Trimming horse hooves is not my favorite thing to do. It is a back breaking process that takes over an hour per horse to do correctly. It is even harder when you have a horse like mine who is putting on weight for the little one in her belly. Lady is very heavy and loves to make the process even harder by not holding her 1500 pounds on all her hooves. My grandpa says it’s just how she is, but secretly I think she enjoys seeing two people struggle to hold up one foot.
The other horse Pepper is very well behaved. She is content to hold her foot up for you. She would like you just leave her alone, but if it must be done she will help you get it over with quickly. Here are my instructions for Horse Mani Pedis.
First, you can arrange clippers, file, and nail polish in a bucket.
Second, tie your horse up short so she doesn’t move around while going through the irritating process.
Cut around the circle of the edge of the hoof, careful not to cut of too much or too little. Often during this stage, the horse will try to pull the foot away from you. To counter this you need to hold the foot harder or ask someone to hold it for you.
After you have gone all the way around the hoof you can use the file. The rougher side of the file will make it harder to file so I recommend using the smaller side if this is your first time.
Horse hoof are like human fingernails they will chip and break if they do not get the nail polish that you should put on them. The polish is clear and will make the hoof look shiny at first but once it dries it will look like the rest of the hoof.
Once this process is complete then you may untie the horse. I like to take them out to the yard and let them mow the grass while I clean up. After about ten minutes I take the horses and release them back out into the pasture to play. Even though it is back breaking your horses will say thank you with a snuggle for the beautiful nails.