Crystal gets a trim!

I tried to get photos of before/after - and yes, it is all my own handiwork. My farrier of 9 years suddenly stopped returning calls and after many years of working for a farrier and then watching for 20 years, I'm trimming my own horses.


Right front before & after


Right hind before & after


Left Hind before & after

Crystal is pretty cow hocked by nature, and on both of her back feet, the outside wall was very flared and much longer than the inside wall. I trimmed the outside walls down so they were shorter, but without doing it dramatically. I don't want to change too much too quickly for her. But even after the trim, she still held her weight on the inside walls. The good thing about being your own farrier is that you see their hooves every day and can make adjustments as needed.

I actually am impressed with my skills at this point - I no longer ever see cracks or big flares between trims because I'm there to take care of it before it gets to that point. Everyone has stayed sound and happy (where a couple of mine would get sore when my farrier trimmed the sole too much).

Both of Crystal's front hooves are about to shed a large amount of sole - I didn't want to pry it off before it was ready, but it is coming loose. But I will keep an eye on it as I pick them out every day. It is kind of weird looking on the bottom of her hooves right now, with a separation between the wall/sole area at the edge of the white line, but I suspect it will be corrected easily when she sheds the sole. I'll also be able to trim her hooves a little shorter at that point - they're still longer than I'd like, but not nearly as crazy as they were!