# need thoughts on hoof trimming a difficult horse



## AlottaBitCountry (Aug 11, 2012)

i have an 8 yr old gelding who i need to get his hooves trimmed. ive never had his hooves trimmed yet since we have had him, he keeps them pretty well shaped and lengthened natrually with the gravel and sand around the area. but it is about that time now, anyways, he can be a pain in the BUTT. ive had a few bad accidents with horses and back ends, so i really have a hard time feeling safe picking up horses back feet and havent done it in awhile. so i have never even tried to pick up his back feet at all. i can get his front feet, sort of, lol.. he is really stubborn and will put all of his weight on whatever foot you are trying to pick up, and when you finally DO get his foot then he goes onto his front knees. so i try again and againa until i can pick up one of his feet and put it down myself, without him ripping it away from me after he deems necessary. 

im worried about finding a ferrier who will want to put up with his stubborness, or maybe if he turns out to be a nut case when they are trying to trim his feet, like i said i havent seen his feet trimmed before.

the previous owner said he used to trim his hooves with a garden scissors (hes seriously like 80 yr old horse trainer, old school bla bla) and that they do fine, and all i know is he showed up with pretty feet and i dont know what the experience was like. 

i dont know what to do for his first time with us, if he will behave or i shoudl tell the ferrier that i have never seen them done before so i dont know how he will react and then they might not want to do his hooves at all...

suggestions???


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## Janna (Apr 19, 2012)

Tell the terrier before hand. 


You can use a rope to pick them up at first if you don't feel safe back there


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## Sherian (Aug 28, 2012)

tell the farrier especially that you have never picked up his hind feet! Does the horse pick up his feet for others and just gives you a hard time or does he genuinely not know what is being asked of him? Just remember the farrier can't work if your horse hurts him/her so be prepared for them to tell you to call them back once he is trained or tranqued. It is not the farriers job to train your horse.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

It's amazing how a horse's behaviour changes for a confident farrier from it's nervous owner. I hope the horse is accustomed to having his hooves picked out. If the farrier has to train your horse, expect to pay for for his additional time.


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

My farrier is a miracle worker. She was able to get my arab to stand nicely while she trimmed his rear feet in one visit. I had been working on it for months and didn't get even close to as far as she did in one try.

Last time she was out she trimmed the two nearly unhandled young ponies I'd just bought. Had the wilder one picking up his feet with just a verbal cue in about ten minutes.

A good farrier is worth their weight in gold. It might cost you a bit extra if your horse gives a lot of trouble, but it's worth it. Heck, if my farrier doesn't charge extra for training my horses to pick up their feet, I tip her extra anyway.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Iseul (Mar 8, 2010)

We worked with a horse that would buckle and go down to his knees when his front feet got picked up. He'd lay on you, and then he'd buckle his knees. One of the other farriers started working on him because the other guy couldn't and he held his foot until he hit the ground and made him get back up. The gelding did it twice (once hitting his knees and once smacking his nose trying to get back up before he went all the way down) until he decided it was safer for himself to just let it be held. Obviously it was done on mats/sand/dirt and not anything too hard..no injury, just scared himself into behaving, lol.
I tend to hold on until they stop fighting or go down (only happens once or twice), and then they behave. I can't say for sure everyone wants that to be done with their horse, but it's worked for me/us.

Otherwise..if you can't work it out on your own, let your farrier know and I've him/her a tip 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## EvilHorseOfDoom (Jun 17, 2012)

My horse does this - he knows perfectly well how to pick up his feet, he just can't be bothered. Poor apprentice farriers have no fun at all. But when the master farrier comes along my horse picks his hooves up like a pro, no fuss at all. Let the farrier know that your gelding not the easiest and you've never picked up the back ones before - a good farrier will train the horse if he truly doesn't know how to pick up (for an additional cost obviously) or, and this is more likely, his/her confidence and experience will mean that your horse picks up fine (although perhaps with a little resistance at first).


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## AceIsHigh (Oct 29, 2012)

tell your farrier, as a farriers daughter i know they get ****ED if they go to trim a horse and it doesn't know how to pick up its feet, but if you tell them and they are prepared to fight then they will attemt it (usually successful)


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## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

If you expect a farrier to work with your guy, warn him before he gets out there so he can schedule a longer appointment, and please for the love of all you hold dear, PAY him appropriately for helping train your horse!

