I need halp with my 2 yr. old quarter horse colt, can you help me???

Question

My colt won't let me pick up his back hooves or his front hooves. If i go to pick up his front hooves he will crowd me against our barn and back up and jerk the rope to get away. When i go to touch his back hooves he will kick at me and crowd me. Now he is where if you go to his or any reason at all he will crowd you. What do i do?????

Answer 1

First off you might want to get a second person to hold him, and be sure to use the quadrant rules (when you're at front right they're at front left, when you're at rear right they're at front right, and vise versa... this allows them to control the horse to keep you safe) Next, for front hoof stand next to the horse along side his shoulder facing his rear (friend is across the neck from you to pull the horses head if he trys to bite or step toward you) place your close hand on his shoulder and push his weight onto his other leg. Next take your far hand and run it down his leg. Keep constant pressure on the shoulder to push his weight off the leg you want. If he doesn't lift it on his own, pinch the tendons to make him lift his leg. Pull the leg straight up under his body and hold it there until he calms, do not let it go until he calms down, hold it while he's fighting (obviously if it becomes unsafe, let go). Once he settles down lower the foot back to the ground(don't just drop it) and praise him. Do this multiple times, just picking up and putting down.
For the back leg it is pretty similar. You stand next to the hip facing backwards (friend is on the same side as you at the head, to pull the horse's head towards them... therefore moving the rear away from you, if things get bad). You put the near hand on the hip and push away, just like before. Now instead of running your hand down the front of the leg you run it down the back, and again pinch the tendons if he doesn't respond. Pull the leg into his belly and again hold it until he calms. Don't pull it out and back, that puts him off balance and scares him more, and it also give him too much room to kick. Pull it into his stomach so he can't get a good kick, and wait for him to settle, same as before gently set the foot back down and repeat!
Hope this helps!

Answer 2

I kind of agree with Wild and Free's answer but the part on hitting the leg. You are working with such a difficult thing that trust is going to be big here. Rubbing the legs is great, a technique that my horse trimmer use's is taking a soft cotton rope and just put the rope on the back side of the leg down by the hock and pull slowly up. Do not rap the rope around the hoof or tie it. This technique works great on the back legs.And keeps you at a safer distance. Trust and Time! Good luck

Answer 3

Start with a lot of rubbing. Go down as far as he is comfortable and come back up to his withers. Go just an inch further down, wait until he relaxes and isn't pushing on you and come back up. Make that a part of your daily grooming routine. Then once he is good with that (just a couple days if done properly) start focusing on picking his feet up. Give him a cue and when he just starts to shift his weight to the opposite side, release, and rub his wither or head/neck. Gradually start picking the foot off the ground and releasing back down quickly. If he struggles try and keep the foot up and stay with him. As soon as he relaxes, release. Do all of this with him untied, just have the lead draped over your outside elbow with his nose slightly tipped toward you. Therefore, if he does move his hindquarters will swing away from you not towards you. Also, if you are worried about getting kicked, there are a lot of horseman "sticks" out on the market that would be a great tool for you. Good Luck!

Answer 4

Run your hands all over his body, focusing on the legs. Use approah and retreat meaning run you hand down his leg a little then go back to his body. Then next time do the same thing except run your hand a little farther down his leg each time. He should eventually relax, and if he lets you get anywhere near his hoof, give him lots of praise and maybe a treat, then end the lesson for that day. You may have to repeat this many times for a few days or weeks until he eventually learns you are not going to try to eat him while he's balancing on three legs!!

Good Luck!!

Answer 5

These answers all make sense, but they left out some things. This colt is trying to exert (establish) dominance over you! You must teach him you are the boss. Work with him away from the barn so he CANNOT crowd you, and discipline him sharply when he kicks or crowds. And I'd geld him if he has not been already. When he kicks, crack him sharply on the hock. Use a stud chain to get his attention when he jerks away. He is bullying you and if you allow it, you will get hurt one day.

Answer 6

You need to try more ground work, lunge him and make sure he knows who's boss. I acctually had to have a male help me work with a stud of mine because i noticed that the little brat would not pick his feet up for me but any male could do it with ease, they told me it was a dominence thing, so if you could get a male to work with him that might work. GOOD LUCK!!!

Answer 7

You need to send him out for training with someone who does this professionally.

If you don't have the expertise to do this now, don't attempt it unless you're under the supervision of a trainer.

He has learned he can get away with it and you need to have someone correct that.

Answer 8

No problem. I can help. Simply just run your hands up and down his legs until he is comfortable with his legs being delt with. After thatt, you can stsrt picking his feet again. If this doesn't work, see a professional.