DIY donkey hoof trimming?

[Ellie May]

I don't currently have a horse on the property and suspect my blacksmith will charge more to come just for a donkey trim. My donks both stand very nice for trimming and I'm a pretty good hand around horses etc, and trim my own pig and goats feet, so am thinking about buying a pair of clippers and giving it a try myself. Who else has done, and what do you think? I wouldn't do a horse but how about a donkey DIY?

 

[cedarhillfiberfarm]

I trim my donkey's feet, and if I can, you can. I did watch a farrier several times first and watched lots of videos. Donkey's hooves are not quite the same as horses, so make sure you see how to do a donkey. My farrier does not charge extra to trim a donkey, but does give a multiple animal discount.

It is quite different from trimming goat's feet, it is hard to tell where you are supposed to stop, but it certainly can be done.

The book The Joy Of Hobby Farming has great step by step instructions as well, I definitely recommend you check it out.

 

[promiseacres]

Get a rasp also, sometimes you can get by just with regularly using a rasp.

 

[Bunnylady]

I do my minis' feet. The horses aren't so challenging, but the mule's feet are tough as iron (donkey feet, basically). I like to do them after a rain, when standing on wet ground softens the hoof wall and makes the rasp work better.

 

[Ellie May]

Yep, I did it. And they are still walking ; ) Kind of hard with the regular blacksmith trimmers (can't hold tiny donkey feet in between knees) so did some with that and finished up with goat/pig trimmers and the rasp was very helpful.

 

[Alibo]

I got into trimming my Jenny myself because everyone in my area either refused to touch donkeys or wanted them heavily sedated. If a horse is smart enough to stand for a farrier I expect my donkey to have no problem, so unnecessary sedation is out! This is a site I referred to early on for understanding their underlying hoof structure and angle their hoof should sit at. I also got a protractor to get the angle right and my girls feet have done great! Thanks for giving the same attention to your donkey as a horse would get, it makes me so sad to see poor pasture guardians neglected.

http://barefoothooves.tumblr.com/post/129005639375/donkey-hooves

 

[High Desert Cowboy]

As a farrier I would not recommend just going at a donkeys foot with some knowledge from YouTube and a pair of nippers. If you really want to learn yourself I’d recommend having a farrier there the first few times to help you understand the correct way to do it. As has been stated donkeys feet aren’t the same as horse feet. The only time I’ve ever charged extra for any animal is when they are mean fighters and I lost a lot of time trying to get the animal done. Donkeys fight as opposed to flight, and an unaccustomed donkey can fight like mad. Now imagine they’re fighting while you’re trying to nip some hoof or take off some sole or frog. You could easily go too deep, or mess up and in attempting to fix it make matters worse. Also a sharp hoof knife or new rasp can take a healthy chunk of skin out of your hand believe me. If you work with your donkeys feet regularly you shouldn’t have those problems with fighting, but please consider some hands on training with supervision before attempting yourself

 

[Ellie May]

I got into trimming my Jenny myself because everyone in my area either refused to touch donkeys or wanted them heavily sedated. If a horse is smart enough to stand for a farrier I expect my donkey to have no problem, so unnecessary sedation is out! This is a site I referred to early on for understanding their underlying hoof structure and angle their hoof should sit at. I also got a protractor to get the angle right and my girls feet have done great! Thanks for giving the same attention to your donkey as a horse would get, it makes me so sad to see poor pasture guardians neglected.

http://barefoothooves.tumblr.com/post/129005639375/donkey-hooves

Excellent, thanks!

 

[Ellie May]

As a farrier I would not recommend just going at a donkeys foot with some knowledge from YouTube and a pair of nippers. If you really want to learn yourself I’d recommend having a farrier there the first few times to help you understand the correct way to do it. As has been stated donkeys feet aren’t the same as horse feet. The only time I’ve ever charged extra for any animal is when they are mean fighters and I lost a lot of time trying to get the animal done. Donkeys fight as opposed to flight, and an unaccustomed donkey can fight like mad. Now imagine they’re fighting while you’re trying to nip some hoof or take off some sole or frog. You could easily go too deep, or mess up and in attempting to fix it make matters worse. Also a sharp hoof knife or new rasp can take a healthy chunk of skin out of your hand believe me. If you work with your donkeys feet regularly you shouldn’t have those problems with fighting, but please consider some hands on training with supervision before attempting yourself

I wouldn't remotely consider doing them if they were fighting, but they both stand quite well and in fact I did do it myself. I'll probably alternate with farrier trims and see how it goes, thanks for your info.

 

[drdoolittle]

I do my minis' feet. The horses aren't so challenging, but the mule's feet are tough as iron (donkey feet, basically). I like to do them after a rain, when standing on wet ground softens the hoof wall and makes the rasp work better.

How do you do your minis feet? I will be getting a mini horse this weekend and am considering trimming his hooves myself. I trim my goats hooves and I know it's very different, but I think I can learn.