Can you give me help on my horse not letting me clean his feet out? Thanks?

Answer 1

Is it a young horse?

Try tieing him to a rail. Then talk softly and slowly start to rub him on his back. Gradually work your way down his leg a little at a time but always bringing your hand back up to his back if he gets jittery. He will relax in a couple of minutes and you just keep your hand moving further and further down the leg until he will let you leave your hand down there for a few seconds.
Once he's to that point try to pick up his foot and be prepared to clean it out really quickly so that you have a successful clean out of that one foot.
Repeat on each foot, start at the front and then the back.
What you need to do with a horse that is troubled with their feet is to work with them daily or even a couple of times a day.
Good luck.

Answer 2

I'd need to know more about the problem, and what you're doing to really help you. It could be that you just have a horse that is not very well trained or used to having his feet handled. If you don't feel like you're a very experienced horse person, have one you know help you with your horse. Handle his feet as much as possible, until he finally gets used to it. Thats what I had to do with my mare when I first got her. She wasn't very good at having her feet handled, and it just took a number of sessions of me holding on for her to finally realize that this wasn't such a bad thing. Now I can have 5 year old children clean out her hooves!

Answer 3

You have to remember that the horse is a flight animal and his feet are his only way of getting away from danger. If he lets you lift his feet up he is effectively making himself vulnerable to attack by wolves/lions etc. Not very likely I know, but that is how they think. You need to get him to trust you and become relaxed in his environment.

As so many people have already said, just take it very gently. Don't force him into anything and praise him when he does what you ask.

You can also ask your farrier for advice. He/she will be more than happy to help as it will make their life much easier when it comes to your horse's foot care.

Answer 4

Try picking up hoof from opposite side eg stand on near side at the shoulder facing towards the tail, run your hand down the off fore towards fetlock, then give upwards ask and release whilst asking the horse to pick up. You should hold the hoof behind the near fore leg.
Young and old horses suffer from balance issues the above exercise makes it easier for them. Make sure your horse is standing square before you ask

Answer 5

You need to get him to trust you. Just grabbing his legs will not work. He doesn't feel comfortable.

Try gentle brushing all over his body, then slowly down to his knee. Keep gently brushing down with to the fetlocks and then start to use your hands. Do this a little each time until he feels comfortable with you holding his leg. Eventually you will be able to lift it a wee bit, then just work on touching his foot.

Remember to talk to him softly while doing all this and make no sudden movements. He may just be nervous of having his feet tampered with. Or it could be that they really are sore. In this case, call a vet immediately.

Alternatively you could call a farrier with experience in this. Most will allready and should be able to guide you through this.

The bond with your horse is important. Good luck!

Answer 6

some horses do get very under pressure while the farrier visits or perhaps while cleansing out their hooves. Is it in any respect conceivable so which you could sedate her a pair of circumstances till she realises no longer something risky will take place to her? as quickly as she gets over her preliminary worry she could be high quality. in case you sedate her the 1st few circumstances it is going to likely be sufficient to take the sting off and as a result be a rigidity unfastened undertaking. She's probable choosing up on the certainty which you're under pressure and irritating additionally. it would desire to be that she has been injury earlier. do you understand if she's had any undesirable reviews with a farrier earlier?

Answer 7

Oh gosh... this is a common problem, my mare used to cow kick like mad!
Just be persistent and clear in what you want your horse to do, if hes aggressive its a good idea to wear a hat or body protector, you need to be firm but fair. There are a lot of ways for combating the problem, but it really depends on the horse!
Books, Internet and reliable, knowledgeable friends are the best answer!
xxx

Answer 8

I have a couple of horses with the same problem. One of my horses, I have someone standing at the horses head, distracting them with goodies. The other horse, I bring out my horse whip, lay it against the tree so the horse can see it and the horse stands perfectly still (I have never used the whip, but the horse seems to know what it is.) You might try either or both of these.

Answer 9

Use the approach and retreat method. Start rubbing him at the wither then the shoulder and on down. If at any time he gets jumpy, stay in that position (without getting hurt) while rubbing until he relaxes. Then move straight back up to rubbing his wither. This way he will learn the only way to get a release is to calm down. Concentrate on rubbing his leg more than picking it up, once he gets use to you touching him. If you go for picking his leg up too soon you'll be right where you started. You may have to do this over a period of time or he may pick up in a matter of hours. It all depends on that horse of yours. You can use this method for anything to gain your horses trust. Just remember to go slow and be calm yourself. If you make a problem with it then your horse will have a problem with it. You can do this. Good Luck : )

Answer 10

I presume you mean that he wont let you pick up his legs? I too had the same problem with my youngster earlier last year - I found the best tactic was to tie him up short so he couldnt move around - then running my hand down his leg I would push against him with my full body weight - when he still wouldnt lift up - I started tapping the back of his heel with the hoofpick saying "up" - they find this tapping quite uncomfortable and when he picked up I praised him greatly - cleaned out the hoof - placed it down and made a big fuss of him - he gradually realised what I wanted him to do and now picks up without having to tap his heel anymore - good luck! xx