4 yr old funny with his feet?

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Jesss

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Hi everyone,
I've just bought a 4 yr old and he is very funny with his feet being picked up.
He's fine with his front feet although seems a little off with his balance when they are picked up, his back legs on the other hand are out of the picture. He will not let me pick them up at all and when I do manage to get them up he lashes out?
Any tips or advice greatly taken!
 
If he's new and doesn't know you or his surroundings, he will be nervous of picking up a foot anyway because of his instinct to run if anything scares him. If he hasn't had a lot of practise picking them up then start small and just ask for the "try" - even if it's just a flexing of the fetlock - and LOTS of praise. At his age he's more than capable of being able to learn to balance on 3 legs so keep it all brief and positive and he'll soon catch on.
 
My pony wouldnt let me go near his feet when i first got him,he was very nervous.
I trained him by looping a leadrope around his fetlock and lifting it up for a few seconds, followed by a treat/stroke & 'good boy'.
This way your out of kicking distance until he improves, my pony now is perfect for me & the farrier.
:)
 
My 5 year old was terrible with his feet when I first got him, which was down to the way he was treated prior coming to me. I used a carrot stick which allowed me to stroke it down his back legs to his fetlock. I then put a glove on the end and then we moved on to me being able to pick his feet up for a few seconds. I just keep asking him now for his feet and praise him when his picks them up. I have used the lead rope method on other horses but this poor boy had a bad start with humans but slowly coming round

:)
 
How much handling has he had in the past.

Handling legs is quite an agressive action to a horse that is not used to it. It is how stallions fight, making a grab at each others legs.

Get yourself a long soft rope and gently place around the horses hind pastern. Twist the rope a couple of times as close too the leg as you can get to. Then give it a pull and say "Hold Up" at the same time. The rope will enable you to hang onto the leg while it is being waved around without you getting hurt or having to let go.

Once the horse stops waving the foot around allow it to be placed back on the ground. Keep repeating the "Hold Up" instruction and lifting the leg until he will pick it up without waving it around.

Lots of verbal praise whenever the foot stays still. No aggressive action if it doesn't, just keep holding on to the rope.
 
forestfantasy said:
My pony wouldnt let me go near his feet when i first got him,he was very nervous.
I trained him by looping a leadrope around his fetlock and lifting it up for a few seconds, followed by a treat/stroke & 'good boy'.
This way your out of kicking distance until he improves, my pony now is perfect for me & the farrier.
:)
Click to expand...

I did similar but used a long line so i had a little more room to play with.
Also when you pick the foot up by hand stand in as close to the horse as possible, if they do kick out there will be less power in it.
 
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