Picking up feet

[Samantha1980]

When my friend was away on holiday I looked after her 3 horses. With one of them I had a bit of bother picking up his legs to do his feet. When she returned I mentioned this and she said that she had forgotten to tell me that you do it the parrilli way with him, squeezing his chestnuts. I have heard of this before but why is it done this way? Are there any benefits? How does the horse learn it or is it a natural reaction to getting there chestnuts squeezed? They also do it this way in my silversand vids.

[katefarmer]

It's pretty much a reflex - although the horse does have some voluntary control over it. If it is really worried about lifting its feet you can squeeze or twist 'til you're blue in the face and they still won't pick up - or will just snatch the foot up and slam it down again. With these, you need a different approach, but chestnut squeezing works fine for most horses that are just a little "sticky" about picking up their feet.

I use it more as a "phase 4" in Parelli-speak and only go to squeezing the chestnut if they don't respond to a light tap on the fetlock. You can use any cue you like - a word or a tactile cue - just do that before you squeeze the chestnut, and pretty quickly they'll start responding to the
first cue you give. (I had one who'd pick up the hoof when I pointed at it with the hoof pick! :D but with most I settle for the word "Hoof" and a gentle tap on the fetlock!)

Kate
www.harmony-project.net

[doris]

Whatever method you use to 'ask' the horse to pick up its feet, be sure to allow enough time after you ask for the horse to actually process this information and pick his foot up.
The ask has to travel from the leg area, up to the brain and then down to the leg/foot, and this takes a few seconds. So ask, wait a bit and if nothing happens, ask again.
For years I had been doing this wrong by asking and not allowing time for the horse to act on this request.

[Bay Mare]

Whatever method you use to 'ask' the horse to pick up its feet, be sure to allow enough time after you ask for the horse to actually process this information and pick his foot up.


Here here! That's one of the things that they don't tell you isn't it? It SHOULD be common sense but when you're learning common sense sometimes departs by the back door :p

I've taught Saff to pick her feet up for me with clicker training (our EP uses it) and she'll now pick her feet up without me having to touch her, she also 'places' her back feet so that I don't have to pick them up (lazy mummy). You do have to be careful, however, to vary the process otherwise they'll INSIST that you pick up, say, the near fore first and won't budge until you do!!! I learned that one pretty early with the Saffster :p We now alternate which foot we start with!

[Yann]

The other thing people often miss is how the horse is stood, they'll keep on asking for a leg that won't come, when backing it up or asking it forward half a step will make it much easier.

[tasnik blazze]

I Get My Boy To Lift His Feet By Running My Hand Down The Cannon Bone And Squeezing And Saying Foot Please......if That Doesn't Work I Give His Fetlock A Tap. But On The Whole He Is Pretty Good And After I Have Put One Down He Has The Next One Up Waiting. I Had Trouble When I First Got Him And I Watched The Farrier And Copied His Techinque.

[Samantha1980]

I taught my foal to lift her foot when I say "up" I can run my hands up and down her leg but she wont lift it till I say "up".
The horse in my question lifts his legs a lot when you are trying to put boots on. Is this him anticipating that you are going to ask for his foot (squeezing his chestnuts)

[katefarmer]

The horse in my question lifts his legs a lot when you are trying to put boots on. Is this him anticipating that you are going to ask for his foot (squeezing his chestnuts)

Possibly, but I think it's more likely that he's a bit squiffy about things being wrapped around his legs. The horse's instincts tell it that its legs and feet need to be free to move and, in an emergency, flee - so most of them are a little unsure about having their legs wrapped up.

It's usually fairly easy to desensitize this with a little time and patience. Start by just rubbing the legs with the boots. Start high up - shoulder area and work gradually and gently down. Then just wrap the boot around the leg and take it off again without fastening it, then gradually go to doing it up. Stroke his leg when it is on the ground to reward it being there, and if he lifts it up, just stop stroking and wait for him to put it down before stroking again. Repeat the whole process for a few sessions on different days - and he should pretty quickly start leaving his leg on the ground for his boots to be done up - and to get all that lovely stroking and attention! :)

[coss]

Both my horses pick up their feet when i rub the back of the leg just above the fetlock joint, it is a very light signal as if i was tickling the area. This means that if i am putting on boots or washing the socks the horse realises that i'm rubbing the whole leg and not asking for the hoof to be picked up. if the tickling doesn't get a response i gently tap the fetlock joint and that seems to do the trick.

[Angel_rider959]

I personally have never heard of anyone doing that...

Most people around here will either tap them lightly on the heel with the pick and its just like someone poking you constantly and its get annoying so they pick it up.

I've been working with the horse I lease on his feet, he's 19. What I did if he didn't want to pick his feet up I'm make him circle, or trot him in a circle. Of course I got an experts opinion on what to do and amazingly after a while he's a lot better.

[mayS]

How you "ask" for lifting feet really depends on how he was trained. Your friend should've told you the chesnuts were where you cue for it.

BTW I don't think squeezing chesnuts are a "parelli" thing. It's just one of many ways a horseperson could ask/train for foot lifting.

I taught my horses with clicker training cause they would NOT react to any amount of squeezing, tapping, & tugging. They're big drafts so they stop and think before reacting, and they're looking at me like "why are you touching my leg?" :p I used Clicker training and did some free-shaping. Then I added a cue, and for my main riding horse Chester, it was just touching the sensitive area behind his elbow. You can teach the cue *anywhere*. I know some people use clicker and a crop to teach footlifting by a gentle touch (and eventually just pointing) at that foot.