd let her know, pronto.

[@brendenhoffman8042]

Highly unprofessional of any farriers out there knocking this persons preference, I do not agree with your views on the sole and frog and would do things much diffrently however farriers must RESPECT other farriers styles despite if they are right or wrong or if we feel asthough they are right or wrong

[@LonelyWolfesss]

Imagine telling a human such. Just, make your foot as concave as possible. Annd take off the toe. xDD

[@DUNNING1980]

What is the problem with people posting videos ... When the have not got a clue what they are talking about ...... This lady really has no clue about trimming a hoof for balance !! Lady you should get a new job .

[@wllmbbtt1]

well i know she is a biggener.and doesnt know wtf she is doing ever .you should learn more before you lame more horses.

[@losteden]

you need to trim the frog, the frog must not touch the ground

[@aluz827]

completely false.

[@kristinhladysh3540]

The frog, sole and wall ALL need to bear weight for a healthy, functional hoof.