Watched a guy ruin a hoof in 20 seconds with a grinder

I was at a clinic in Lexington last month and this farrier took off way too much heel with a power grinder in one pass. Horse went lame on the spot and the vet had to come out. I've been hand-nailing front shoes for 12 years now and I swear by it. Anyone else see people get lazy with grinders?

3 comments

3 Comments

clairer7929d agoMost Upvoted

My old boss used a grinder on a mare once and she kicked a hole in his truck door.

casey39328d ago

Grinders work fine on horses if you know what you're doing, most horses just get skittish from the noise. She probably kicked because the boss was holding the grinder wrong or getting too close with it. Horses kick like that when they feel trapped or surprised, not because the tool itself is bad.

verafoster4d ago

Also not sure it's that deep. One bad farrier with a grinder doesn't mean the tool is the problem. I've seen guys wreck a horse with hand nippers too, nobody blames the whole tool for that. Pretty sure that horse kicked because of how he was standing, not because power tools scare them.