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Hoof Trimming Tools

Domesticated animals with hooves, such as horses, cattle, goats and sheep, must have their hooves trimmed to prevent disease and injury. There is a standard set of tools that is used to trim the hooves of these animals. Most of the tools used overlap for use on the various animals, with a couple of exceptions. Some farmers hire professional hoof trimmers to perform this task, while many others prefer to do it themselves.

Hoof Pick
- A hoof pick is a metal hook with a flat handle. The whole tool is typically made of one piece of metal and is between 5 and 6 inches long. The hook is used to clean dirt and other debris out of the grooves and recesses of the bottom of the hoof. The designs vary somewhat, but the handle is usually curved at the end so it can be used to scoop out wider indentations.
Hoof Knife
- A hoof knife is a tool used to trim off loose and ragged sections of the soul and frog of the hoof. The soul is the broad crescent-shaped flat that forms the front half of the bottom of the hoof. The frog is the soft, protruding triangular section beginning at the back of the hoof bottom and pointing into the soul. Hoof knives are typically about 8 inches long or less, and the blade only measures 2 1/2 to 4 inches. The blade has a single sharp edge and is slightly curved instead of flat. The tip of the hoof knife is flat instead of pointed, and is bent to create blunt hook. Hoof knives are usually indicated as either left or right handed, depending on which edge of the blade is sharp.
Hoof Nippers
- Nippers are used to trim the hoof wall down to size. The hoof wall is the protruding edge that curves around the front half of the hoof. The hoof wall on a full-grown horse should measure approximately 3 to 3 3/4 inches from the top of the hoof to the bottom at the toe --- any amount beyond that is trimmed off at the bottom using the nippers. Hoof nippers are shaped like long-handled pliers with sharp tips bent at 90-degree angles so when the handles are pushed together the sharp edges meet to clip off the hard hoof wall material. Hoof nippers are usually made of steel. Hoof nippers are typically used only for the hooves of larger animals such as horses and cattle.
Hoof Rasp
- Hoof rasps are like flat wood rasps, except sharper. They are typically around 14 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. These sharp rasps are used to even out the hoof wall on the bottom of the hoof after trimming with the nippers. They are also used to remove any burrs or other loose matter from the hoof wall.
Hoof Shears
- Hoof shears come in many designs, but most resemble either garden shears or tin snips. They have two sharp opposing blades that meet and overlap slightly when the handles are pushed together. The handles typically have a rubber coating for easy grip. Hoof shears are usually used only for smaller animals such as goats and sheep and are not used on horses or cattle because their hooves are too hard for hoof shears to penetrate.

Animals & Science