Horse Handling

One of the horses I work on has a stubborn streak when it comes to her right front foot.  On her other feet she's fine, but on this one, she'll let me pick it up and work on it for a short time before yanking it away.  I only get two or three shots on it before she simply refuses to pick it up at all.  I've tried as many tricks as I know to encourage her to pick the foot up after she's reached her limit, but she plays the game of 'pick it up so fast the farrier can't catch it'.  According to the owner, she's got a history of doing this to other farriers as well.  Any advice for how to work with her on this foot or things the owner can do to train her between trims?

  Sound advice from Carline, as you need lot's of tools or tricks in that tool box.If there is no pain in the other leg and no pain in the knee try a rope halter and a open space to that you can imediatly put the horse to work. Lange the horse both ways, back up and go back to your shoing place( comfert zone and go right back to work.Do it again, and again if need be. Dont lose yuor temper. Its called get in get out. Learned this from Buck B. years ago and adapted it for some situations. You are getting the respect of the horse without hurtting him,her Get along are go to workGood luck Peter Klein

Hello Jenafer. Everyone has given good, sound advice already. I'll just add a couple of things I have learned over the years of working with very lame horses. As has been indicated, the normal culprit is pain, and typically it would stem from the left front. Pay close attention to it's conformation. Low heels? A past injury? Pathology? Many times I have found duct taping or simply sliding a wedge pad (or two) under the opposing foot offers the horse relief and allows me the extra time needed to finish the work. This, however, is normally an indicator as to how the horse needs to be shod. The other possibility has also been touched upon. The problem can sometimes be in the limb you are working on and th ehorse simply cannot tolerate the manipulation of the limb (knee issues). I find placing the foot in the cradle, rather than between my knees can alleviate many issues. 

Most of all, remember to be safe and not place yourself in a dangerous situation. In many of the lameness cases I work, a good vet who knows how to properly sedate is worth their weight in gold! :) Best of luck,

Mike Chaffin

Thanks for all the advice!  I don't believe the mare has any current pain in the leg, but I think James had the right of it that it's something she learned in the past from pain in the leg.  I've tried holding her between my knees and working on her one handed and neither seems to make a difference.  I haven't tried a cradle, but I have some concerns over that since the mare won't stand with any of her feet on a jack for top dressing--I have to top dress her on my knee.  I talked to the owner and we're going to try working on her for just a short time once every week until we get that foot done, and I'll advise her about picking that foot up repeatedly and holding it to see if she can make some progress when I'm not there.  Peter, thanks for the idea of longing her--I'll see if that'll help, too.  Thanks again all for the advice and support.