The Natural Trim, Home Hoof Care

Radius Rasp – Review

Check out the Radius Rasp-1 

The Radius Rasp makes home hoof care easy.

If your horse is shod, this isn’t the tool for you.  But if you have committed to barefoot, I highly recommend a tool like this for horse owners.  My horses get a decent trim every 4 weeks, but I usually hit them all with a quick rasp at the half waypoint.  I can afford this because I’m the farrier.  We could be talking big bucks if I had to schedule someone every two weeks! Plus, if your farrier is on a more common schedule of every 6 to 8 weeks then you are never reaching that optimal hoof.  As soon as your farrier gets your horse’s feet as close as possible to the right angle and length, those hooves start to grow and move away from that optimal shape and size.  

The Radius Rasp-1 is a perfect tool to keep the hooves rounded and in the optimal Mustang Roll.  Why is this important?  Your horse grows hoof wall constantly.  In the wild they would cover miles and miles of rough ground, keeping their feet nice and trimmed.  But our horse friends often lead a much easier life and those feet are growing faster than they are worn away.  When the hoof does not have the optimal wall-length we see symptoms like cracks, chips, crushed heels, and more.  Can you afford to have an unsound horse?

If it makes you nervous rasping away on your horse’s feet, I can give you a little confidence.  You are not going to hurt him with a quick couple of strokes. I do caution rasping yourself though!  I’ve done it a few times and it can get messy.  So, grab a couple of work gloves, take your Radius Rasp-1 and just rasp enough to see the edge of the hoof round a little. The rasp’s design makes it easy to get the correct angle on the hoof wall.  As you build your confidence you may find you need to rasps just a little more.  You won’t need to do much if you are maintaining the hoof weekly.  The Radius Rasp-1 works best for feet that have been maintained.  If you are starting on a horse with existing chips you may be better off with the Radius Rasp-2 ‘Pro’.  

Now, when your farrier arrives, they won’t be just trying to get back to where you were at the last trim.  They will be able to make small adjustments that will result in better hoof angles, better sole depth, and healthier frogs.  And the benefit to you will be a horse with strong healthy feet that can go miles out of the trails or in the area with no problems.