Had a hoof trimming revelation last week after 8 years of doing it my way

I always trimmed the back of the hoof first because that was how my first boss showed me, but a client in Kentucky mentioned her old farrier did it front-first and I tried it on a tough quarter crack. The horse stood way steadier and I got a cleaner cut in half the time. Has anyone else switched up their order of operations and seen a difference?

2 comments

2 Comments

max_ramirez4812d ago

Front first works better. Fixed a nasty quarter crack that way last month.

rosep8712d ago

Feel for you big time. I did the same thing for years, back hoof first like it was the law or something. A friend dragged me to a clinic and the guy showed me front-first on a nasty crack, and I was too stubborn to try it for another six months. When I finally did, it was like night and day. The horse didn't flinch, the cut was clean, and my back stopped hurting from leaning over so long. It's crazy how something so simple can change everything after you've been doing it wrong for so long. Not gonna lie, I felt a little stupid, but hey, we learn and move on.