Horse rasps are used by horse keepers to keep hooves neat and tidy and to prevent them from getting too long. They are designed to cater for all aspects of hoof grooming in one easy to handle tool.
What are the characteristics of a horse rasp?
Cross section and profile
Horse rasps are blunt and rectangular in cross section.
Cut
They have rasp teeth on one face and file teeth on the other.
The rasp side of the tool is used for the bulk of the grooming work, including smoothing down the edges of the hoof and keeping it flat.
The file side of the tool is used for finer details, such as keeping the hoof’s overall shape and removing any lumps and bumps (flare).
Their edges can be single cut with file teeth, safe, or even set, meaning that the teeth do not reach all the way to the edge of the rasp. This helps to prevent the user from accidentally catching the horse’s leg during the hoof filing process!
Some horse rasps are made without a tang, in which case they tend to be double ended. The file teeth are cut on one end, and the rasp teeth are cut on the other.
As you are likely to be wearing gloves when grooming your horse’s hooves, this means you can hold a double ended horse rasp directly by the body.
Size
Horse rasps are usually available in lengths from 300mm (12 inches) to 350mm (14 inches).