fear of farrier

[JanC]

A friend of mine has a new horse who has obviously been treated very badly in her short life (only 5). She came fully shod but at last farrier visit my friend had her back shoes removed and only shod the front two. The poor wee mare had to be sedated for farrier - attempts without sedation left her in a terrible state and she was going to hurt either herself or anyone around her. My friend is working through various NH techniques v slowly and she isn't as nervous or headshy as she was a few months ago but she is due to have farrier again in a week or two and obviously sedation isn't the longterm answer. Does anyone have it? Don't you just hate the b***ards who did this to her?????:mad:

[Harry Hobbes]

Don't you just hate the b***ards who did this to her?????:mad:I'd be willing to bet that the folks that "...did this to her" had to resort to drugs because they didn't know how to train her to yield her feet. Your friend now has the opportunity to become part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

Helping the mare with her head shyness is apposite, and certainly should be a priority, but I doubt that the farrier is going to shoe her head. So if the objective is to prepare the mare to accept the farrier and his/her work, then suggest to your friend that she focus on training the mare to yield her feet. (And if the mare learns to softly yield the feet, the nervousness and headshyness will dissapate dramatically; if not disappear.)

An effective method is articulated herein:

http://www.newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41536

Or, other effective methods are extant; just do a search.

Best regards,
Harry

[Ptaty70]

I'm with Harry, your friend needs to concentrate on the feet immediately. Has she tried clicker training or starting to ask for a shift in weight and then immediately praise? All you need is the slightest of movement and a good response/treat and they do learn that it's not a bad thing and that having one foot off the ground doesn't put her at a disadvantage.

The whole doping experience is probably worrying to her too as she wants to flee but can't so the sooner your friend sorts out her offering her feet willingly, the better.

Some people really are stupid :mad: She needs to understand that the farrier is a good thing. Mine falls to sleep!:p

[JanC]

Thanks for your advice. Lorraine is lifting up her feet every day - some days seem to be easier than others. Interestingly she seems happier if Lorraine works with her alone ie no stranger standing holding her. She's also much worse having anything done to her right side. Thanks for links - I'll pass them on.

[shandy84]

It may be worth having the farrier show your friend how he holds the hoof in his legs and on his stand etc so she can mimmick it. Also watch him do the tapping etc so she knows what needs to be done.

Is there any way your friend can have the mare barefoot until she is more comfortable with the farrier as this may make the process a little easier on her :)