How to become a Hoof Trimmer – Sophie Mitchell-Smith

As part of our rural community blog, we sit down and speak to farmers about all things farming. In this blog we spoke with Sophie Mitchell-Smith (@thefemalehooftrimmer), who is an English hoof trimmer based in Manchester. Sophie tells us about her experiences as a woman in the industry and how budding women wanting to get into the industry can start their careers…

I recently received a message from a girl asking for advice on starting hoof trimming. She said she had been told by numerous people, women included, that it would be too tough, dangerous and too much strength required and to not waste her time and money. She said the general consensus was that it wasn’t a job for a woman.

I thought this would be a good blog to write about my experiences of being a woman in the hoof trimming industry that is a very male dominated role. 

I started hoof trimming through my mum and dad. I used to go along with them on odd days and the more I went the more my interest grew. I eventually went on to completing a course and when my mum had to retire to look after my nana this was when I went full time…….and I’ve never looked back since! 

There was one year when my dad wasn’t well enough to go to work and I had to take over the business more single handily. Beforehand my dad was taking on more responsibility. My mum had to come back to work to help me for a few weeks after having not working for a few years. It was a difficult time and the responsibility got put more on me but I took the positive out of it and I gained much more confidence and knowledge into how to run the business such as sorting out customers, checking on stock, sorting stuff out for the next day as well as actually doing extra trimming. 

I’m not going to lie, when I first started trimming full time I found it hard. The job felt physically and mentally challenging at times and still does sometimes even now! Then again, most jobs can in their own ways. And let’s face it, women are at a disadvantage compared to men strength wise, but this isn’t 30 years ago! Crushes and technology and the way we trim the feet (thank goodness for grinders!) have advanced so much that you don’t need brute strength to load cows and lift their feet up. And even if you get that awkward cow that won’t go in, there are always farmers or farm staff willing to help you load the cows in.

The skills and knowledge of the job are equal with men and women. I can understand why people may have said those things to her, but I think you should never knock something until you have tried it out for yourself. 

In the past I used to be very reserved about telling people what I did for a job, more so with non-farming people. I used to dread that question ‘so what do you do for a living?’ and when I told them some would reply ‘wow I just wouldn’t put you doing that as a job.’ Being young and inexperienced I took that a bit negatively, but now I think yeah, its unique and to be honest pretty damn impressive. 

Overall in the 10 years I have been hoof trimming, I have had a very positive experience, especially off people on social media. When I joined Instagram as @TheFemaleHoofTrimmer the response was unbelievable! My confidence soared. I’ve not only proven to others but I’ve proven to myself that I’ve been capable of doing this job and I’m very proud of it.

So if you’re a girl reading this and you’re interested in starting hoof trimming but feel a bit reserved, then don’t be! It is an extremely rewarding job. I’ve enjoyed the fact that I’ve been one of very few female hoof trimmers……but I’m loving the fact that more and more girls are getting involved in the industry. If I could give any advice on starting hoof trimming it would be to try and gain experience. I was luckily enough to have my parents teach me beforehand, but a great alternative is to go along with another trimmer or even just having a chat with them would be good place to start. 

If you’re a farmer and you’d like to contribute in our campaign to raise awareness for the incredible work in British agriculture, please drop us a DM on Instagram – @aplanrural