I too have had to hold naughty horses and I will let them go ahead and fall over if that is what they want to try to do. It took one mare falling on her knee and face three times before she got the message that I wasn't going to take that crap. She still tried it with everyone else, but she would begrudgingly stand properly for me. So long as it keeps working (the leaning and falling getting them their foot back) they will keep doing it.


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

Yup, I agree with what's been posted. If you are not confident to train for this, then the farrier or a trainer will need to, but be very upfront about it. Another thought is that if the horse's feet haven't been looked after is so long, possibly he is having difficulty standing on one or other foot because its sore.

Please do discuss this with a farrier soon.


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## FalineDear (Nov 17, 2012)

I used to own a horse (long gone by now) who would only let me pick up his feet. Not even the most confident farrier could get close to his back end without him lashing out with a hoof. I guess he really was a one-person horse.


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## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

I second everything said on here, but make sure your farrier knows about how your horse is, _before_ he gets there, i.e. Tell him on the phone and ask him if he is happy to attempt the horse.

My gelding used to do that also, it only took a few falls on his face to realize well hey, no I will not hold up your 700kg of lazy. He was also bad with one back leg, he would shift and sway his leg back and forth unless he felt it was held securely.

Just another thought from my own experience as my farrier had knee surgery a while back so I make sure to look after him real well... Tell your farrier, that if he does get under the horses back legs and manages to do them, that you would rather he did the telling off if the horse shifts as opposed to you doing it at the head of the horse and horse getting a fright and stomping all over the farrier who is in an awkward position.
My farrier in particular likes this arrangement for the back legs because he has had several horses that have shifted, or even done something the owner didn't like, like shift its head, and the owner has belted the horse, which has responded by jumping and moving, while the farrier is in a potentially dangerous position with the horses back legs. And because the farrier is in such close proximity to two lethal weapons, he/she will be able to feel every movement your horse makes and react accordingly.
Good luck, my horse was exactly the same to start with, I even went to the extent of wearing my helmet every time I tried to pick up his back hooves, just in case.


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## Inga (Sep 11, 2012)

Like the others have said, "tell the farrier" and beyond that, you need to start working with this horse to pick his feet up. This isn't the farriers responsibility. You might be afraid to do it but you will need to find someone who can. A horse should have having his feet looked at regularly for it's own health. What if something happened and you needed to handle the horse to make it better? You or someone needs to get this horse over whatever it is that the problem is. Most horses handle having their feet picked up with just a little work. 

Some farriers will use meds to "relax" the horse first if needed. Many will use ropes to protect them from kicks and many think "I don't get paid well enough to deal with this" and won't do it. I don't blame them. It would make me mad too especially if the person wasn't working to improve the situation and just let me come risk my life a few times a year to trim them.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

It really does help to arrive 90 minutes ahead of the farrier and give the horse a good workout, get him tired. The horse will welcome the rest. Not fair to ask a farrier to spend more time working on a fresh horse that fidgets and fusses.


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## Missy May (Feb 18, 2012)

My mare did this when I got her as a filly. I assumed she did not know what it was I wanted. I took cotton rope and stood in front of her - put it around her fetlock and gently tugged, and she responded nicely by lifting her foot forward, I would hold it up/out for a short while and let the foot down slowly. I did that many times, then asked for the foot and she gave it right to me. She was unable to hold it for me for very long right at first b/c she hadn't learned to get her hinds right for balance. You have to help them in that dept at first...they'll get it. Now I have a new filly w zero training. She isn't as quick of a study, I use the ropes and she only "remembers" directly following the effort so I have to repeat it often. But it gets the ball rolling, at least. Perhaps your guy, regardless of age, doesn't actually know what you want.

Otherwise, I agree w all the other posters - give the farrier an clear description of his "status" up front and discuss the possibilities of drugging him, if it should come to that, when he visit (some won't ace for liability reasons).


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## Army wife (Apr 29, 2012)

Take a long lead rope, slide it down to your horses back pastern and pull it up. Stand by his shoulder, that way your out of the way if he has a kicking fit. My filly went through a couple stages, one where she decided she was going to fight picking up her back feet. I did this until she quit fighting, then put it down. Picked it up again, and she was fine. No issue since. She also tried the laying down crap on the front feet. I had her in the arena and as soon as she laid down, I moved and smacked her on the butt with the rope. Sent her around a few times and she hasn't tried it since.


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