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Discussion on Abrasive hoof trimming
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Member:
Image
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Posted on Wednesday, Oct 18, 2006 - 7:35 pm:
I have been trimming my horses' feet for some time now and as I get older, I am trying to save what's left of my back and try to find a quicker, easier way to trim.  I have found a website that refers to using a 4 1/2" angle grinder. I have been reading up on this quite a bit lately and have to admit it sounds interesting. Has anyone else tried this method on their horses? Check out your search engine and look up the name "Phil Morarre". The website is www.abrasivehorsehooftrimming.com
Let me know what you think!
Thanks
Charlayne 
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Member:
Erika
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Posted on Thursday, Oct 19, 2006 - 8:05 am:
Charlayne, I couldn't get into the site. Is it like a Dremel tool?
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Oct 19, 2006 - 9:27 am:
A 4 1/2 inch grinder is a large hand tool that will require 2 hands to use. You can get a number of different type wheels to go on the end. It is noisy and will be able to remove large amounts of hoof wall very quickly. You can also read this as "mistakes will be easy and can be quite large". But I can see where for some folks and some horses this will be a viable alternative but be careful and wear protective glasses and gloves.
DrO
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Member:
Jojo15
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Posted on Thursday, Oct 19, 2006 - 9:58 am:
Charlayne.... i know phil... and he's awesome. I gave him room to stay and i got 4 days of hoof lessons...Stayed with me when the laminitis symposium was here in West palm. He taught me all sorts of things. And showed me a few tools. I like the hand grinder, but LOVED his beta type tool that one of the manufacturers sent him to try out. I could trim using one hand. Only problem is it took longer since the disk was smaller. It was in between the size of a dremel and the hand grinder. Much lighter too. I kept it for 3 months and used it and got used to it. Then i got the hand grinder... it just sits there now. I just can't use it as easily. So the experience is harder on you. You have to purchase a hoof jack so that the hoof can be hands free.
If you have a chance to go to his seminar he is a good patient teacher...very laid back, and so wonderful with the horses.
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Member:
Image
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Posted on Thursday, Oct 19, 2006 - 6:19 pm:
Thanks Dr O. Yes, I could see where things could go to the worse in a hurry.  I guess it's safe to say technique is everything with this. From what I read on the website, the grinders people appear to be using are "weaker" ones with a kill switch and variable speeds in some cases. I figure a light touch with plenty of "looking" to see what's happening will be in order. I will definitely be wearing a mask and eye protection.  Two of my girls are very calm and take to new things well so I would probably start with them. My jumpy 6 year old will probably still be done the old fashioned way with alot of desensitizing to the grinder along the way.
Jojo, thanks for the response! Man, I wish I had known about this when Phil was in West Palm!  I was noticing he doesn't have any seminars anywhere even close to me now. I was thinking about ordering the DVD and seeing if it made sense to me.  You got a great trade with the room and board for a 4 day lesson! Not sure I understand which tool you are using now. What is a Beta tool? Which one works best for you?
Erika, nope, it's bigger than a dremel. Phil Morarre advises to use a 4 or 4 1/2 inch flap disc about 40 grit for regular use or 24-36 grit if the hooves are really hard. I don't know why the website isn't working, that's how I get into it. Go to your search engine and type in Phil Morarre. It comes up that way for me too.
Thanks again!
Charlayne
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Member:
Ellen66
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Posted on Friday, Oct 20, 2006 - 12:46 am:
Hello Charlyne I LOVE my Cummins grinder. I had to trim 12-18 horses by hand, and with the natural trim that means every 4 weeks. I am 5' 4" and while I am muscular and husky, I have weak wrists and started to get a "tennis elbow" from all the rasping and filing.
The Cummins grinder is fairly light, I have no problems using only one hand. I also would stress the importance of safety glasses and gloves AND a proper stand to make sure that hoof does not move while you work on it. i have a stand that also has a sling to rest the hoof in for working on the underside of the hoof.
It was mentioned that it would be easy to take off too much too fast. I have to say that only with the grinder am I actually able to go layer by layer without mistake. I could never get that accuracy with nippers,files or knives.
What I do find is that I cannot get an easy and even outline for the outside edge of the hoof with the grinder, unless I concentrate very much and take too much time for my liking - so I use the grinder for hoofwall removal and heel height adjustment as well as roughly rounding the edges and doing some cleanup around the frog. The frog gets rarely touched, but if, I use a hoofknife for that. I rasp the outside of the hoof to complete a nice rounded edge, and voila, 30 min per horse without soreness in my arms or wrists.
The horses will get used to the noise, dust and else faster than one would imagine. One caution - the debris comes out flying from the one side of the disc and if you hold it the wrong way, ouch!
I had a few horses come to me with awfully long and overgrown feet, and I would not have managed to clean them up without the grinder. Check out some picture of how I removed layer after layer on my stallion who came to us with his very own set of "platforms"....
https://moondanceacres.com/Kjalarbarefoot.html#anchor_226
Have fun, for me it is the only way I can do my horses' feet without ruining my hands, wrists and arms!
