barefoot 2yo

[thehorsepainter]

Hi everyone,
I'm after some advice. We have two horses at home, an 8 year old mare and a 2 year old filly (not related), both are barefoot which I maintain myself and have a professional trim 2-3 times a year to ensure we're doing ok.

Gaia (our 2 year old) is very intelligent and for the most part pretty sensible however she's a fidget and it's becoming increasingly difficult to do her hooves. I really need some training advice and tips I can put into practise to help her understand what I'm asking of her.

Both horses live at home with us and we have limited facilities, I am their sole handler as my husband is frightened of horses and our children are too young. I usually do their feet in their boxes (untied) and with Gaia only work on one foot at a time.

All advice welcome, thanks.

 

[YasandCrystal]

I would have thought OP that you may be better tying up the youngster in the box with a haynet and to practice 'tinkering' daily with her feet. Just picking out, brushing, holding her foot up for an increasing time period and praising her well. Obviously trimming/rasping yourself probably takes you much longer than a farrier so you need to build the youngsters patience in this and confidence.

In my experience it really is just repeating the actions and consistency that makes the task routine and relaxed. My husband is a farrier and he is great with youngsters - very patient and reassuring and he teaches them that pulling away will not get them anywhere and trimming is not a scary thing at all. Good luck.

 

[thehorsepainter]

Thank you, it's great to hear some encouragement. She's really pretty good with me picking out all her feet even to the point where I can clean them all from one side. I'm going to do as you say, tie her up with a hay net whilst working on holding her feet a little longer with lots of praise. I can look forward to doing a trim without worrying about me getting a bruised knee!

She's very bright and I've spent a lot of time rubbing her all over with my hands and worked up to plastic bags and even a fairly large tarp, I'm sure she'll respond well with her feet as well.

We've had the girls at home for 6 months now and I think I'm missing the wealth of advice and support that comes with keeping them on the livery yard!
Thanks again, I'll let you know how we get on.

 

[Oberon]

Quite and calm and don't turn it all into a big 'thing'.

I got The Tank as a huge, feral two year old and putting a headcollar on and leading him was a major thing .
Picking his hooves up was impossible .
Time and patience won him and now he's fine.

Youngsters will fidget and fuss and generally be a PITA sometimes and often it's just a phase.

Just keep the boundries clear and quietly but firmly keep to those boundries.
Never lose your cool or break a sweat but make it awkward and hard work for her to be naughty.

I found Perfect Manners by Kelly Marks really helped me to look 'outside the box' in the beginning.

 

[smellsofhorse]

tie up horse or get husband to hold her.
or get the professional out more often until horse learns its no big deal!

 

[Alyth]

I would also make sure you handle her hooves after turn out or some form of exercise so she isn't anxious to move!! Then the haynet and frequency apply!! If she does get fidgety take her out and do some vigorous groundwork, then back to the stable for another try!!

 

[thehorsepainter]

tie up horse or get husband to hold her.
or get the professional out more often until horse learns its no big deal!

I appreciate your input however;

As I explained earlier my husband is frightened of horses and therefore this is not an option (fear would not be helpful when I am trying to keep everything calm & normal).

I have been trimming my horses feet for over 3 years, I gain a great deal of satisfaction in doing so as well as the support and encouragement of our trimmer. It would be a waste of our money and his time to have him come more often because I wasn't prepared to find a solution for myself.


Thank you everyone for your advice, am looking forward to putting it into practise.

 

[JennyNZ]

One of my horses is a fidget-gidget and has always been so. The trick is to give her lots of breaks and we also trim her hooves in a different order each time she is done.

 

[maccachic]

Do you handle her feet for longer period of time between trimming? I always make a fuss of the young uns when they are behaving and try to ignore the bad stuff so it doesn't become a drama. Reward works better than punishment in establishing good behaviour.

I pick the feet up when the still and calm I will reach up and give them a rub and tell them they are being good.

I have found "super" works really well as a reward word I think it has something to do with the way it comes out it always sounds nice and its not a common word theat they hear all the time so they don't desentitise to it. But you can pick anything so long as your tone is nice.