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How to Choose a Farrier Rasp

Date: 26-06-2024
Product Information Tips and Tricks Dean Lewis

A selection of farrier rasps laid out in a row.

Choosing the best farrier rasp for your needs

Choosing the right farrier rasp for your specific need is a question that is often asked by new trimmers and farriers! 

It can be confusing with so many horse rasp products available in the marketplace today.  

If you have read my recent blog on tool maintenance, you would have noticed that I encourage those buying tools, to buy the best and most reputable product they can afford at the time. 

Your farrier rasp is your most used tool in hoof care, so it's important to find the best farrier rasp that suits your requirements. That said, how do you know what is the best horse rasp for you? 

Hopefully by the end of this blog you should have a better idea of what hoof rasps for horses there are, which ones to choose and why.

Things to consider when choosing a hoof rasp for horses include: 

  1. The task you're undertaking - Trimming or Shoeing? 
  2. The conditions - dry and hard or wet and muddy? 
  3. The amount of use - are you using it every day servicing many horses, do you only use your rasp on weekends or once every so often? 

Once you consider these above factors, you have some idea of what you need to do your job. So, off you go to purchase your farrier rasp. However, you get to the feed store or supplier, and the person serving you has no idea about hoof care, and you need to decide what farrier rasp is right for your needs by yourself. Here are some design features and details about rasps that I have used in my practice that may help you make a choice 

Rasp design:

Manufacturers place a lot of emphasis on design features, so not all rasps are the same. Each rasp has been designed to perform a particular task.  

Below are several key design features of a rasp.  You must keep these in mind when choosing a rasp to best suit the task at hand. 

  • Wet weather rasps – You will find there are rasps on the market designed to be used on soft hooves, in wet weather. The design and material of the teeth of these rasps make the rasp less prone to clogging 
  • Dry Climate Rasps – Similar to the rasps designed to be used in wetter climates, the design of the teeth and material used in rasps for hard hooves make using a rasp on this type of hoof very efficient. 
  • Black Coating – You will find rasps on the market with a Black Coating.  This coating is designed to ensure easy release of horn material from the rasp and makes it more rust resistant. 
  • File Side – all rasps have a file side. This side is designed with a sharp tooth for easy and efficient hoof removal. You can use the file side to either file the hoof or polish the hoof wall. 
  • Original Glide Teeth – the teeth on the original glide are more aggressive than the plain file, allowing you to remove significantly more hoof, while still leaving a nice surface finish. 
  • Multi Glide Teeth – the teeth on these rasps face forward, with sharp edges for closer hoof removal, while leaving the hoof looking clean and polished. 
  • Smooth Glide teeth – this file has multiple small teeth, ideally used to polish the hoof 
  • 6 Teeth – Rasps with 6 teeth are designed to be used when removing large amounts of hoof 
  • 9 Teeth – Rasps with 9 teeth are great for rasping clips. The larger surface offers greater rasping efficiency. The teeth on these rasps are set almost to the edge of the rasp. 
  • Rasp handle - There are many different rasp handles on the market.  Rasp handles make it easier to grip the top of your rasp.  Heller rasps have specific colour rasp handles to match their rasp range.

Now you know some of the features of a farrier rasp, you can start to make your decision on what will be the best farrier rasp for your needs! 

Let us take a closer look at which rasps have which features. 

Farrier rasps for every day use: 

There are several options if you are looking for a farrier rasp to use daily in a variety of conditions. 

This rasp has 9 teeth per row, making it a wider profile rasp (50mm wide). This wide profile is designed to improve levelling, efficiency and control. The finish side has a new improved cutting profile that leaves a smooth glossy finish. The file side features the ‘Legend’ teeth design making it more effective in wet weather conditions. Although 10% wider, this rasp is light and balanced. This rasp is widely used by professionals. 

Similar in size and width to the Heller Excel legend - Green Tang, the Excel Original rasp has a 50mm wide profile as well. Again, this wide profile is designed to improve levelling, efficiency and control. The coarse side of the rasp features 9 teeth per row that extend almost to the edges of the rasp. The finish side has a more traditional style cutting profile. This rasp is also popular with professionals. 

As the name suggests this is a finish rasp, therefore rather than having a coarse cutting side it features two finished sides. One side features a traditional finish side like the Blue Tang, whilst the other side has the new improved cutting profile like the Green Tang. This rasp is designed to leave no rasp marks with a smooth, show quality finish. Making this an ideal farrier rasp for a professional finish. 

Farrier rasps for soft and wet conditions: 

This farrier rasp is a more traditional width being 45mm wide, yet it features wide teeth on the coarse side at 6 teeth per row. The large tooth angle and open structure prevents the rasp teeth from getting clogged, making this rasp ideal for soft, damp hooves. This rasp is easy to clean making it an excellent choice for wet muddy conditions. Again, the finish side is a traditional style cutting profile, leaving a smooth finish with little effort.  

Farrier rasps for hard and dry conditions: 

Similar in width to the Heller Legend, the Heller Red Tang is also 45mm wide, yet its design features are quite different. The coarse file side of the rasp has fine teeth, close together, making this rasp ideal for hard hooves in dry conditions. The finish side is a traditional style cutting profile, leaving a smooth finish with little effort. This is designed to work well in dry conditions on hard feet.  

This rasp is almost identical to the Heller Red Tang, however it has a black chemical coating that helps make this rasp resist corrosion. This is the ideal rasp for humid conditions or occasional use.   

 

I hope this has given you some insight into all the unique features a farrier rasp can have. 

Throughout my career as a farrier, it is the Heller Rasp range I have used the most in my practice and in my opinion, are the best farrier rasps. At times I have been given samples of varied brands to try, however few serve me as well as the Heller rasp. 

In conclusion, the three styles of farrier rasp I use in my practice are the Heller Excel Legend - Green Tang and the Heller Pro Finish for every day, and the Heller Legend - White Tang in wet conditions. However, I try my best to avoid wet conditions! Hence the old saying; farriers are like cats, they don’t like water.  

I hope this blog has given you some insight on farrier rasp design and function. 

You may wish to read my blog about tool maintenance. This should help you to maintain and get the most out of your farrier rasps. As I mentioned earlier, your farrier rasp is your most used tool. This makes it your most expensive tool, but also makes you the most money as well! Maintaining your rasp regularly will increase the working life and productivity in the long run.  

All the Best,    

Dean Lewis AWCF 

 

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