Old timer told me to stop using a rasp on wet hooves and I thought he was crazy

So last month I was out at a farm in Hudson and this guy in his 70s watches me work for a minute. I was trying to clean up a back hoof after some rain and the hoof was kind of soft. He just goes "son you're just grinding that rasp into mud" lol. Told me to let the hoof dry for 10 minutes or hit it with a heat lamp first. I figured he was full of it but I tried it on the next horse and the rasp actually bit into the hoof instead of sliding. Has anyone else found a big difference working on dry vs wet hooves? I always thought it didn't matter that much.

3 comments

3 Comments

ericj4522d ago

The old timer was right and it's one of those things that seems obvious once you actually try it. Wet hoof wall is basically like trying to sand wet wood, the rasp just skids across and you end up making a mess instead of getting any real work done. I had a similar moment a few years back when a farrier told me to keep a hair dryer in my truck for damp days, felt stupid doing it at first but now I won't even touch a wet foot without drying it first. The rasp grabs way better on dry horn and you don't have to muscle through it nearly as hard. Plus you save your rasps from wearing out faster since they're not just sliding against mush.

the_faith22d ago

You mentioned the hair dryer trick and that got me curious, how long does it usually take to dry a hoof enough before you can start working on it?

diana_west2722d ago

Three hair dryers? That's a lot. Do you just rotate them or run all three at once?