by Darol Dickinson

Everyone who owns livestock has—or will have—some problem with hooves growing long or wrong. There are many reasons. It is easy to point at someone else's livestock and say that long toes are bad genetics, yet genetics are seldom the main reason for the problem. Most people who breed defective cattle slowly slither out of the business. It always happens.

When our family ranched in Colorado on the high plains, I do not recall cattle with long toes. They lived in short-grass country and walked many miles a day. Once we watched a bull that traveled over 23 miles one day during breeding season in just the daylight hours. No need to trim toes with that mileage. In fact, some of the bulls traveled so much and wore their hoof soles so thin that we had to remove them from the breeding pasture to give them time to heal up.

About feet and toes: In 1995 a Texas Longhorn trail drive re-enactment pushed a herd of steers horseback from Fort Worth up to Miles City, MT, from March 5 to September 1. The horses were shod several times during those six months—but the Texas Longhorns walked sound without hoof care the whole 1,300-plus-mile trip.

By contrast, feed-lot cattle and livestock in the Midwest often grow long toes due to mud and soft ground. Many are pen-fed and don’t walk much. Some Canadian cattle grow long toes due to walking on snow or bedding during the long winters. But on hard, rocky pastures around Presidio (“fortress” in Spanish) in the Big Bend country of Texas, I have seen cattle grow thick hoof walls and wear their toes to perfection on pastures where normal grazing requires miles of travel.

Dairies normally have a professional hoof trimmer visit the farm every few months and quite possibly trim or shape every cow’s hooves. Dairy cows get very little exercise and spend much of their life on soft material. That pretty well guarantees hooves will have to be trimmed or the cows have so much pain their milk production reduces.

To address this problem, Tim Van Hall of Oriska, ND, ordered a large Barrett aluminum trailer with a lift in the center. Dairy cows walk into the back of the trailer, are squeezed, raised straight up, trimmed, then let down to walk calmly out the front side door. It’s a brilliant unit not bothered by rain, wind, night, snow, or stress. Tim’s trailer has a floor grate that lets the trimmings drop down and remain on the farm when he is finished.

If anyone uses hoof-trimming services more than dairies do, it is for show cattle. These pampered cattle are often over-fed, possibly foundered, and get very little exercise. To be competitive, they must have a good hoof angle and be trimmed correctly. Anywhere there are livestock, there will be some need to trim hooves.

Fortunately, there are hundreds of professional hoof-trimmers world wide. Also, the Internet is full of “How To” hoof-trimming films. There you will find trimmers and videos from all countries and languages. For some graphics closer to home, check out this article on Samuel Faske. He travels the Texas Longhorn world putting a professional touch on hooves of all kinds. https://gvrlonghorns.com/cattle-blog/f/texas-longhorn-cattle-hoof-trimming-a-guideline-from-tip-to-toe/

Now for the traditional process: in olden days, cattle were roped and stretched out to have their long toes clipped. The method was perhaps crude but adequate. No matter how rough the job, in a few days the cut edges would wear off smooth.

Not economical, but a critter can be injected with medication so it will pass out for a half-hour. At that point, toes can be trimmed with ease—but at a price. Some vets charge $75 to $125 for a ranch call f0r injections.

The old-fashioned draw-down method is low-budget, effective, safe, and has been used for hundreds of years. It wraps ropes down from the top of the animal’s neck, across the brisket and loin, then back between the hind legs. This pattern paralyzes temporarily but causes no damage. When the ropes are released, the critter stands up and walks away. See the draw-down process at the Dickinson Cattle Co site: https://www.texaslonghorn.com/longhorn_info/management_tips/index.cfm?con=Draw_Down_Technique

A tilt table is wonderful on the ranch for all hoof repairs. New hydraulic tables may cost $8,000 to $15,000, but they are great.