Any tips :)

[rainer]

I feel a bit silly about this but here goes.
When I want to pick up my pony's feet I get really nervous. He's fine about picking them up most of the time and once I get started with one I get a bit more confident and the rest I don't feel so nervous about.
Its irrational really but I do get quite nervous and wish I didn't. I mostly get someone to stand by his head also which helps as he doesn't always want to stand still
Any tips to feel less nervous? I think its a fear of being kicked although he's very good when u brush him and brush+check his legs .

 

[fishy]

Its not silly to feel nervous about picking up your horses feet. My very quiet mare kicked out recently when having hers picked out. It was very out of character and shook me up a bit" If you don't already do it try tieing him up with a haynet, somewhere quiet where he won't be disturbed. Wear your hat. Talk to him, tell him what you are going to do and stroke him up and down his leg before you pick it up and when he lets you do it make a fuss of him. If you aren't happy with picking up his back feet, concentrate on his front one's for a while until you are happy and then move onto them. I say this because we have a little fella who wouldn't let us pick up his hind legs when we got him and now will stand happily while he has a trim. Good luck and keep calm xxx

 

[sandi_84]

Don't worry about it, after being kicked about 12 years ago I was always wary of back legs whilst picking out feet
Just take it nice and slow, practice on a horse/horses that you know will be nice about it and eg in my case I learned to recognise the difference between a horse helpfully lifting a foot for picking and the precursor lift to a kick! Before I used to just panic at any back leg movement and when picking out would grab feathers and hold on for dear life whilst standing as far back as possible
When doing the back feet make sure you are pressed right against the horses side, if the horse kicks out at you A) you are not in the "danger zone" and B) the movement should push you out of the way.
Take a deep breath and just keep it slow and steady and soon you'll be over your fear

 

[heebiejeebies]

I had a really bad kick a few years ago and still get nervy around back ends, especially if a bum spins towards me!

Just make sure that if you are holding a back leg and get nervous not to DROP his leg, as this will give him a fright, and he will anticipate you dropping his leg and hitting his hoof off the ground with you touching his back legs if that makes sense? You certainly don't want to make it any worse, for both your sakes!

My boy used to be a right sod for kicking, mainly due to people freaking out and dropping his legs to get out of the way. I spent a lot of time holding on to his back leg for dear life until he stopped thrashing out and gently placing it on the ground. We then worked from that to actually picking his foot out, and now I can just say 'up' and he lifts his legs himself for me to hold.

Still throws the odd swing at me I hasten to add

 

[heebiejeebies]

Forgot to add...

Is it just your own ponies legs you are nervous picking up, or is it all horses? If it is just your own you could maybe practice on a pony who behaves when you lift their legs, until you get your confidence back a wee bit?