Heyy
My horse wont pick up her back feet. she is fine about her front ones, and once i get her back ones up she is fine, and will keep them up so i can pick them. any advice would help!!! thanks!
I do lean on her, and pinch her tendon, but she is just really stubborn. And its deffinitly not an issue of trust, because she trusts me to do anything else.
Originally posted 2009-04-05 19:20:55.
No related posts.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Squeeze her tendon and if that doesn’t work, run your hand down the lower part of her leg and cluck to her. Maybe lean on her a bit to encourage her to pick it up if she is difficult.
start towards the back.sort of puch i and click a couple times roll your hand/arm down the horses back leg in the inside if you reach the ankle and still have not picked the hoof up then start to try to pick it up then it should lift up
lean against her like youre going to push her over (obviously you wont lol) but it puts their weight on the other side and will almost always pick up their leg for you
get the we tusk of hair at its ancel and pull it
Make sure you are on good ground. Get her to shift her weight and have her calm and secure. Bend and put your back to her belly, feel down the back of her leg to where there is a bunch of longer hair. There is a protrusion called the erogt, it’s a stiff, bony piece, gently but firmly start to pull on that and the hair while telling her to lift. Be flexible, she may not like this and may try to adjust and kick. If you have a decent farrier watch them closely next time. Remember to keep her leg and yourself in a natural line with her normal range of motion. Imagine someone coming up to you and yanking at your foot without forwarning and trying to look at the sole of your boot and pulling it off to the side at an odd angle. Take your time. If she gives you a try reward her with praise, then try it again. You might not get it today but if you are patient, you will win her over and have her doing it forever.
I had a big appy like that once. What i did was every time I went out to feed him is I ran my hand down his leg to the fetlock and just held it there awhile then I would stop and leave. After about a week of NOT forcing the issue he became used to that and started to trust me, soon he would relax and tip his hoof forward, again I would stop and walk away. Before long when I did the same thing he would relax and I would pick up his hoof and just hold it awhile. Before long (three weeks I quess) I was able to go out and clean his hooves. I have learned it is ALL about trust.
push her to a side gently (she will not fall over) and pull on her feathers if she has feathers if no feathers lift normally when pushing her to a side
cup the back of her fetlock and pull toward you. If she still won’t give then push into her just a little to make her off balance.
Alot of times I tap on the cannon to say hey..I want this one..pick it up and then they learn that a tap means to pick it up.
Another way it so slide your fingers into that little indent on the cannon and squeeze as you slide your fingers down then pull up on the fetlock.
Once you get it picked up cup it…don’t just drop the hoof when you are done. Place it gently. By dropping it you hurt the hoof and also could scare the horse which will make her less likely to want to cooperate again.
Do it in short spurts as you want to make it non stressful and a chance for her to get used to collecting her balance.
When I work with the colts I use a rope for teaching them to pick up the back feet. I loop around the heel and pull up. They learn that it’s easy and not off balance. It’s great practice and safer.
Another trick you can try…
Take a soft cotton lead rope. Loop it around her back foot right above the hoof…around the pastern.
Gently pull the hoof upward and toward you at the same time. Praising as you go. If she doesn’t mind actually lifting the hoof…reach forward and take the hoof in your hand…then gently bringing/stretching it back to the normal position to pick it out.
This does transfer well to your hand reaching down and ‘pulling’ on the fetlock to cue them to lift. You can introduce the ‘tendon pinch’ at this time. Pinching the tendon and telling them to ‘pick it up’ or whatever your cue might be. If they don’t respond to the pinch at first, you then reach down and lift the hoof. Doing this again and again…until they realize that the tendon pinch is the cue to pick up their feet.
You will have better leverage with the rope and not a tug of war trying to get the hoof up.
**Ha ha Buckin! You were posting the same time I was!!
Approach her back leg from the front. Put your hip against her hip (or near if one of you is too tall/short). Be calm and confident, and run your hand down the lower part of their leg. Squeeze a little near the tendons and the bone right near the foot. However, you can’t physically force a horse to give his foot. When my mare is stubborn about lifting up her back feet, I lean into her (and as soon as she lifts her foot near me I stop leaning). The leaning on her tends to get her to shift her weight to the other side and she is less reluctant to lift her foot up. Reward your mare a lot when she picks up her feet. Give her treats, praise, pets. Make sure you pick up her feet often for no reason at all, so she doesn’t associate picking up her feet for farrier or hoof picking.
This demonstrates the proper way to do it:
get her to shift her weight, then wiggle her chestnut