Article: When working with a horse's hooves it's important to move the horse's foot into position in a way that doesn't surprise the horse or irritate it. Make sure the horse is aware of your presence by gently patting it on the rump. To get your horse to lift her foot, run your hand down her leg. Then, squeeze the tendon above the ankle and lift the hoof. The horse should shift its weight to its other three feet. While you work, hold the foot in place by tucking your hip against the horse's hock (the large joint on the hind leg) and gaskin (the muscle above the hock). Use the inside of your knee to pull the foot out slightly and up between your legs so that the sole of the hoof faces up towards you. Support the horse's toe with one hand. This position locks the horse's foot in place, making it difficult for the horse to kick or put its foot on the ground before you're done working. Make sure that you reward your horse with praise for cooperating and waiting while you clean her hooves. Saying, "good girl" or "yes" after she lifts each hoof for you will help to reinforce your horse's good behavior. To remove a horseshoe, first, "break" (straighten) the nail clinches (the bent tips of each nail that holds the shoe on) with a clinch cutter and a hammer. Work the blade of the clinch cutter under the clinch, then hit it with a hammer to straighten the nail. Then, use a pair of metal pull-offs to loosen and remove the shoe. Close the jaws of the pull-offs around the outside heel of the shoe and use an outside to center rocking motion, working towards the toe to loosen the shoe. Repeat for the inside heel and proceed in this fashion until the shoe can be pulled off. Several alternatives exist for breaking the nail clinches. In a pinch, you can use a rock and a flat head screwdriver to bend the nail tips upwards, or, if you're careful not to wear a hole in the hoof wall, you can even use a rasp to file the nail clinches away. For your horse's health and safety, you don't want dirt or debris trapped between its new shoe and its foot. Before shoeing your horse, use a hoof pick to remove any compacted dirt, mud, rocks, manure, etc. from your horse's foot. Use downward strokes from heel to toe. Follow the hoof pick with a wire brush for added cleanliness. Take care around the frog - the triangular portion in the middle of the hoof. This part of the hoof is extra-sensitive. Typically, before a horse is shod, the dark, hard, outer layer of each hoof's sole is removed to reveal the softer, whiter material underneath in a process roughly equivalent to trimming a human's toenails. Take care not to cut too deep, or you risk hurting the horse or even rendering it temporarily lame - the same as if you'd cut a person's nails too short. This process is easiest if you keep your hoof knife razor sharp. But use caution. It's easy to accidentally slip and cut yourself while working. The hoof wall - the edge of the hoof - should extend about 3 inches (7.6cm) to 3 & 3/4 inches from the hairline above the hoof itself. If it's any longer, use a set of nippers (essentially giant nail clippers) to trim the edge of the hoof to a suitable length.You should see a ridge where the hoof wall extends beyond the sole. Do not cut into the sole with the nippers, or you may injure the horse. When you trim the hoof with nippers, be sure to keep the trimmed edges of the hoof uniformly straight and level so that they'll sit flush with the ground. Trim from each side of the heel to the toe. The exception to this is in cases where a horse's gait wears its hoof unevenly - in this case, you'll want to take slightly less hoof material off of the side that the horse favors. Use caution when making this distinction and, if unsure, consult an experienced farrier. The very last thing that must be done to prepare the hoof for its shoe is to ensure the bottom of the hoof is smooth, flat and level. Use a rasp to gently file any uneven spots on the bottom of the hoof, taking care, as always, not to wear the hoof too short or irritate the frog. Then using your knife, pare away slightly to bevel the sole away from the hoof wall. Contact of the sole on the shoe can cause the horse discomfort.

What is a summary?
Lift the horse's foot. Remove any shoes that are already on the horse's feet. Clean the bottom of the hoof. Use a hoof knife to remove excess, flaky sole from the bottom of the hoof. Trim excess hoof wall with hoof nippers. Use a rasp to flatten and level the the sole.