Cheers, Ellen
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Member:
Kthorse
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Posted on Friday, Oct 20, 2006 - 7:02 am:
great pictures Ellen, I love the way his feet have become concaved. I have only started doing my horses feet but with a file. His feet look great and my trimmer will come out every few months to check up on my work. Since his heels are low enough and balance is good she recommends not touching the bottom of the hoof at all just keep rolling the walls. Just doing that has kept them nice and short and brought him back to having rock crushing feet. He also had very low soles. Its amazing to watch them concave without touching them. I would not have believed it had I not seen it myself. It only takes about 15 minutes a month for me to do his feet with a file.
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Member:
Erika
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Posted on Friday, Oct 20, 2006 - 8:33 am:
Wow, Ellen, nice rehab. And I am especially impressed with your chart to keep track of changes.
I have been dealing with some foot issues and would love to see all my photos charted like that! I have to search through all sorts of programs to find what I'm looking for.
I am not as do-it-yourself as you. Still trying to be prudent with a rasp (right Dr. O? I'm staying away from those heels ). But I admire your efforts.
Welcome to the site, by the way. I think you will be an interesting addition!
Erika
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Member:
Ellen66
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Posted on Friday, Oct 20, 2006 - 1:36 pm:
Thanks for the kind words.
Reg. my picture charts - I had some of the same frustrations about finding thourough "before-during-after" examples on the net or in the books I found about natural trimming. Also I want these pictures for myself, just to have a side by side comparison of what was and what is. Sometimes it seems like nothing changed, but then you look at the pictures and see that maybe the hoof shape got slightly rounder or the proportions did indeed slightly change to the better.
reg. concavity - With this particular horse I am more concerned about the hoof being contracted (or as it is usually said, the heels being contracted) than about concavity. I have other horses where it is the opposite, nice strong wide heels with good digital cushion, but flat feet and thin sole, ouch.
What do you mean with "DrO staying away from these heels"?
Cheers, Ellen
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Member:
Erika
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Posted on Friday, Oct 20, 2006 - 2:00 pm:
Little inside joke. Dr. O got on my case (in a nice way) about my aggressive trim one time. A little knowledge can be dangerous, and I had just a little knowledge!
I just meant that I am now careful to do less, rather than more, and power tools would be disastrous in my hands!
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Saturday, Oct 21, 2006 - 8:04 am:
Well, too aggressive in one aspect and not enough in another if I remember right Erika.
DrO
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Member:
Image
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Posted on Saturday, Oct 21, 2006 - 8:50 pm:
Thanks Ellen!
Have you had any problems with your Cummins grinder? People on that website say they have had to send alot of them back to the manufacturer so I have steered clear of Cummins so far. Your stallion is beautiful! And what a great job you have done on his feet! Did you do that with the grinder? I really like the photo records you kept to keep checking his progress. It was interesting seeing the changes and the period of time involved.
Charlayne
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Member:
Ellen66
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Posted on Saturday, Oct 21, 2006 - 9:15 pm:
Charlayne - I heard people talking about overheating. I had no problem with that at all; I usually do two horses in a row.
A common complaint is that the switch has to be held in the ON position and then it is uncomfortable to do the work, as your hand is at the end of the handle. Or you put it in continuous ON mode and then it is dangerous. Somebody developed a paddleswitch attachment that makes it possible to hold it in the middle of the handle and turn it on and off from that much more comfortable place.
I have to say that even if my grinder would only last half as long as any other grinder, I would still be laughing, for thatlow price. I ordered two right away, just in case, but after 6 months I am still going strong on the first one with no problems at all. As far as I know it is the lightest one for weight that is available with that disc size.
I am wondering if some people maybe put too much pressure on when they work it? Or maybe have the wrong kind of wiring? Dunno...
Yes, it is interesting to see the changes. I am still waiting for his hooves to decontract, and once that happens it will be even more interesting to compare pictures. all the trimming on there has been done with the angle grinder except frog clean up and final touches on the rolled edges. I could not have done it otherwise, I am a total dud with nippers and such.
Cheers Ellen
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Member:
pbarlow
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 10:32 pm:
I would like to reactivate this thread because using a grinder is a very wonderful experience and it could really help someone to know about. The horses seem to like the vibration and quickly get used to it. Using the correct grit makes it actually a very slow shaping job, not as quick to go wrong as you might think. It requires a hoof stand to be really easy and you have to wear your personal protective equipment, but its easier on the animals and MUCH easier on us old ladies trimming the animals.
I have a video of me on YouTube doing my first grinding on a mare who has not been trained for it previously.
Trimming Lightening Bug
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1BoRDPaeyI
I use it on all of my animals: donkeys, mules, mustangs, and domestic horses.
You should definitely watch Phil Morarre's DVD first.
Yrs,
Patricia
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