Re: ANNE, ONE HOUR to do a trim? Initial reponse

Posted by Jim R. on September 16, 2003 at 12:11:53:

In Reply to: Re: ANNE, ONE HOUR to do a trim? posted by Anne Daimler on September 15, 2003 at 21:01:31:

: : Anne,
: : Good lord what are you looking for? Are you including radiographs in this time? Have you ever had a horse radiographed right after you have it trimmed to see if you're even close to the objective? What kind of horses are you working on? Most of the guys and gals that post on these boards work on horses with a job that can't afford to have down time. I'm from an area that horses wear their feet off faster than they can grow it and without shoes riders can't use their horse(s).
: : I will soon get a copy of Strasser's book so I can read it for myself (although I won't be paying for it, I'm into free knowledge). Maybe I will learn something new that will help the horse or make me a better farrier.
: : At any rate the more experience you get the faster you will become. Who knows in twenty years ,if, you're still trimming you might be able to trim a horse in 5-15 minutes. Lets talk after you have trimmed at least 50,000 feet. If you're a free thinking person I bet you will have a opinions that differ from what they are today.

: : Jim R.

: Hi, Jim:

: With horses I have been trimming for a while, whose feet are finally getting healthy (they hold the trim), I can do them in 45 minutes (unless the owner wants to chat alot); anything less than that would be rushing it, and I am not into rushing it. What I do is very specific and I doubt can ever be done in 5 to 15 minutes, even on horses whose feet are totally sound.

: Many of the horses I trim used to have jobs but can't do them anymore because they are lame - even in shoes. Their owners have been told to put them down or that they will never be usable again. Some of them are back to work now; most are still in the rehab process.

: I always talk with the owners about the rehab process and discuss the possibility of down time. Some of the horses I trim never have a sore day. Some are sore after every trim (for anywhere from one day to a week, depending on how much damage is in the hoof/hooves).

: In my part of the country (Florida) the ground is soft and we have an extensive rainy season. The only way horses can wear their hooves naturally is by chipping and breaking. However, the hoofcare specialists from dryer parts with harder ground tell me once the hooves are rehabbed, they are sound on all terrain. Owners are always told their horses will only be sound on terrain they have been conditioned to, so they should not expect a horse who lives on grassy pastures to be sound barefoot on rocky trails or in the mountains. If they want to use their horses on that type of terrain, they need to get creative in the pastures and set up rocky areas the horses will have no choice but to walk over (conditioning can only be done after rehab is complete, though).

: If this sounds like something most of your customers wouldn't go for, that's probably true. I'm not in this to trim 50,000 hooves, only to help the horses whose owners want to go this way. My own horses are doing just fine, and their feet aren't completely healthy yet. My husband's horse (who had lateral coffin bone rotation) finally went sound on pavement, and I am ready to start taking my mare back in the dressage ring.

: I hope you enjoy the big blue book. It does have a lot of info in it. As to me and how I trim, it evolves constantly as I learn from each horse. Part of our yearly recertification consists of learning what Dr. Strasser has learned over the year since we have seen her, and we CSHS are constantly communicating via the internet about what we are finding out in the field.

: Good luck and thanks for the input.

: Anne

Anne,

I mentioned the 50,000 feet not to see how many you can do but more as learning by your mistakes type of number. There is is such variation from foot to foot and horse to horse that you will make mistakes and learn from them. I take my time trimming as well and do a very detailed job and at most it takes me 15 min.. I have had radiographs taken and the boney column is dead on in most cases (I'm not perfect). This comes from triming many, many feet, educating my self with more than one source, attending hands-on clinics and observing how the horse acts when the trim is done.
Very few of the horses I trim to go barefoot are lame after triming because I LEAVE THE SOLE ALONE unless there is signifcant build up that needs to be dealt with. There is only so much sole before you get into sensitve tissue. I'm not selling an idea or a theory I'm sharing my observations of 30+ years of being around horses and 20 being underneath them. Oh yah, the mechanic stool thing, real bad idea, some one will get seriously injured or killed using one eventually. Farriers are killed and severely injured every year by seemingly gentle horses.

