1
Changed my mind about using a rasp for every trim after a bad week in July
Had a string of six horses in three days with really hard, dry hoof walls. My usual rasp was just skidding off, taking forever. A guy I know from the Ohio circuit saw me struggling and said, 'You're fighting it, just use the nippers more to start.' I was always taught to rasp first to be safe. But I tried his way on the next one, a big Percheron. Took off the bulk with nippers, then finished with the rasp. Cut my time per hoof almost in half, no loss of quality. Anyone else switch up their order of ops for different hoof conditions?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
susanb3421d ago
Ever try a sharper rasp? I had the same problem with some tough quarter horses last fall. A fresh rasp bites way better into dry hoof, but you're right, sometimes you just gotta get the nippers out first to break the seal. That old school 'rasp only' rule can really slow you down on the hard ones.
1
laura_schmidt8220d ago
Oh man, you get it. That "rasp only" thing sounds good in theory until you're fighting a hoof that feels like concrete. I had a draft cross last week that just laughed at my rasp... spent twenty minutes getting nowhere. Finally grabbed the nippers for one good squeeze and it was like a whole new job. Why make it harder on yourself, right?
2
vera_johnson920d ago
Wait, isn't it the other way around? Honestly, I've always heard you should use the nippers first on a really hard hoof to get the length down, then the rasp to smooth it. If you try to rasp down a super long, dry hoof from the start, you'll just wear out your arm and your tool. Starting with the nippers makes the rasping part way easier.
0