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Trimming a Hoof A farrier student prepares to shoe a horse. From "Trade School" episode DTRS-209

Figure A

In this episode of Trade School, farrier student Kit Lindsay demonstrates the time-honored and physically demanding skill of crafting and fitting horseshoes (figure A). Kit's teacher Chad Simmons gives him a taste of fieldwork by guiding him through "hot shoeing" a horse. Hot shoeing involves the immediate use of a forge to either make adjustments on pre-made shoes or to craft custom shoes from raw bar stock.

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Basic Tools:

farrier's stand
rasps
pull offs
hoof pick
hoof knife
loop knife

In this session, Kit must first trim each hoof before he can fit new shoes.

Before any work is done, Chad and Kit carefully observe the hose's gait for any signs of injury or pain (figure B).

Kit gears up by putting on leather chaps. These offer some protection against injury and aid in handling the horse's hoof. With his tools ready, Kit approaches the horse speaking with a soothing voice to alert her to his presence. To gain access to the hoof, he pats the horse in the middle of her back and glides his hand along her flank all the way down to the lower leg (figure C). Many horses will offer their hooves to a farrier at this point. This technique helps to prevent injury caused by the horse getting spooked.

Figure B

Figure C

Once he successfully gains the rear hoof, he maneuvers it on to a farrier's stand (figure D). Luckily for Kit, this horse seems to be familiar with this process. To remove the old shoes, Kit first uses a rasp to file off the clinched-over nails holding the old shoes on (figure E). The nail ends are visible in the hard outer hoof also known as the horny wall. Kit is careful to not file too high on the hoof.

Figure D

Figure E

After receiving the horse's rear hoof again, he braces it over and against his thigh while in a hunkered position (figure F). This "farrier position" can be grueling, especially if the horse fights by pulling its leg. Because horses have short attention spans, farriers typically have about 30 seconds in this stance before the horse needs to rest. To remove the shoes, he uses large plier-like tools called pull-offs (figure G). Starting from the heel side and working his way around, he carefully pries it off. Now Kit can trim each hoof.

Figure F

Figure G

Back in the farrier's position, he first digs out grass, dirt and debris from the sole of the hoof using a hoof pick (figure H). He also uses the pick to mark the edges between the sole and the fleshy triangular section in the back of the sole called the frog (figure I). The tender frog helps provide blood to the hoof, and relieving pressure from it is the primary reason horses need shoes.

Figure H

Figure I

With the majority of the debris removed, Kit uses a hoof knife to flake off dead layers from the sole (figure J) and uses a loop knife to trench out the commissures surrounding the frog to allow it to breathe properly (figure K). Using the hoof knife again, he carefully trims any loose, ragged frog--being careful not to cut too deep. Ultimately, Kit wants the bottom of the hoof to be as flat as possible

Figure J

Figure K

Using plier-like tools called nippers, he trims the bottom of the horny wall of the hoof (figure L). This is much like using fingernail clippers on your own nails. To smooth and level the bottom of each hoof, he files in broad strokes using a rasp (figure M).

Figure L

Figure M

To finish trimming, Kit again uses the farrier's stand to clean the bottom half of the horny wall with a series of rasps. He starts with a sharp rasp to remove more dead material initially, and then working his way to finer rasps for a smoother finish.

In the next segment, Kit fits the horse with new shoes.