Description: The RidersRasp was designed by a Certified Journeyman Farrier to help you gently file your horse's hooves and keep natural shaping consistent without worrying that you're harming the hoof or altering its shape too much. You hold the rasp with one hand while holding a hoof in the other; the ergonomic design includes two grip sizes to fit all hands. (For a how-to video, visit the company's website.)
Described by the company as an "emery board" for the hoof, the rasp is strong enough to round the hoof without removing hoof wall. Use it to shape hooves and keep them from flaring between trims.
The rasp's surface ranks a 52 on the Rockwell hardness test scale, compared with a 56 for a professional farrier's rasp and about 50 to 62 for a hard, steel knife blade. The protective plate is stainless steel. The handles are made from nonslip plastic.
The test: The Trail Rider contributor Heidi Nyland tested the rasp on the road, while visiting horse-owning friends. "At first, I was leery of using the tool and taking too much hoof wall off of my friend's barefoot ponies, even though I'd read that the RidersRasp was designed not to trim too much," says Nyland.
"I chose the most comfortable end to hold - for me, and probably most women, the smaller end. Changing the grip wasn't difficult. The rasp easily fit back into the handle so that the grasping texture would work when holding the rasp from the smaller end.
"I then picked up the 'test hoof' in the same way I'd pick it up to clean and placed the rasp's fold along the pony's toe," Nyland continues. "I felt the rasp grasp the hoof wall and began filing. It did clean up the edge, rounding the toe. I also held the rasp's flat surface against the bottom of the hoof and noticed a cleaner, smoother feel at the sole's bottom.
"The RidersRasp really is a rounding and clean-up tool that can't get you in trouble," Nyland concludes. "I admit I wouldn't pick up a regular rasp for fear of doing too much and wrecking a great trim. I think this tool has a great place for horse owners who want to help keep the target shape and rolled toe of their barefoot horses' hooves as consistent as possible between trims."
Cost: $44.95; $19.99 for replacement blades.
Contact: Natural Hoof Care Company, (877) 377-9195; www.ridersrasp.com
