Pedicure
December 9th, 2015 · No Comments · Posted in farming
It’s time for Emily’s bi-annual hoof trimming. Here you see her in the rig operated by professional hoof trimmer Rod Hawkins. We installed a special electrical outlet next to the main paddock to operate this contraption: two slings lift Emily off the floor. There are four smaller slings to immobilize her feet so Mr. Hawkins can work on them.
I wouldn’t say Emily enjoys the procedure. In fact, I have to kind of drag her into the cage. But trimming must be done. Animal hooves grow like human nails. If they aren’t trimmed, it starts to affect the beast’s ability to walk. This wouldn’t be so much a problem in the wild, where animals run around over all kinds of terrain. In captivity, sheep and goats need their hooves trimmed as well.
Mr. Hawkins mostly works on dairy herds in our part of the world. He says he tends to 8,500 cows a year. (I guess Emily makes 8,501.) With the rig parked in our driveway, steadied on wooden blocks, Rod uses a big pair of clippers and an electric grinder to remove the excess growth and achieve a properly shaped hoof.
Inside the cage, Emily is a well-behaved cow, just staring into space for the most part. Mr. Hawkins sings her praises–until she poops not once, not twice, but three times while hanging midair.
Nothing a shovel and a couple buckets of water won’t cure. See you in spring, Rod.
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