Trimming hooves took us a couple of times before we got comfortable that we weren't going to make the sheep bleed all over.
Here is the information we used to get us started, we had never trimmed a hoof before we got the sheep. This will be a regular (read; quarterly) chore for the sheep. This step-by-step learning tool was borrowed from the www.infovets.com website.
* When learning how to trim feet, begin by removing small amounts of hoof wall at a time. Go slow and take the time necessary to let the foot down and check the balance of the foot. Removing small amounts and taking time to check balance on the foot will help reduce the chances of over-trimming and entering the sensitive structures of the foot.
This picture shows the various parts of the hoof on the bottom of the foot.
A) identifies the heel regions of the foot.
B) shows the toe region on a claw that has not been trimmed.
C) identifies the outside hoof wall, and
D) indicates fresh sole after being trimmed.
Often the first place to start is the dewclaws. The tips of the dewclaws should be removed. These structures will bleed if cut too short, so it is important to remove small amounts on a frequent basis.
This shows the bottom of a foot that is in desperate need of a trim. Notice how hoof wall has over-grown between the two claws allowing dirt and potential infection to be trapped in the interdigital cleft (identified by the white arrows).
The goal of trimming the foot should be to get the bottom of the foot to match the angle of the coronary band (identified by the white line). In this picture, the excess toe is being removed to a level where the bottom of the foot will be parallel to the coronary band. The intended bottom of the foot is indicated by the black line. Notice how the white and the black line will be parallel once the foot is properly trimmed.
This picture compares the untrimmed claw on the left to a trimmed claw on the right. Notice how much shorter the toe region on the trimmed side is in comparison to the untrimmed side.
This is a picture of a fully trimmed foot. The bottom of the foot has also been leveled with a plane.
I live in southwestern Ontario, Canada and I prefer the convenience of shopping online when I'm too busy to drive to town to pick up the items I need. I purchase many sheep supplies, including hoof trimmers, at Canadian Co-operative Wool Growers.
Their website is; https://www.wool.ca/
for pictures and pricing of available Babydoll ewes. Limited availability. Once they're gone, they're gone!