Jim R.

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: : : Anne, : : : Good lord what are you looking for? Are you including radiographs in this time? Have you ever had a horse radiographed right after you have it trimmed to see if you're even close to the objective? What kind of horses are you working on? Most of the guys and gals that post on these boards work on horses with a job that can't afford to have down time. I'm from an area that horses wear their feet off faster than they can grow it and without shoes riders can't use their horse(s). : : : I will soon get a copy of Strasser's book so I can read it for myself (although I won't be paying for it, I'm into free knowledge). Maybe I will learn something new that will help the horse or make me a better farrier. : : : At any rate the more experience you get the faster you will become. Who knows in twenty years ,if, you're still trimming you might be able to trim a horse in 5-15 minutes. Lets talk after you have trimmed at least 50,000 feet. If you're a free thinking person I bet you will have a opinions that differ from what they are today. : : : Jim R. : : Hi, Jim: : : With horses I have been trimming for a while, whose feet are finally getting healthy (they hold the trim), I can do them in 45 minutes (unless the owner wants to chat alot); anything less than that would be rushing it, and I am not into rushing it. What I do is very specific and I doubt can ever be done in 5 to 15 minutes, even on horses whose feet are totally sound. : : Many of the horses I trim used to have jobs but can't do them anymore because they are lame - even in shoes. Their owners have been told to put them down or that they will never be usable again. Some of them are back to work now; most are still in the rehab process. : : I always talk with the owners about the rehab process and discuss the possibility of down time. Some of the horses I trim never have a sore day. Some are sore after every trim (for anywhere from one day to a week, depending on how much damage is in the hoof/hooves). : : In my part of the country (Florida) the ground is soft and we have an extensive rainy season. The only way horses can wear their hooves naturally is by chipping and breaking. However, the hoofcare specialists from dryer parts with harder ground tell me once the hooves are rehabbed, they are sound on all terrain. Owners are always told their horses will only be sound on terrain they have been conditioned to, so they should not expect a horse who lives on grassy pastures to be sound barefoot on rocky trails or in the mountains. If they want to use their horses on that type of terrain, they need to get creative in the pastures and set up rocky areas the horses will have no choice but to walk over (conditioning can only be done after rehab is complete, though). : : If this sounds like something most of your customers wouldn't go for, that's probably true. I'm not in this to trim 50,000 hooves, only to help the horses whose owners want to go this way. My own horses are doing just fine, and their feet aren't completely healthy yet. My husband's horse (who had lateral coffin bone rotation) finally went sound on pavement, and I am ready to start taking my mare back in the dressage ring. : : I hope you enjoy the big blue book. It does have a lot of info in it. As to me and how I trim, it evolves constantly as I learn from each horse. Part of our yearly recertification consists of learning what Dr. Strasser has learned over the year since we have seen her, and we CSHS are constantly communicating via the internet about what we are finding out in the field. : : Good luck and thanks for the input. : : Anne : Anne, : I mentioned the 50,000 feet not to see how many you can do but more as learning by your mistakes type of number. There is is such variation from foot to foot and horse to horse that you will make mistakes and learn from them. I take my time trimming as well and do a very detailed job and at most it takes me 15 min.. I have had radiographs taken and the boney column is dead on in most cases (I'm not perfect). This comes from triming many, many feet, educating my self with more than one source, attending hands-on clinics and observing how the horse acts when the trim is done. : Very few of the horses I trim to go barefoot are lame after triming because I LEAVE THE SOLE ALONE unless there is signifcant build up that needs to be dealt with. There is only so much sole before you get into sensitve tissue. I'm not selling an idea or a theory I'm sharing my observations of 30+ years of being around horses and 20 being underneath them. Oh yah, the mechanic stool thing, real bad idea, some one will get seriously injured or killed using one eventually. Farriers are killed and severely injured every year by seemingly gentle horses. : Jim R.

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