The Best Goat Hoof Trimmer

Goat hoof trimming shears are available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Over the decades I’ve spent a small fortune buying and trying just about every style touted as being the best goat hoof trimmer ever. Some of them pinch my hand when I squeeze the handles. Others are too big for me to operate with one (small) hand while the other hand hangs onto the hoof. The blades on some shears separate on tough jobs. And most of the shears don’t stay sharp for long.

Try Shop Snips

Finally I found what for me has been the ideal goat hoof trimmer. And it isn’t even intended for trimming goat hooves.

I was wandering along the tool aisle at Home Depot, idly looking at the wares while my husband shopped. Suddenly my eyes focused on a pair of Fiskars Titanium Nitride Number Eight Shop Snips. My immediate reaction was: I gotta have those — they look ideal for goat hoof trimming.

They turned out to be exactly the perfect size for my small hands. The serrated edges grip as they cut. The shears slice through the toughest buck hooves. Even though I’ve used them now for more than a decade, they have never needed sharpening.

I recently bought another pair and, unfortunately, they’re nothing like the first one. The blade is now thicker and less pointed, so it doesn’t slip easily under a bent hoof wall flap. And the cutting edge isn’t nearly as sharp, requiring much more effort to trim a tough hoof.

Of the many hoof trimmers I bought before the Fiskar snips, I threw out all but two. One is so big I have trouble operating it, even using both hands. But it’s a nice size for my big-pawed husband. The other pair that didn’t get tossed in the trash we now use for pruning tomato vines in the garden.

So I dread the day I might once again have to shop for a pair of hoof trimming shears. If you have a hoof trimmer you are happy with, please let the rest of us know by posting details in the comments section below.

How to Use a Goat Hoof Trimmer