MiJodsR2BlinkinTite
Well-Known Member
^^^^ This. I've seen it used with Parelli, which I instinctively dislike, but having said that don't throw the baby out with the bathwater as it might be one way of getting your pony used to someone touching her legs and feet.
I bought a little 4yo mare last summer: she'd been barefoot, and when we tried to get shoes on we discovered that my nice sweet little girly had an opinion on that!! She was a little cow basically; but luckily the farrier I used was very patient and we did manage to get there. Interestingly, she was more of a madam to get her FRONT shoes on than her hinds!
OP is yours a cob by any chance? And a traditional/gypsy cob at that? I ask this because quite often these little horses have been, shall we say, raised in a fairly "rough" environment (not helpful), where they've been treated a bit roughly, and remember it.
You WILL get there; its just a matter of slowly slowly, and doing what you can and not what you can't (or she isn't happy with). Yes you could sedate her, and may have to if there is an issue with her feet.
The other issue is, there may be a reason she's uncomfy about her feet being handled: my little coblet mare had feather-mite when I had her (lots of these cobs do), and that wasn't helping at all coz she was obviously uncomfortable around her feet. So you may have to get the vet out, sedate her, and get him/her to take some skin samples/clippings to see what is happening, and then sort that out first and foremost, as this might well be a lot of the problem.
It seems OP like you're doing all you can, for now, which is to take things slowly and not rush her. It might help to have a professional come along to work with you and her, because at an early stage it is sooooh damnably easy to have a problem which will only resurrect itself in the future if not handled right. You need someone of the right calibre, I'd suggest an IH affiliate or person of this ilk who could help you and work with you both - it would also help to have someone different around her as this will happen with the farrier.
Like hacking solo: be confident that you WILL get there. It will need a lot of time, commitment, and effort, but I'm pleased to say that my little girl is getting a lot better with the farrier each time round, tho' we do have a little chuck of the toys out the pram just occasionally!!
Good luck! Once a horse has given over custody of its feet, you'll know that they REALLY trust you and the rest will be easy!
What I found helpful with mine, was to do work on the ground as well as just "feet", i.e. making her move around me, going backwards, sideways & forwards, walking over tarps, poles, etc etc, all building up trust, confidence and rapport BEFORE you even think about the "feet" issue!! Ten minutes or so a day is good to aim for, little and often better than overload infrequently. You could build up a little TREC-style obstacle course and "play" with that together; if you can find anything from Vanessa Bee's Horse Agility sessions on-line, that would really help you. All this will make your little mare think about what she's doing generally with her feet, and will make her respect you as herd leader, so that when the time comes for you to want to pick up her feet, she'll already be in the groove for that.
(Edited), yes, DO keep yourself safe and have all the protective gear you can on! Hard-hat and steel-capped boots essential. Even consider body-protector too.......... also, if you can, make sure there's someone else around at the yard while you're messing about with her feet, just in case...
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She is very opinionated so far, if I try to push the boundaries any more than she is comfortable with the front leg comes us and she paws the ground, she lifts it quite high actually, so working on nipping that habit in the bud. 