Help needed.....

[sarah turner]

I am looking after a mare, 6 years old, with a view to buy. She is lovely though very head shy which we are getting around with lots of TLC. Main problem is she has no shoes on and will not let me near her feet to lift them. I managed today to brush them, she has really long and thick feathers and you cannot see her feet, when I moved the hair I found the remainders of mud fever scabs in the hair. Her feet are full of stones and mud and I cannot pick them out and I need to trim the feathers and really brush them out well. I have all the time in the world to get this right but would love some advice and tips and how to get her over her fear.

[Speedy]

A horses head is known as the delicate zone, and she will protect it, as the eyes, ears etc are vital for survival - hence being headshy.

Their feet are their means of escape and holding them up for you requires a lot of trust on their part, as whilst you have their feet, they cannot run away. If she doesn't let you near her feet, then use approach and retreat. Groom and stroke her legs, moving closer to her feet and then move away just before she gets anxious - she will start to realise that you are no threat and you will slowly be able to get closer and closer to her feet. Keep reading her body language and try and retreat the moment before she reacts. Keep rewarding her by removing the pressure.

Once you can groom her legs, you can ask her to pick her fet up. Make sure that she is standing square so that she doesn't feel unbalanced when you lift her feet. When you ask her to pick her foot up, run your hand all the way down from the shoulder and down to the fetlock. If she doesn't pick up, then gently squeeze the chesnut and she will lift her leg. As soon as she lifts it, let her put it back down and reward her. Once she is comfortable doing this, then you can hold the foot for short periods and then put it down and reward her. Make slow progress so that you don't alarm her and reassure her that you will let her escape if she feels uncomfortable. Eventually you will be able to tap her feet with a hoof pick and then finally pick them out - it could take quite a while though!

[Waikato Valuta]

Try forgeting about the feet for a few days, Just relax and have fun with her. Earn her trust and then go back to the basics. massaging her allover and just not bothering about her feet and head will get her thinking ok she dosent want to disable my mean of escape and may get her trusting a little more. Rather than bothering her every day and just gettign her into a huff about it. Horses do the most learning when they are relaxed. so keep it simple.

[Rakeli]

When you ask her to pick up her feet, squeeze her chestnuts on the forelegs and the back of the hock on the hind (hook your hand round in front first if your worried about her kicking). It is easier for a horse to pick their foot up for you if you ASK them, that way they have the time to adjust their weight.

Once you have the foot, if the she tries to snatch it away it will be because she is unbalanced. To help that, the TTEAM way, which worked for me, is to circle the foot to the ground (slowly), then placing it further back then normal.

Alternatively, use clicker training; when she picks her foot up, click and treat. You can use this to extend the amount of time she'll hold it up, just make sure she dosn't lose confidence.

Most importantly, TAKE YOUR TIME AND RELAX!!! If you act stressed, so will she, and she'll not safe enough to pick her foot up.

R

[ros]

I agree with the others - patience, gentle persistence, lots of praise...

I had a 4-year old on the yard who was very dodgy about feet. I was turning her out in the mornings for her owner so I was able to work on her every day. She also was quite worried, unbalanced, sometimes a little aggressive if she felt unsafe. It took me a week or two to get to the point where she wouldn't try to kick me, but she did settle down, and eventually I could pick her feet out in the middle of the field without any problem.

Foot care is absolutely essential, so you really do need to persevere on this one!

[Wally]

When Frances got Hákon first it took us 2 hours just to get him to let us pick his feet up, no joke. He was 3 and NEVER had his feet touched my the hand of man. We can shoe him now, not a problem, bit these things take time. Plenty of reward for the right move and ignor the fear. I mean don't try to punish her for slamming a foot down or kicking out to start with, just gentle insistance.

Again be slow and patient around her head, my little horse is 14 and still head shy, no matter how much work you do he cannot bear his head messed with. Put his bridle on...fine, anything more is a no no!


She may have sore legs under all that feather, I was at a show once as a judge and there was a shire in the ridden class, I found a HUGE abscess under all the feather that the owner hadn't found due to all the hair. I feel, that unless they are a purebred and bound for the show ring feathers are better removed and the legs allowed to dry well, especially in muddy, wet conditions.

Just work away with her and you'll get there, lots of praise and reward for the right moves even if she makes to pick up her leg and changes her mind, she is going in the right direction.

[ros]

I'm glad you said that about feathers, Wally. So often with heavy-feathered horses people make the mistake of leaving the feathers on in the belief that they protect the legs from the wet. Up to a point it's true, of course, but once the legs get really saturated there's no way on earth they'll dry out with heavy feathering.

Frank had that problem, and he was quite greasy as well. I found the best compromise was to clip his legs right out from the knee down maybe twice through the winter - that way the skin got the chance to breathe, and I could see what was going on under there.