Hoof Skinning For Fun And Profit

[Jim B]

Bear with me here,I'll add to this a little at a time today,till I get it finished.it will take awhile.I am skinning a mountain goat hoof here and the first step is to make an incision down the back of the leg and foot,right down and in between the two halves of the hoof.                                                                                                

[Jim B]

Seperate the skin from the leg and foot bones in the usual way,then sever at the ankle,leaving the 2 phalanges (toe bones) that go down into the hoof.

[Jim B]

Once that is severed,use your knife or scalpel to seperate the 2 phalanges from each other.Just run it in between them.Now,once these are seperated,we are starting to get some working room.I don't show it but it helps to make a small noose out of rope or cord and sinch that around the end of the phalange that you will be working on and secure the other end of the chord to the bench.Then you can pull your hoof and keep tension between bone and hoof as you skin.

[Jim B]

There is a soft spot,on the inside of each half of the hoof.Start the incision there.Conveniently,on most lifesize forms,the leg rod will be right in that spot you are cutting.

[Jim B]

Continue forward,splitting the bottom of the hoof and working the blade between the inside of the hoof and the toe bone insideit,till you reach the tip.Notice that the further you progress,the more flexible the hoof becomes and the more working room you have.

[Jim B]

Now,go back and work the blade between the bottom of the hoof and the bottom of the toe bone,seperating them,to the tip.

[Jim B]

Now the bottom and inner side of the hoof is seperated.

[Jim B]

Now we are seperating the outer side of the hoof from the toe bone.Remember to keep your fingers behind the blade and work the blade in a direction away from your fingers.The object is to skin the goat,not yourself.

[Jim B]

OK,we are coming down the home stretch now.It is barely hanging on by the tip of the toe bone now.

[Jim B]

All done,one side.

[Jim B]

Look how flexible this hof is once the bone is out.Skinning this way goes way faster than talking about it.Once you get the feel of it,which doesn't take long,you can skin one almost as fast as reading this.Once the toe bones are out,the hoof will tan better and mount easier.You will get a better transition between hoof and form without the shrinkage problems that occur when the bone is left in.You can use the same process to remove toe bones from a rehydrated,tanned skin but if you get to skin the animal,take a few minutes and do it before tanning.

[Jim B]

Here is one that was tanned and mounted.A notch was cut out of each half of the hoof right at the "soft spot",for the leg rod and nut to fit in.A couple wraps of electrician's tape holds the hoof together till it dries.That's all folks.

[John Bellucci]

That is a fantastic method for freeing up those tough as nails ... well ... nails!  I have a New Method tanned lifesize Impala, and the hooves are soaking now, in preparation for 'hoof bone' removal.  Just for the heck of it, I'll photograph the process.  Maybe I'll add a tanned, African 'twist' to your tutorial.  Again ... thanks Jim for showing this sensible skinning method!

John.

[platzy]

Thanks so much for this tutorial. Very Helpful

[Darrell]

very cool!