Every responsible horse owner knows well just how important regular hoof trimming is. It helps keep the horse healthy and beautiful. Horses who have poorly maintained hooves will eventually start suffering from lameness. This condition is caused by discomfort and pain that they feel in their legs due to excess material on their hooves. It ruins the posture of a horse which can lead to some additional health problems related to leg muscles and joints.
That is why most horse owners try their best to trim their horse’s hoofs properly. Some like to do it by themselves while others like to take their horse to a professional hoof trimmer who is called a farrier. Whether you’re a farrier or a horse owner who does hoof trimming on their own, you need to have good horse hoof clippers at your disposal. Here are a few options for you to chose from.
Reviews of the Best Hoof Trimmers for Horses
Best overall: Farrier Hoof Nipper
As far as downsides go, there’s not much one can hold against these nippers. Some people consider them not sharp enough from the box. And since they are quite long, they can be a bit difficult to handle for people with small hands. They are also a bit pricey.
Best Balanced – Tough 1 Professional 15inch Nipper
Even though they open wide enough, these nippers trim hoofs the best if you grab less material with them. They could be sharper out of the box but they can be sharpened relatively easily. They are a bit heavy and bulky so they might be a bit uncomfortable for women farriers.
Upgrade pick: Electric Horse Hoof Trimmer
The only downside to using this tool is the fact that it can easily cut off too much of the hoof if used improperly. Likewise, the user could also injure themselves easily if they don’t know how to handle the trimmer.
Budget option: Interpid International Hoof Farrier Nippers
They are very cheap so it should not come as a surprise that they lack in some aspects. They aren’t very sharp from the original packaging and they can’t hold the edge very long. That is why it’s best to use them for trimming hoofs of small horses or goats, sheep and pigs. They are also a tad heavy and bulky so they might be unsuitable for people with smaller hands.
Farrier Hoof Trim Tool 4 Piece Kit
Overall, all three of the tools included in this package are medium quality. Each one could ideally be a bit sharper, but you could also sharpen them on your own relatively easily. The wooden handles on the rasp and the hoof knife are made of somewhat weak wood so you should be careful not to break them accidentally. Lastly, the nippers are a bit big and heavy so they can be uncomfortable for users with small hands.
Buying Guide: Features to Look for In a Good Hoof Trimmer
In order to buy the ideal horse hoof trimming tools for your needs, you should know what kind of features to search for. So let’s take a minute to cover that right here.
Nippers, hoof knives and rasps should ideally all be made from high quality steel. This will guarantee that they won’t break or bend during trimming. The blades of your nippers should be hardened because soft steel doesn’t retain a sharp edge for long and you don’t want to have to sharpen your tool often since that takes a considerable amount of time. Your new nippers should be built firmly and not wobbly or loose. They should also open wide enough to be able to grab enough hoof material. If you have to cut very tough hoofs, you need good leverage from your nippers and long handles will provide you with that. But if your hands are small, such handles could cause you troubles.
As far as electric hoof trimmers for horses go, look for two important features. They should be able to work at a high RPM count in order to trim the hoof easily. And they should be as quiet as possible so that they don’t startle your horse. Any additional features are welcomed of course.
Benefits of using electric horse hoof trimmers
Electric horse hoof trimmers can make a farrier’s work much easier because they can do the work of nippers, a hoof knife and a rasp by themselves. They also trim the hoofs much faster than manual tools which makes them ideal for people who have a loot of hoofs to take care of. Electric hoof trimmers are precise and light so almost anyone can use them very effectively.
Conclusion and roundup of our top 3 picks
Each one of the horse hoof trimmers we reviewed is on our list for a reason, some are best budget tools, others are best electric trimmers and so on. But three of them stand out just a bit from the others as the overall best.
- Mustad Farrier Hoof Nipper – Famous manufacturer, durable, made from quality steel, offering good leverage, these nippers should help you trim hoofs for years.
- Farrier Hoof Trim Tool Piece – Three most important hoof trimming tools in one kit, decent quality, should meet the demands of any farrier.
- Electric Horse Hoof Trimmer – Electric horse hoof trimmer, precise, fast, light and relatively easy to use, can do the work of nippers, a hoof knife and a rasp.
Hope you enjoyed reading the article and that it will help you buy the best hoof trimmer that will meet your demands.
