# new goat with bad hooves



## imported_ashley (Jun 9, 2011)

I just brought this guy home. He is 3 and I am certain that they had never touched his feet before. His back hooves are terrible, his fronts are pretty bad too. Should I just start cutting hoof off until it is closer to normal? Our other guys are well kept so I have no experience with correcting bad hooves. There is a guy on craigslist that says he is a professional goat trimmer, I am thinking of having him out to try to fix it. What do you all think? His conformation seems okay in my novice eye, I think his bad angles are due to the bad feet. Its not too late for him is it?


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## ryorkies (May 4, 2010)

Start trimming til you see pink.
there is an excellent article on here somewhere that explains 
trimming very well.


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## ryorkies (May 4, 2010)

Here is the link.
This explanation is the best I have
seen.

http://www.packgoatforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1205&hilit=trim+feet


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## Nanno (Aug 30, 2009)

Unless he has developed joint problems then no, it is never too late to correct bad hooves. At only three years old, I think it unlikely he could have developed permanent problems yet. Try to get his hooves as close as you can to "normal" without hurting him, and then take him walking! 

Probably the very best thing you can do to get his feet in shape is to walk him on rocky ground, gravel roads, pavement... anything that will provide some decent abrasion. Trimming is important for getting the hooves to wear correctly, but once your goat is moving naturally, there's nothing like walking to make healthy hooves. Hoof growth is largely determined by the demand placed on them. Hooves that are worn down quickly by lots of movement will respond with quicker, heavier growth. So the best way to get those old yucky hooves to grow out is to trim the angles for natural movement, then get that goat on the trail!


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## feederseaters (Nov 8, 2009)

I just want to add that I also just added a couple of new goats to my herd and they had not had proper hoof care in some time. My boys are 6 years old and their hooves have been progressively getting better however they still have not bounced back to the proper posture they should be showing. I am confident that they will bounce back after a series of remedial trimming and rebuild some muscle mass. Right now, they have "old man butts". Because their feet were not correct, neither were their strides. They made tiny little steps and thier muscles are reflecting their function.

It takes time to correct REAL BAD hooves. I have been able to document some of the changes with picutures. I would be happy to post some for you, but I would rather do it in a PM. Some of the corrective trimming is graphic as we had pockets that went all the way to the coronary band and quicks that had dropped into the strangest places. I would hate for a new goat owner to see some of the corrective cuts and get confused. Not to mention, there was blood on several of the photos. When the capsule wall separates from the interior all the way to the coronary band things get ugly. Plus, I had to nip a quick here and there over time to bring it back. They were not budging otherwise. I have been doing remedial trimming on the two new goats since October.

The goat on the right is one of the boys undergoing corrective trimming. Look Familiar? [attachment=0:9047hmr4]stuff from phone December 2011 325.jpg[/attachment:9047hmr4]


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