You don't "need" a knife. You need whatever you are most comfortable with. Some people like to use just a knife, but others always prefer foot shears. If you use a knife and you are not comfortable with it, you might cut yourself or the goat. I know someone who threw away their chance of winning the biggest show in Scotland, because she cut the goats feet with a knife just before going in the ring, and badly cut the goat. I also know someone else who did the same thing but cut herselfbadly, resulting in several stitches.
I do sometimes use a knife, but only at the end to level off the base of the hoof if it needs it. I use similar shears to Anke,
Found this link when I was looking for the link to my foot shears- looks quite handy!
http://www.animalloversweb.com/sheep-foot-trimming.htmlI can't find a link to the foot shears we're using, they are lamb foot shears, and have curved blades, quite small shears. They are probably the best foot shears I have ever used.
Anyway Langdon, there was no real need to start another thread about the same topic- why not just post in the first thread you started?
Beth