# Good news for novice hoof trimmers



## Hykue (Aug 13, 2010)

It might not be you, it might be your shears!  (That's the short story . . . if you desire to read the long story, see below.  But you already know the punchline.)

I have been trying with VERY little success to get my two new goats' feet all trimmed up and purty.  The breeder trimmed Dash for me when I picked her up, but she has some insanely fast hoof growth, so she was starting to need it again.  Dot's feet weren't awful, but it was clear that they had not been done to that perfect shape for a long time . . . like maybe eight years . . . her whole life.  She didn't have elf shoes or anything, but her toes were splayed and the toes were too long - her dewclaws were way closer to the ground than they should have been.  Way closer.

I bought a pair of "hoof rot shears" for sheep at the feed store where I got my goat ration.  I was very proud to have found and acquired the correct tool for the job before I even had my goats.  They didn't have any hoof shears here in town.  The first time I tried to use them, I had an H-E-doublehockeysticks of a time trying to cut with them at all, not to mention cut carefully and neatly.  I thought I just was really bad at it.  I persevered.  Dot tried to be patient, but she can eat her (very small) grain ration in about 15 seconds, which left her with about 9 minutes and 45 seconds of waiting for me to finish her back right hoof.  I never could get it, and I kept thinking . . . next time.  I actually think that her hoof was growing faster than I could cut it, and I was trying to cut it every other night.

Today, I finally went into town again.  I had a list of goatie accessories (and medications) that I wanted to have on hand . . . needles, syringes, scour-stop, iodine, red cell, etc.  I did have "surform or rasp" on my list, because it was clear that I was incapable of using shears, so I thought I'd try a rasp.  While I was looking for a surform at the first store I went to, I saw some aviation snips.  I thought to myself, "Self, lupinfarm uses aviation snips."  So I got them too.  And I thought to myself, "Self, cmjust0 uses a hoof knife."  So I got one of those too.  Then I got some small pruners.  Then I went to another store and got some slightly larger pruners and a surform.  Apparently I was feeling a little nuts . . .

So I got home, took the goats out to the good pasture, got their feet as wet as they'll ever get here, brought them in, put Dot up on the stanchion, and tried the "proper" hoof shears one last time.  No dice.  I got out the pruners that I had bought, which I thought might be the best bet - they look a lot like the "orange-handled shears" everyone on here seems to looove.  I thought they were too small.  I thought they weren't powerful enough.  I skeptically applied them to Dot's hoof.  I skeptically squeezed them.  They snipped shut instantly.  I was sure that they had slipped off, but no!  They worked like a hot knife through butter!

   

So, if you are having a nasty ol' time trying to trim hooves for the first time, before your throw your hands up in despair, try a different tool.  If you can afford it, buy a whole whack of them and return the ones you don't use the next time you're in town.  That's what I'm going to do!


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## cmjust0 (Aug 13, 2010)

Hykue said:
			
		

> She didn't have elf shoes or anything, but her toes were splayed and the toes were too long - her dewclaws were way closer to the ground than they should have been.  Way closer.


This could be nothing, but if you're in a selenium deficient area and she's not been supplemented, that _could be_ part of the problem.  As I understand it, being "down in the pasterns" one of those tell-tale selenium deficiency things..

Being down low in the pasterns also has a tendency to put more pressure on the heel than the toe, which keeps the heel worn and allows the toe to...sprawl a bit, for lack of a better word.  What I'm getting at is that it may not be so much that she's down in the pastern _because_ her feet haven't been properly trimmed, but the other way around...that her feet tend to grow that way because she's down in the pastern..

On the other hand, there is such a thing as being downright coon-footed.    I have a goat that's way down in her pasterns, though, and she gets Bo-Se 2x/yr...  

I dunno...just saying...something to look into, maybe.



> And I thought to myself, "Self, cmjust0 uses a hoof knife."  So I got one of those too.


Yep..he do.  

CM also has to admit (which is to say, has thus far forgotten to "out" himself, as he is prone to doing on so many things) that he threw a pair of the orange-handled shears on an order from Jeffers to get himself to $50 and therefore avoid shipping.  

I've used shears in the past -- hated them -- but the orange handled ones are a lot better than whatever I'd tried to use before.  They're actually _OK_..

But _just_ OK..  

They hurt my hands because there's not enough surface area on the handle to apply the kind of pressure required without them kinda digging into your palms.  That sucks.  And, they're slick plastic -- not great for grippiness when you're sweating like a hawg as you trim hooves.  

So...what CM did this last time was use the shears to remove the bigger pieces, then he laid the shears down and pick up his trusty old hoof knife to do the detail work.  

But...to be fair...shears officially have a place in my cabinet now.  


And...YES...once again, for the millionth time, I proved to myself that having the correct tools for the job makes all the difference in the world.    (...dunno how many times I'm gonna have to prove that to myself, but this won't likely be the last...)

Glad you had hoof-trimming success.


