Old timer at the sale barn told me to ditch my nippers and just use a rasp

Honestly, I thought that guy was full of it back in 2018 when I was starting out in Kansas. He said I was overthinking it and ruining the hoof wall. Tried his method on a tough Belgian cross last month, and sure enough, it saved me a good 15 minutes and the hoof looked cleaner. Has anyone else had success just going slow with the rasp on heavy horses?

2 comments

2 Comments

leo_lopez1mo ago

Man that old timer knew what he was talking about. I started out trimming in 2016 and was obsessed with my nippers until I watched a farrier in Wyoming just walk a horse through a creek for 20 minutes then hit the feet with a rasp. Softened the hooves up enough that the rasp did all the work. Never looked at nippers the same way since.

faitha401mo ago

First time I tried that trick my horse just sat down in the creek like it was bath time.