I have to admit--one of the reasons I was attracted to my husband was the fact that he was a farrier. It's saved me thousands of dollars over the years. But every mechanic's wife knows that her car is last on the priority list. And so it became with my horses. I had to constantly nag him to trim or shoe my horses. I found that sometimes, it was easier just to pay another farrier to come out.
For years, my husband told me that I should learn to trim my own horses. I said, 'yeah, right!'. I'm what you'd call a 'slight' person, and I didn't think there was any way in heck I could trim a horse. I knew nothing of hoof mechanics either.
Fast forward to Fall, 2010. My beloved gelding, Hershey, had been mysteriously lame for three years. His feet looked awful, with big cracks extending up the middle of both front feet. I suspected white line disease. My world had recently changed due to two things: the birth of my son in 2007 and my completion of an equine acupressure program in 2009. I now had less time to spend with my horses, but a newfound and ever-growing interest in all things 'natural' relating to horses. It was in acupressure school that I met Lu, a woman from Montana who was a natural trimmer. I consulted her about Hershey, and she urged me to find a natural trimmer here.
After a desperate search for a so-called 'natural trimmer' in my area, I came up empty-handed. I began to research natural-trimming for myself and decided that it wouldn't hurt to try it. After all, Lu did it for a living.
I bought Pete Ramey's book, Making Natural Hoof Care Work for You, and spent hours reading and taking notes. I read nearly every article on his website www.hoofrehab.com. I also bought his dvd set, Under the Horse. It's been an arduous process, and I'm finding I still have much to learn. Even with all my newfound knowledge, I found that I was still scared to death of hurting my horses when I trimmed. After my husband's guidance and hours and hours of practice, I became more confident. One of the hardest parts for me has been physical labor involved with trimming a hoof. It took me forever to trim one hoof at first, and trimming two hooves was all I could do in one day. You definitely have to build up your stamina when trimming horses. I can now trim one or two horses a day. I know, it's not great--but it's an improvement. I have five horses, and I trim one a week.
I think the most amazing part of this whole do-it-myself-natural-hoof-trimming process has been the knowledge I have gained. I knew nothing of the internal structures of the hoof before. Now, I understand the function of the coffin bone and I can recognize symptoms of toe pain or heel pain. My husband has told me that I probably have a greater understanding of the hoof than most traditional farriers (which is scary and satisfying at the same time!)
Anyways, my point is, if I can do it, you can sure as heck do the same. I'm not advising anyone to take nippers to a hoof if you don't have a pretty good understanding of the internal hoof structures. An uninformed trimmer could do a lot of damage (and many have, I'm sure). Get an education first. Whether it's attending a clinic, reading every book and website you can find on natural trimming, working with an experienced natural trimmer, etc. But, you can do it! My horses feet are looking better than ever.
For more reading on natural hoof trimming, see my article "Doing your own Natural Hoof Trimming".
P.S.--Back to Hershey. It's been nearly five years since his lameness appeared. I spent thousands of dollars during the first year or two, taking him to nearly every vet around. Not one of them looked at his feet. I am really suspecting that they've been the culprit all along. He is now on a strict regimen for treating white line disease and even though I know there's probably some internal damage since it's been going on so long, I am hopeful at returning him to some state of soundness. He's the reason I started this journey so I'll continue to do everything I can to get his hooves in the best possible shape. I'll keep you updated.
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