Evaluate hoofed animals at state’s border (6)
I believe the answer is:
assess
'evaluate' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'animals at state's border' is the wordplay.
'animals' becomes 'asses' (I've seen this before).
'at' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'state's border' becomes 's' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'asses'+'s'='ASSESS'
'hoofed' acts as a link.
This may not be right. It may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for assess that I've seen before include "Weigh up, estimate value" , "Evaluate (quality)" , "'Evaluate, appraise (6)'" , "Gauge, evaluate" , "(Of a tax) determine the amount to be paid" .)