Wouldnt it hurt to file down a horse's chestnuts?

Question

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Answer 1

ouchhh. yes.

dont do thatt

you can just pick them off with your fingers.

Answer 2

ouch! yes why would you consider doing that?

Answer 3

that is cruel !!!

Answer 4

Don't think so.  We just wait until they are soft from a bath & peel them off.  Or peel them off when ever they need it.

Answer 5

It would hurt, but it's not a vital part of there leg. Just the left over of a primative toe. But don't file them down. Sometimes they fall off.

Answer 6

Leave the chestnuts alone.  You can make them bleed and cause an infection if you try to eliminate them.  They naturally shed anyway and when the top layer sloughs off they become cleaner and flatter.  And, the reason horses have them goes back 60 million years.  They are what's left of a toe when horses once had five of them instead of one hoof.

Answer 7

no not at all! they are very used to it is you get your horses shoed by a good shoer!

Answer 8

EEK...Don't do it...I cant stand the things and i soften them and pick them off.   They are apart of the horse and soft under there, filing them may get you cow kicked in the head.

Answer 9

It won't hurt them if you are careful and don't take them down too low. It's like trimming nails. I peel my horse's off when I bathe her. If they are wet they are easier to get rid of becasue they are moist. Of you can have your farrier trim them off with the clippers. But don't dig at them, just make them smooth to her skin. Although I've never heard of painting them black...

Answer 10

You can do that, but you have to be very careful to not hurt them.  They can bleed and stuff, don't pick at them.

Answer 11

I have never filed them, just picked them off.  Don't pick too deep or you will get to the raw skin.  My horse's chestnuts just come off naturally, but sometimes horses need humans to do it.  People often peel, clip, or shave off the outer layer to give the horse a neater appearance, but I have heard some people say it begins to hurt if they get to long.  Their chestnuts are just like our fingernails.  Peeling them off doesn't hurt, but they come off easier if some type of moisturizer is added.

But when a horse's chestnuts are filed down, it is normally because they are too hard to clip or peel off.  When a horse's chestnuts are filed down, it is like humans using a file on their fingernails.

Answer 12

i just peel them off. if it hurt them you would know. if the flinch a little it just means it tickles or something. i call them feathers???

Answer 13

There is nothing wrong with peeling off a thin layer when they have gotten large. As long as you do not take out a big hunk, it will not hurt the horse at all. This is only done occasionally, and is not necessary. I have never filed them though...

Answer 14

Yes, but you do have to peel them off every now and then or they'll grow painful for the horse.

Answer 15

Yeah! I'm guessing it would hurt to file the horses chestnuts down! Its like taking a file to your toe! The proper way to reduce your horses chestnut would be to dampen it with a sponge or cloth and slowly peel away the excess chestnut. A farrier will also do this for you. But really unless there insanely large, I would just leave them alone.

Answer 16

idk... you should get a wet rag and set it on the chestnuts till they are moist... then carefully pull them off till they dont want to come off any more...

Answer 17

Yes that would hurt the horse. They are supposed to stick out a little they arn't supposed to be flat to the horses leg or be concaved in.

Don't file your horses chestnuts, 9 times out of 10 it will be painful for him. Before a show as you are giving your horse a bath the chestnuts will get wet and soggy and come off in little peices. Peel the top layer off but don't keep digging.

Answer 18

The only time they are filed or sanded is when someone has a horse that has chestnuts that do not peel.  Our neighbor had a horse whose chestnuts stuck out 2 1/2 to 3 inches.  They would look funny in a show.

For these horses it does not hurt the horse at all to sand the chestnuts.  They are just like fingernails.

Answer 19

File them down ?.

Why would you need to do that  - usually you can just pick them off. If they are large and hard/horny you can get your farrier to trim them when he does the feet.

No it doesn't hurt - it's like toenails. ( but don't dig at them)

Answer 20

Put mineral oil on them and they will fall off

Answer 21

of course it would hurt! never file them.  if they start to get big and flake off, you can peel off the parts that are already peeling.

Answer 22

Yesss...why?!