Serious question, how many of you still use a hoof knife for the whole frog clean-out?
Honestly, I used to do it that way for years until a clinic in Tulsa last fall where the instructor had us switch to a curved hoof pick first. It's way faster and gets the deep sulcus cleaner without risking a slip, anyone else made that change?
Funny you should ask, I actually switched to a hoof pick for the main clean out a while back. My old farrier showed me how a dulled hoof knife works better for just trimming the frog flaps after you've cleared the crud.
My old farrier would probably laugh at me for how long it took to figure that out. I spent years treating that hoof knife like a fancy shovel, hacking away at packed dirt like I was digging a trench. My technique was basically just "stab and hope." Now I keep a super dull knife just for frog duty, and it's a total game changer. It's one of those things that seems obvious once you know, but makes you feel a bit silly for not realizing sooner.