TRIMMING THE
FEET
Such animals that are
mostly kept in confinement and not provided adequate exercise often grow long
hoofs. This condition is not only unsightly but may also render the animal
unable to stand squarely or walk properly. Excessively grown hoofs also bring
on various other foot troubles such as foul foot and foot rot.
The hoofs should be
periodically trimmed otherwise these will break off or disfigure the animal’s
feet. Hoofs of young animals can be trimmed with a long handled chisel while standing
on a hard ground or plank floor. For trimming sole and cleft, large animals
need to be well restrained. A pair of pincers-like the one used in shoeing
horses is a handy implement for clipping off the toe of the hoof or it can be
sawed off with a fine-tooth saw. A shoeing knife can be used to trim the sole
and dead hoof, and then a rasp may be used to smooth down the surface. The
dewclaws, if grown excessively long, should also be trimmed off fairly close.
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Figure 37.
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Tools required
for trimming hoofs
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(a)
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Drawing knife
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(b)
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Toeing knife
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(c)
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Hoof cutters
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(d)
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Pincers
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(e)
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Driving hammer
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(f)
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Three-quarter rasp
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Figure __. Proper trimming of a foot
EXERCISES
1.
Discuss
the importance of periodic clipping of feet of horses and dairy animals.
2.
Name
the tools used for clipping feet.
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