BAD hooves, HELP please

[MandersGoaters]

we just got this girl, and her hooves are terrible, I'm not sure how to start, i did trim a little, but was wondering about the sole or heel? it is really over grown, can i trim the sole/heel down.
the goats we already have i keep them trimmed regularly, so i haven't ever come across bad hooves. the second pic her heels are growing sideways...can anyone help me out please
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[wildhorse]

yes you can trim the sole/heel down. It may take several trims.

[KimM]

You can trim the heel and sole down to where it JUST starts getting soft. If I come across am overgrown hoof, (I trim for other people) I trim a little at a time and keep giving a little press and as long as it feels fairly hard / firm, I'm ok. As soon as it starts to feel soft and look pink, I quit there and go back and check it in 2 weeks. Sometimes I might nick the toe tip if they're really long but sometimes you have to get that toe back.
If it makes you feel any better, I've trimmed feet way worse than the ones you posted. Just go slow.

[oceanmist]

what are you kiddin'? those aren't BAD hooves! LOL goodness I have seen hooves that were literally grown over themselves, having not been trimmed in years...

get yourself a good picture of what a hoof should look like, get some good clippers (that's imparitive), or look at a newborns hooves for a good visual on shape .... don't be afraid to go in there and trim back as long as you aren't going too deep and making them bleed... if on the off chance you do hit blood, use some blood stop powder or wound kote powder and apply pressure until it's not gushing out anymore...

one thing I would do is focus on trimming the inside of the pad so that it isn't pushing together like what I see, get some space inbetween that heel...

oh and make sure to clean them off pretty good before trimming so you can SEE what you are trimming and not dirt and poo...
sometimes I put their feet in a pail of water to clean off the junk...

remember, these really aren't bad hooves...

Misty

[MandersGoaters]

Okay! thanks guys! I'm getting ready to milk now, I'll trim them back until soft or pink...i just don't want to get her sore. she's a real trooper on the stand! we already have one "molly" thats a boer/alpine cross(I think) and this one is "molly" also...it's been a hoot, call for one molly and they both show LOL she's a cross also, both are great milkers! thanks all I'll post pics again when i'm done clipping!

[chewie]

i have one that i've been working on for several months that has finally gotten as GOOD as this! she was horrible, and to make it hard for me, my first goat to boot!

now, you say good trimmers, ok, i got those from hoeggars. but do you others use some sort of rasp? i used the one my hubby used in doing horses, and wound up bloody-ing up my knuckles! (yeah, i know, i will wear gloves next time!) what tools are best, and where to find them??

[Goat Servant]

Manders I didn't think they are that bad either..bad but not unredeemably horrible. If that makes sense. In addition to trimmers (and a glove, it only takes once!) I also scrub the feet in some bleach water to see the bands & trim the hair if needed to get a better view. Im still learning this stuff! A rasp when you are done for the finshing touch.
Did a few today, started out with a 4mo old, it was so easy to get hers all level.

[Starsmom]

What I like to do is when I have a goat who's hooves need attention, I will use my hoof rasp and after I do the initial trim, I'll run that rasp over the hoof every day or two. It works great for getting the hoof straightened out and it only takes a minute.

[coondog]

Could someone post a picture of when to stop trimming the heel?

[Sweet Goats]

Take it slow. I agree those are not NEAR as bad as I have seen.

The heal should be level with the sole of the foot, so if you were going to print the hoof you should see ALL of it on the print.

[MandersGoaters]

well i trimmed them that night, but the storms here got bad and i couldn't use the comp.
so here they are..I trimmed them down to the pink, they aren't perfect, can i trim them again in a couple weeks? or do i wait a little longer...the heel still needs some off of her back left and right front, but couldn't take any more just yet...did i do a decent job?(i do need a rasp!)

[fishhead]

How on earth do you get the goat to stand still long enough for a clear photo like those? By the time I finish one goat I've got sweat running in my eyes from trying to hold them. My boer whethers hooves were really bad from neglect last fall and I trimmed them every weekend or so until they were back in shape. It might have helped that they were walking in cold snow.

[Sweet Goats]

WOW, I have to say you have done a very good job. I would get the walls a little better in a week or two. He might walk around a little tender for a day or so but I tell you they looks pretty darn good.

[DixyDoodle]

Like Sweet Goats, I think it's a big improvement, and worthy of a re-do in a few weeks to get a little shorter maybe, after they've adapted to the change.

Those feet were pretty long, but like someone else said, there are way worse out there. Your goat will appreciate the difference you're making!

[Starsmom]

You have done a great job. The hard part is over. Now just to do the finishing touches. That can be done a little at a time. If you will notice on your last picture, look at the natural lines in the hoof. That is what you want to follow. You are pretty close. You can use a rasp to work on the "off" angle a bit and it will perfect in no time. If you have a hard time seeing the line, use a marker to ink it in so it is easier to follow. Once done, if you keep up with it, then it is no problem to keep the angle right.

[MandersGoaters]

thanks yall!! molly is very good at everything, standing still when needed, waits patiently and ties well for milking...we haven't had her long, but so far she's the perfect. she just has one terribly bad habbit...when we brought her home, we turned her loose in mom's back yard, it's almost 2 acres fenced in, we keep our milkers there (we only have 4)...well mom feeds her cats on the back porch, and none of the other girls have ever wanted to climb the steps to get up on the porch there's nothing there for them, so we thought we had no worries, yeah right, as soon as we turned molly loose, she followed us back up to the back porch, up the stairs, and mingled around a bit...then i guess smelled the cats food, and went for it, she only got a few pieces in her mouth before i grabbed her up. needless to say mom has to feed the cats on the front porch now.
now tell me why she would do that? hungry? maybe the previous owners feed her bad things?
but outside the cat food fetish, she's wonderful!
we're going to breed her this fall, hopefully we'll get an alpine buck, but if not we'll use our boer. can't wait to see her babies!

[KimM]

Great job, what an improvement! I agree, a little more off the walls in a week or two. You have a good eye for trimming.

[DixyDoodle]

All my goats and horses would eat cat food if they could get at it.....it's got fillers in it...such as wheat, corn, etc. Although I suspect my donkey and several of the goats would eat just about anything, fillers or not. LOL

[tioga12]

I like using Fiskars shop snips for trimming hooves....they have them at Home Depot for $14. a pair.

[MandersGoaters]

thanks all!! now i have a girl with foot rot, been treating it, it's not as swollen but still looks very bad,(have another thread going) it rained again yesterday, ughh, it seems it'll never stop. she's up on the back deck, in a wonderfuly large dry dog house...I was soaking her hoof yesterday evening trying to get it all done before we were caught in the rain...yeah right, had to bring her in the house, it poured. but i have to say, she was very good in the house..until dad decided to give her some bread LOL then she wanted on the counter to finish the rest....and after all the rain, i tried to take her back out...she didn't want to go LOL
but I set her up with some brome and alfalfa, her grain...she was content LOL
now i just have to get her hoof healed up!