There are so many tools used by farriers in their trade and if you are interested in becoming a farrier, you will need to become familiar with these. This is useful information if you have horses and you want to understand a little bit more about how well your farrier is treating the horse.
Trimming hooves is a common procedure that is carried out by the farrier. This is done using hoof picks and you can find them in different shapes and styles. If there are a lot of mud and stones lodged in the hoof, a hoof pick with a triangular shaped head will be more useful. You need to choose a hoof pick that comes with a comfortable handle. The tapered end can help remove stubborn rocks. The brush will help you examine the hoof structure better. There is a two pronged tool called the hoof tester that can be used to check if the horse has a sore foot. This is used with a pinching movement and it puts pressure on different spots on the heel or sole. The farrier can tell when the horse is reacting to pressure and this can indicate there is a sore spot. You can use them as a horse owner as well to get a better understanding of the health of the horse. There are smaller hoof testers to use on foals and ponies as well.
Another essential in farrier tools is the shoe puller that will help them get the shoe off the hoof without causing damage to the horse. If you are a horse owner, this tool will be useful for you as well if the horse has a badly fitted shoe and the farrier takes some time to come to the location. You can have your farrier show you how to use the shoe puller in an emergency making sure no harm is done to the animal. To remove the nails out of a horseshoe, you can use a nail puller. This can be used to get the shoe off as well. This is a precise tool that allows the farriers to place the nails accurately. This will prevent any damage from occurring to the hoof walls of the horse. Look for hoof pullers that have jaws with sharp points. This will allow you to grip the nail head easily.
The farrier’s knife will remove loose dead frog to ensure that the healthy tissue can breathe. You will find different styles of knives such as double edged knives and loop knives. A loop knife has two curves and it allows the farrier to use it in different directions. If you are working on larger hooves, you can use a larger knife to pare away excess sole. But if there is infected tissue, you will require a small blade for finer work. Nippers look like nail clippers and they can trim around the hoof wall to ensure that the horse’s foot is the proper length. You can use this to remove additional hoof material and it can bevel the edge of the hoof as well. Ensure that the nippers are sharp and keep their edge. You can choose nippers of varying lengths depending on the type of horse you are working with.
