Who does your nails?
Oregon Man Gives Cows 'Pedicures'
SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- Most days, Jefferson resident Steve Bartelds spends his time giving cows pedicures. He's a national leader in the obscure profession of hoof trimming, the president-elect of the Hoof Trimmers Association, Inc., a Missoula, Mont.-based trade group.
First, Bartelds suspends cows sideways, using a machine called a tilt-table that attaches to his one-ton Ford.
Then, using an electric trimming tool that sends shavings flying and a special knife made in Switzerland for finer work, Bartelds can single-handedly trim the hooves of four to six cows an hour, getting rid of the excess growth on hooves to maintain proper bovine balance.
Like trimming fingernails, trimming cow's hooves doesn't cause the animal pain when it is done correctly. But cows hate being strapped down and flipped on the tilt-table. Knowing a little cow psychology helps Bartelds do his job without stressing the animals.
One trade secret: Never tilt thecow more than 80 degrees.
"If you have a cow completely level, that freaks her," he said.
He also believes in speaking softly.
"C'mon, don't argue," Bartelds told a bellowing cow he was shooing toward the tilt-table.
Hoof trimming is an exacting process. If the hoof trimmer removes too much of the hoof, the cow can be so seriously injured that it is fit only for hamburger.
"You can kill a $1,500 cow instantly," said Bartelds, 53, showing a photograph of a cow's foot split in half to reveal the heavy bone just beneath the hoof.
Licensing for hoof trimmers, which currently isn't required, is high on Bartelds' agenda as the trade group's leader.
Bartelds' charges vary from $10 to $25 per cow depending on the size of the dairy and how often the animals' hooves are trimmed. He lost count of the number of animals he has tended over the years when he passed 100,000.
His record is trimming the hooves of 67 cows in one day, which he did years ago with a pair of manually operated clippers he no longer uses.
And the job has it hazards, such as the time a cow kicked him in the face.
He considered becoming a veterinarian but found that working in dairies was a better match for his interests.
"I had no desire to learn about cats and dogs. All I cared about were cows," Bartelds said. |
