Bad words-hoof trimming

[Hpacres440p]

I know there are some other threads on here (older) dealing with long feet, but this is a practical/functional question. 5 year old cow, bred back and going to wean off calf soon. We're way in a drought, so traveling distance is now comprised of water to hay ring, with very hard dirt, few rocks-not much travel to trim toes.
She is currently producing nice slaughter steers, so not super worried about passing on bad feet (I know most will say "trim them behind the ears"). Haven't had issues with her feet until this year, and as you can see, her hind toes are way long, chipping away a bit at a time. I even made a mud pit yesterday to try to soften them a bit for easier self-trimming. Fronts are doing ok.
So, if I get her in a working alley, what would be the best way to knock the long toes off? Long-handled nippers that don't require lifting the leg? Hammer and chisel? Let them go on their own? She's a little gimpy, no smell or sign of foot rot. Eating and doing everything else ok.
Happy dry 4th!

 

[callmefence]

Good pair of lopping shears. Like you trim brush with. Slip the hooked end under the toe. Blade up.

 

[MurraysMutts]

I sold mine like that. 2 years in a row she would come up gimpy twice a year. That last time I thought I waited too long as she was limping badly. But she came out of it..
Caught her when she was walking good and sent her to town.

I never did trim her feet.

Do u have any concrete she can walk on for a while. Seen that work pretty good!

 

[Hpacres440p]

I sold mine like that. 2 years in a row she would come up gimpy twice a year. That last time I thought I waited too long as she was limping badly. But she came out of it..
Caught her when she was walking good and sent her to town.

I never did trim her feet.

Do u have any concrete she can walk on for a while. Seen that work pretty good!

The only concrete right now is the ground . I think everything is so dry that she now has steel-plated feet.
I'll try the loppers first..

 

[TCRanch]

Good pair of lopping shears. Like you trim brush with. Slip the hooked end under the toe. Blade up.

This!!!! Spent a ridiculous amount of money on some heavy-duty nippers, which are great if you have the foot secured and up in a sling (or tie). But half the time I grab my lopping shears. A file is handy but also only if you have her foot up. There generally is a fair amount of profanities when you're trimming - from you and the cow. It's a lot more fun if you give her a full pedi with glitter paint after the procedure

 

[wbvs58]

This!!!! Spent a ridiculous amount of money on some heavy-duty nippers, which are great if you have the foot secured and up in a sling (or tie). But half the time I grab my lopping shears. A file is handy but also only if you have her foot up. There generally is a fair amount of profanities when you're trimming - from you and the cow. It's a lot more fun if you give her a full pedi with glitter paint after the procedure
View attachment 18561

She has some pretty stand out growth rings on that rt foot TC so assume something happened metabolically there several months down the track.

Ken

 

[MurraysMutts]

This!!!! Spent a ridiculous amount of money on some heavy-duty nippers, which are great if you have the foot secured and up in a sling (or tie). But half the time I grab my lopping shears. A file is handy but also only if you have her foot up. There generally is a fair amount of profanities when you're trimming - from you and the cow. It's a lot more fun if you give her a full pedi with glitter paint after the procedure
View attachment 18561

Bah! Hahahahahaha!
That's what she gets!
Pretty lil blue toes...

 

[kenny thomas]

This!!!! Spent a ridiculous amount of money on some heavy-duty nippers, which are great if you have the foot secured and up in a sling (or tie). But half the time I grab my lopping shears. A file is handy but also only if you have her foot up. There generally is a fair amount of profanities when you're trimming - from you and the cow. It's a lot more fun if you give her a full pedi with glitter paint after the procedure
View attachment 18561

Another good use for the immobilizer I bet although I have not tried it.

 

[simme]

A couple years ago, I had a hopping cow with long toes and told my daughter the vet that we needed to nip them off (she has the tools). She explained to me that I was not as smart as I think I am. That the long toes were just a symptom or result of the real problem. She said the bottom of the hoof needed to be trimmed further toward the back. She explained that overgrowth there was shifting the angle of the hoof so that the front was tilted up and growing long as a result. I did not believe her, but she trimmed the bottom farther back and the cow quit hopping. I later culled the cow as I don't need to be trimming feet. But concluded that her method solved the problem at least short term. I confirmed with her tonight that nipping off the front is cosmetic and trimming the bottom further back is the solution. Or so says the vet.

For foot work, we put them in the chute, put a rope looped around the leg above the hock and pull the foot up off the ground and tie the rope to a higher point on the chute. Then another loop around the foot just below the dew claws and wrapped low and tight around a bar on the chute to hold the foot still.

 

[TCRanch]

She has some pretty stand out growth rings on that rt foot TC so assume something happened metabolically there several months down the track.

Ken

That was my fat Steamroller. And I ended up selling her because of perpetual foot problems.

 

[TCRanch]

A couple years ago, I had a hopping cow with long toes and told my daughter the vet that we needed to nip them off (she has the tools). She explained to me that I was not as smart as I think I am. That the long toes were just a symptom or result of the real problem. She said the bottom of the hoof needed to be trimmed further toward the back. She explained that overgrowth there was shifting the angle of the hoof so that the front was tilted up and growing long as a result. I did not believe her, but she trimmed the bottom farther back and the cow quit hopping. I later culled the cow as I don't need to be trimming feet. But concluded that her method solved the problem at least short term. I confirmed with her tonight that nipping off the front is cosmetic and trimming the bottom further back is the solution. Or so says the vet.

For foot work, we put them in the chute, put a rope looped around the leg above the hock and pull the foot up off the ground and tie the rope to a higher point on the chute. Then another loop around the foot just below the dew claws and wrapped low and tight around a bar on the chute to hold the foot still.

Good to know, thanks!

 

[sunnyblueskies]

Depends what you want to do. If you just want to nip off the front of the toes I suggest you can do it without lifting the feet.
Lifting up like Simme said works pretty good in a chute.
But I think your battle is not going to be doing the feet on the ground or picking those feet up. Your battle is going to be working those dry feet which will be like concrete!
I speak from experience LOL
A good pair of hoof nippers (not the flat hoof trimmers), maybe even a small handsaw and a good rasp.
Oh the fun you will be having.......LOL....... the 'bad' words you will be speaking.
Make a movie for us, so we can enjoy it too. =)

 

[Lee VanRoss]

I would ship anything showing any sign of a foot problem in case it was of a genetic origin.
Every female I have is home grown going back 20 + years and have none that ever developed a long toe.
I suppose someone (me?) could leave a granary door open and founder them but knock on wood, not yet.
If I do that I will probably be the one shipped!
What you do is up to you. Your dime, your time.....

 

[Hpacres440p]

Depends what you want to do. If you just want to nip off the front of the toes I suggest you can do it without lifting the feet.
Lifting up like Simme said works pretty good in a chute.
But I think your battle is not going to be doing the feet on the ground or picking those feet up. Your battle is going to be working those dry feet which will be like concrete!
I speak from experience LOL
A good pair of hoof nippers (not the flat hoof trimmers), maybe even a small handsaw and a good rasp.
Oh the fun you will be having.......LOL....... the 'bad' words you will be speaking.
Make a movie for us, so we can enjoy it too. =)

Haha! The only way I will attempt is with a big water puddle for her to stand in for 20 minutes first!
She's not gimpy today. I'll let nature do its thing for now.