X 
CARE OF THE COLT’S FEET 
According to Kennedy, 61 the fact that crooked leg or deformed foot may 
result from neglect in trimming the hoof of the foot implies the necessity 
of giving occasional attention in leveling the feet of the colt. To do 
this, “take up the foot, and trim off the surplus horn with a pair of 
hoof nippers, a heavy knife, or rasp. Round off the edges so that there 
is less tendency for the hoof to break. Handle the colt gently at first, 
and if he struggles to get his foot down, talk gently to him and pet him, 
but do not release the foot. If he gets his foot away a few times he will 
acquire the habit and will always make trouble in handling the feet, 
either for shoeing or for trimming. A common method is to stand the 
colt on the board floor and trim off the surplus horn with his foot on 
the floor. One front foot is tied up to make him keep his other foot on 
the floor. In working with the left hind foot tie up the left fore foot; 
and with the right hind foot, the right fore foot. With this method the 
horn is cut with a mallet and chisel. This is a quick and easy device 
adapted to vicious horses, but the operator cannot do as good a piece of 
work, and often has difficulty in telling exactly where to cut, since he 
has to guess at the position of the sole.” 
Carter’s 87 advice in training the colt’s feet follows: “The care of and 
training of the hoof should begin when the animal is still young. The 
hoofs should be rasped frequently, keeping the foot level ... I keep 
the heels down lower than the frog which will have a tendency to spread 
the heel. I also keep the toes rasped back. By letting the toes grow 
long they take all the substance away from the quarters, causing a long 
mule foot. By so doing I get the desired round foot. The important 
point to remember is to keep the foot level.” 
Thomas and Shields 80 say that, “If there is the slightest sign of curby 
hocks, we cannot cut tne toes too snort, nor keep the heels too high, and 
when there is a strong predisposition to this unsoundness, early shoeing 
is strongly recommended, the shoe to be square toed and set back from 
the toe, the heels of the shoe to be of a good length and a heel calk 
turned up on them.” 
Broadhead 108 states that colts should not be let loose in the pasture 
unless their feet have been pared and leveled, which he says, should be 
done regularly every six months beginning at the time when the colt is 
a year old. 
