Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Hoof Trimming 1-2-3

In this post, Charlotte is getting her hooves trimmed...

At some point, I am hoping to write a post titled "Hoof Trimming 101: Everything You Might Possibly Need Or Want To Know About Hoof Trimming."  But that will have to wait.  Because at this point, I am struggling just to understand how to trim hooves myself!


I am using the bright orange hoof trimmers I ordered from Hoegger Supply.  These trimmers are similar to garden shears.  It seems they are the "standard" trimmers for goat owners.

To trim the hooves, I first scraped the manure off that was lodged in the hoof.  Then I trimmed around the edges of the hoof (the white part).  The inside fleshy sole is hard to get a grip on with the trimmers.  It should be just barely "shaved" off.  I am still working at getting a good snip!  Then the heel is trimmed a bit too.

As I was trimming, I made sure to have some blood stop powder on hand.  It is very easy to snip the goats hooves too close (like snipping a fingernail too close)!

Elly May's hooves got a pedicure as well!  Hers are much easier to trim as they are not as tough.

I have been working on Charlotte's hooves a little each day.  I often don't do more than a couple of snips, but it is giving me the practice I need!

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