Deer Farmer

ekljr

I noticed today that my buck was limping when he came down to the feeder, I looked at him fairly close and his hooves are very long my question is can they be trimed? My other question is if they are too long will it make him limp and is there anything i can do to keep them trimed back Thanks Ed

CurtisLloyd

when they get too long they can crack or break and this can cause pain or limping sort of like cutting a fingre nail too short, if the pasture they are in is smaller they don't run flat out very often that keeps their hoves shorter, you can trim them , dart them or in a squeeze it just depends on how frisky your feeling this spring.

Wooden acres

Elkjr , it depends on how long they are but yes it could make him limp . When hooves get to long they put allot of presure on the pastern as the angle of their foot changes. They need their hooves short or natural to keep the angle of the foot straighter and the pastern (ankle) at the proper angle as well . Their hooves can be trimmed and most farms will but crushed rock around the feeders and waterers the keep hooves both trimmed and clean . Just my opinion !!

PaintedMeadowsBJs

It can be because the ground is too soft or it could be too much corn.

Depending on the problem and how bad it is depends on what needs done.

In the winter the ground is softer and it will prevent them from wearing down.

If the ground is harder now and his hooves hit the ground right he may fix them...If not you may need to cut them down.

ekljr

thank you. I believe Im going to have to trim his hooves. Does anyone know how far back I should trim them or will it be obvious when I look at the bottoms