horse question!!!!?

Question

My horses do NOT do good with Farriers. is it possible for me to learn how to trim their hooves myself? I dont think there is a school around here that i could take classes at. Im located in steubenville ohio. I just dont want to take any chances of messing up their hooves

i dont know what it is about my horses they just dont trust any farrier. my last farrier moved out of state so i cant have him come any more. and all the old farriers just wont come and do them. my horses are all well behaved. they just dont like our farriers. and there was some young farrier that said he would do it but i would trust him enough. he was only about 22 yrs old . what other options do i have i really rather not sedate them just to trim up there hooves

if i would start trimiing their hooves i would deffinatly have a farrier with me the first few times. and once every 3-4 months to check up on them

my arabs hooves are in good shape and wouldnt be hard for me to trim but my stud and other geldings feet are grow outflat

Answer 1

Try the american farriers assoc:
http://www.americanfarriers.org/

The site also lists places where they teach farrier classes. I know they offer a 2 week training course near me, but I'm no where near ohio.

Answer 2

In England you can be prosecuted if you mess it up. There are courses to learn bare foot trimming but not all are reputable. Think how long a farrier has to train before he is qualified!!!!
Go back to the reasons that your horse doesn't like the farrier, is it lack of handling by other people? Is it that the farrier is rough? (change farrier) Has he had a bad experience? All of these things can be resolved. Check out advice from some of Americas finest in resolving the real issue rather than creating another one! Try Mark Rashid, Pat Parelli or Monty Roberts. Most importantly remember there is always a reason because horses have feelings too!

Answer 3

Most farriers can show you how to do it. I trim my own mini's hooves myself. Keep in mind that it's a good idea to have a professional out now and again just to make sure that you're on the right track and you're not letting something happen that might cause serious problems. I have my farrier check my work once a year but with a larger horse i might do it twice.

Answer 4

I absolutely would not trim a horse's hooves without getting a whole lot of training. Farriers can correct or ruin a horse's soundness based on what they do to it's feet. I would no sooner trim a horse's hooves without the proper training than I would do surgery on my children's feet without going to medical school. A good farrier should be able to handle difficult horses, but I do know some of them will balk at a horse they think might kick them in the head (for good reason).

ETA: Perhaps you should leave the barn when the farrier is there. He/she may be more willing to insist the horses behave without an audience. The farrier that services the barn we ride at refers to this as a "coming to Jesus meeting."

Answer 5

Trimming your own horses hooves is not a good idea, it is a trained profession and if you make a mistake you could injure or scare your horses even more. How about you spend more time familiarizing your horses with your current farrier. Get them used to standing still with a leg lifted off the ground for a while. Try and associate the farrier with nice things by feeding your horses after he/she has been for example

Answer 6

I wouldn't try it. You can easily mess up hooves and most of the classes there are taught do not do a good job- experience will make you a better farrier- not a 13 week class.
What you should do is train your horse to be better for the farrier. Whatever they do, make sure you do it as well a couple times a week. Make your horse hold his leg out at those angles. If he misbehaves, hit him and tell him to knock it off. There is no reason that a horse that is well trained should be bad for the farrier (except if sore or a foal).

My draft mare will lean on a new farrier- put all of her weight into that one leg. I warn the farrier and he gives her a sharp jab and she readjusts to balance her weight out. She only tries it once or twice on a farrier and then quits.

Answer 7

hey there! I can only imagine how frustrating it is to go through this. the best option of course, it to train your horse to stand for people holding its hooves at odd angles (get friends to do it too, so that they learn to do it for different people). A twitch could help, it diverts their attention elsewhere, use a stud chain or any other method to get your point across. As far as trimming yourself, it's a good idea, and a lot of people do it, but you should get the proper training first. Unfortunately, according tot he american farriers' association (www.americanferriers.org) there are no schools close to you in canada, however a good farrier can teach you (mine did). I hope this helps!

Answer 8

On typically well behaved horses who are skittish you can try blind folding them so they can't see the farrier.

Have the farrier set everything up, then bring the horse in and stay at his head to keep him company.

First though, practice with them to see how they'll take to the blindfold and to get them used to it.

Learning yourself, if you can find a way, will be a long process, and they'll need trimmed in that time. On healthy hooves that need no correction, people can master a basic trim.

But for difficult jobs or shoes, that's much more difficult to learn.

But see if the're more accepting to it being blindfolded with you by their side.

Answer 9

You can learn how to rasp them from a farrier (have a professional teach you) - I would leave trimming to the pros, as you can do some serious damage to hooves and even their legs by improper trimming.
The best suggestion is teaching them to LIKE the farrier and experience with positive motivation. You can also twitch them - an easy way to control them without sedation.

Answer 10

If you have someone to teach you to trim the hooves on your horse, you would save some money. But be careful not to cut the frog to short. I would be best to find a seasoned farrier that could calm your horse down.