There are many ways to become an Internet star, but there are only a few ways to properly trim a cow’s hooves.
Nate Ranallo, a cattle podiatrist in West Salem, Wis., prefers the Kansas method because it better fits the shape of a cow’s paw. Graeme Parker of Wigtownshire, Scotland, prefers the Dutch method, which follows a five-step system that allows cattle to walk at full speed.
What Mr. Ranallo and Mr. Parker have in common is that they have large followings on social media who may never have set foot on a farm but find it unexpectedly calming and satisfying to watch them file, carve and mend hooves while describing their methods and procedures.
Trimming doesn’t hurt the cows — just like trimming a person’s toenails. And it’s necessary; farmers usually hire skilled workers to trim cows’ hooves, and unlike bison, cows don’t walk very far, so the natural wear and tear that prevents their hooves from overgrowing doesn’t occur.
Ranallo and Parker began posting instructional videos to educate farmers and advertise their services, but it wasn’t long before the videos were appearing among casual viewers on TikTok and YouTube, who found themselves mesmerized by the methodical, precise craft.
Among them, Mr. Ranallo’s online name is Knightand Mr. Parker, aka Hoof general practitionerhas over six million followers across both platforms.
“I misunderstood why people were interested in it,” said Ranallo, 45, who has been trimming cow hooves since college and posted his first video in 2020.
Many commenters said they found the videos “therapeutic,” he said. “Even though I present them in an educational format, they see it more as a source of entertainment.”
Mr. Ranallo, who trims about 10,000 horses’ hooves each year on his farm a half-hour’s drive from his home, said he noticed that spectators were drawn to the stomach-churning aspects of the process, such as curing ailments, some of which can even bleed.
The soft tones of his voice often contrast with the images in the videos, some of which are not for the faint of heart and involve treating oozing lesions or removing painful debris.
“No, we don’t put nails in the tires of cows in Wisconsin,” Mr. Ranallo said. In a video, he happily saidhe said as he cleaned the mud from the bottom of the horse’s hoof, “She stepped on a screw.”
These videos allow viewers to feel like they too can help cows in need.
“From an evolutionary perspective, this is a trait that we can learn,” said Craig Richard, a professor of biopharmaceuticals at Shenandoah University in Virginia. “If this person isn’t threatening you or changing anything, your brain starts thinking, is this going to help me survive? Can I learn this trait from them?”
But seeing the transformation process come to a satisfying conclusion is what keeps viewers glued to their screens, said Dr Richard, host of the podcast Quiet History.
“What’s happening is that our dopamine is activated,” Dr. Richard said.
He said the videos were of the “oddly satisfying” variety and could be relaxing.
But for trimmers, the deal wasn’t always so worry-free.
Throughout his career, Mr. Parker would start his workday between 2 and 4 a.m. He would drive to the cattle farm with his tools, slide the cow’s hooves into the chute, and start Files and Slices.
“If you have an injured foot, the first thing you do is lose weight,” Mr Parker said. “But a cow doesn’t – a cow is a prey animal, so if she’s limping, she thinks she’s going to be food.”
Most trims are similar to a manicure or pedicure, but sometimes they require a little more attention.
Mr. Parker began posting videos primarily to give potential customers an idea of what he could do with an angle grinder and a specialized tool called a hoof knife. As more farmers began watching the videos, he said, “then the public started watching, too, from all over the world.”
Now, his channel has merchandise and a loyal group of fans who call themselves “The Herd.”
At a conference earlier this year, Mr. Parker said he met several people who had switched careers to hoof trimming and said his videos had inspired them. “It changed my perspective on what videos can accomplish and what they can do,” he said.
Ranallo also has a large following, but at one point he encountered fake accounts where people would repost his content and claim it as their own. This became so common that Ranallo had to hire a copyright lawyer. He described the process as “a nightmare” but said the problems have since been resolved.
Despite the recognition both Mr. Ranallo and Mr. Parker have achieved, their daily lives still begin with helping cows stand on all four legs. Juggling social media videos and their business can be a challenge, but the two have managed to balance internet fame with an honest day job.
“You don’t want to make the audience feel like there’s a herd of lame cows all over the country — it’s a very small part of it,” Ranallo said. “But at the same time, as a creator, you’re trying to give the audience what they want to see.”