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## BetterHensandGardens (Aug 15, 2010)

I'm really hoping here since I just sent in a whopping Jeffer's order for goat supplies (and it's mostly this forums fault ) that the orange handled shears you're talking about are the "shear magic" hoof shears that Jeffer's sells?  I have to tackle the hoof trimming for the first time soon..........


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## mabeane (Aug 24, 2010)

I have a doe that hasn't had her hooves done for six years.  I have worked on them but I am not happy with results.  Her dewclaws curl around and I can only cut a bit at a time. DH says he'll take 'em down to when they need to be with a sharper tool but I am not sure if this is the thing to do.


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## Goatherd82 (Aug 24, 2010)

I have heard of people making goat toys with roof shingles on the surface, so when they play the shingles are supposed to file the hooves.  The buck I bought from them had well-trimmed hooves, so I'm guessing it works.  Has anyone else tried this?

Nathan


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## savingdogs (Aug 24, 2010)

We tackled our first time with a pair of very sharp pruners and it went great!


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## Egg_Newton (Aug 25, 2010)

I'm just going to use a drimmel. It's what I use for my dogs nails too.


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## cmjust0 (Aug 25, 2010)

Egg_Newton said:
			
		

> I'm just going to use a drimmel. It's what I use for my dogs nails too.


Yikes.  Dremel = heat..


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## savingdogs (Aug 25, 2010)

I'm familiar with using a dremel on dogs toenails, it doesn't seem to make them hot.
But I think it would just take too darn long to dremel a goat hoof. I'd like to know how it works if you try it though.
I think I'd just do a final smoothing with it, not the cutting, but I would think the noise would scare my goats.


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## aggieterpkatie (Aug 26, 2010)

I'm not sure a dremel would work simply because sheep and goat hooves aren't like dog nails.  Their hooves are softer, more like hard rubber and not hard like dog nails.  Yes, some older animals do have rock hard hooves, but not like nails.  It'd be much quicker to use a good quality pair of hoof trimmers.


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Aug 26, 2010)

I groom dogs for a living and use a dremel regularly for nails.  Considered using it on the goats for a moment but I agree that they're too soft.  I like a rasp for leveling the sole after using the hoof trimmers.


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## Dreaming Of Goats (Aug 29, 2010)

I help on a goat farm, and I had to trim kid goat feet yesterday for the first time. I'm a kid, and I did it! I think I used the orange handled ones and they worked pretty well! I trimmed 2 goats hooves.....and I got the hang of it!


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## savingdogs (Aug 29, 2010)

Good for you, Dreaming of Goats and Sheep. 

I've seen young people who were much better with animals than adults. Sometimes we don't give you guys credit! 

I know my son can catch any animal quicker and better than I can!


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## jlbpooh (Aug 29, 2010)

Goatherd82 said:
			
		

> I have heard of people making goat toys with roof shingles on the surface, so when they play the shingles are supposed to file the hooves.  The buck I bought from them had well-trimmed hooves, so I'm guessing it works.  Has anyone else tried this?
> 
> Nathan


The ramp that goes up to the large porch on my goat house is made of deckboards and then I nailed shingles on top. It is fairly steep to where I have to walk up on my toes in order to get up. My goats LOVE this ramp and think it is a plaything in itself. I have found that it has extended my time in between trimmings quite dramatically since they have been playing on this. So, in my case, I would say that it does work.


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## Egg_Newton (Sep 1, 2010)

The lady I bought my goats from uses hoof trimmers then finishes up with a drimmel. I'm a big chicken and was afraid I'd cut too deep and injure a hoof or a paw (that's why I use them for the dogs too).  It does take a little longer but I only have two goats. Since the lady I got them from used a drimmel the older one didn't mind but the whither did scream quite a bit but I imagine he will get used to it too.


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## cutechick2010 (Sep 10, 2010)

*Hykue,*could you post a picture of the pruners you got that worked so well? Or a link to a similar product online, what ever is easiest.  I am just very curious, the only pruners I know of are the huge ones you use for cutting tree branches, LOL. I have been using the hoof rots shears too, and I think if I have to use them one more time I may wind up with some kind of hernia of the hand...


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## Hykue (Sep 10, 2010)

I took pictures . . . 







The old ones are the green-handled ones on the right, the new ones are the black-handled ones on the left.  I don't know why they're so much better, but they really truly are . . . they might be sharper, or maybe the blades meet better, or the slightly less broad blade is easier to get into the middle of the hoof, or they fit my hand a little better . . . I don't know.  Maybe all of the above.  It's like night and day, though.  It's still a little tough to make a cut when the hooves are really dry, but 10 times easier with the pruners than with the hoof shears.






The pruners in my tiny little hand.  You can see the brand is Fiskar, but I don't know how much difference that makes.  Maybe they're really great pruners, or maybe it could be any pruners at all.

ETA: Are these pictures enormous?  Am I being a jerk to those with dial-up?  I can't tell . . . input, please!


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## cutechick2010 (Sep 10, 2010)

Looks great to me. Thanks a lot!


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