Disappointed about Belle and Farrier Visit (long, sorry!)

HollyWoozle

HollyWoozle

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I am feeling really disappointed today as Belle really played up for the farrier. We got her in October with just front shoes, the previous owners said they only needed front shoes on her (and her feet were and are in excellent condition) though my mum did ask if it was because they couldn't get shoes on her back feet (to which they said no). They are nice people but I'm starting to think they did lie about that bit.

When she had her first farrier visit 7 weeks ago, she was very nervous. She is often nervous of new people (which we were told when we bought her), especially ones with big tools, and I am 99% sure that she has had a good beating in her past. Twice I have caught her unawares (once tapping her on the shoulder, once taking a neck strap over her head) when she has majorly panicked and reared and pulled, trying to get free. Though I stood back both times and within a few seconds she calmed right down and was as good as gold, like she realised that nobody was going to hurt her. We only wanted front shoes on her when the farrier first came and although she did jump about a bit at first and was notably anxious - snorting, couldn't take her eyes off him - we got the job done without too much hassle and her back feet trimmed nicely. I was so pleased.

Today was not so good. Once again, she looked very nervous but seemed ok as he took her remaining shoe off (she had lost one a few days ago). Then as he approached her again, she went completely nuts and broke free, in a complete state of panic. We calmed her down and decided it was best for me to hold her from then on. She did jump around more for the fronts but we got the shoes on in the end... but then she was really naughty when he tried to trim her back feet. She has never been naughty before! She just would not stand still. She is always worse with her back feet for picking out and everything, but the farrier did say that when we start to use her more, she will need shoes on the back.
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Anyway, I'm sorry that this is so long, I am just feeling really disappointed with it all. Does anyone have experience with sedating horses for the farrier and if so, what do you use? I think this will be our only option for the future as we will need those back feet shod and I can't see that happening if she carries on this way. I appreciate that we haven't had her long and she has already improved - she wasn't keen on having her feet picked out at first and now she will stand fine. Also, our farrier is excellent and was very patient and kind with her.

I can't blame her for being afraid of something, though I am annoyed that she misbehaved too towards the end. She is so brave and calm with traffic that it seems silly she should be afraid of the farrier. I don't want to sedate her but I guess it's the only choice.

Sorry again for length *rant rant cookies all round*
 
Oh dear, sorry to hear this. My old horse was a nightmare for the farrier, she got much better but it was always an effort and I really had to work hard to keep her calm.

If I was you, I would practice picking her feet up all the time. I used to bang on my mares feet with a hammer to de-sensitize her to the noise ect. I started by banging on her door every night when she had her tea and then gradually progressed to banging her feet every time I picked them out. At the end I could wack the hammer really hard on her shoes and she wouldnt flinch. This really helped.

If there are any other visitng farriers on your yard between visits ask them if they would mind feeding her a carrot and picking a foot up just so she starts to get used to strange men.

I also used food.. that was my main weapon! Having my mares head shoved in a big bucket of her feed when she was being shod helped. I would take away the food when the farrier wasnt touching her, she was only allowed it when he was handling her feet.

Also can she be ridden? If she can, ride her first as this helps to take the edge off. I also think having warmed up muscles helped.

Finally, you can use sedaline. It only works if you keep her quiet though, adrenaline will stop it working. Give her a 2-4ml's about an hour before the farrier comes.. keep her calm with a haynet and a horsey companion untill he turns up as keeping her quiet will help the sedaline to kick in.

Whatever you do, do not let the farrier lose his temper. Its easily done.. I could have quite happily killed my mare when she was farting around but any shouting/violence would upset her even more. Make sure your farrier is calm and chatty and that hes sesitive to her.. that shes standing balanced on all four feet before he picks her foot up so shes not worried about falling over ect helps.

If she does get really wound up and you can see your farrier is getting stressed, then call it a day. Its best and safest in this situation if the farrier leaves and comes back another day when shes calmed down.

Good luck, with patience she will get better.
 
before going down the sedating route i would try and get as many different people as possible to pick her feet up.

also when you pick them out, bang them with a hammer, pull them forward like the farrier does etc.

will your farrier spend 5 minutes before starting work to give her a bit of fuss?
 
I use to look after a event horse that wasnt good with the farrier, so long as he was held and not tied up he would stand for the majority. It was when the shoe was being put on that he would panick and run backwards.
Why does your farrier think she will need back shoes? If her feet are good you should be fine without. When I first got my horse she wasnt good as picking her feet up but I have had her over a year now and I only have to put my hand on her foot and she picks it up for me.
 
My old farrier didn't like them sedated as you get no warning if they do suddenly kick etc and there is also a greater risk of them losing their balance and coming down.

My boy can be an arse to do his hinds - and sounds a bit similar to your mare, he's obviously had a whack or two in the past and is wary of new people, particularly new men and most definitely new men wielding tools playing with his back feet.

We found the best thing to do was work him before the farrier came out, give him some calmer (I never used Sedalin so can't compare) and stuff the front end with food! My farrier would also just spend some time chatting to him before we started and would make a fuss of him and give him a treat at the end. We also shod him in two sessions (fronts in one session,then hinds) so he was being shod approx every three weeks which as it was a bit more regular helped reinforce the 'positive' treatment he was getting. It took a year but he is much better - I always made sure I was present and held him rather than leaving him tied up.

Ironically, I wanted to take his back shoes off as he doesn't really need them but kept them on just to get him used to being shod behind and turn it into a positive experience!

Have now moved yards and changed farriers (too far for him to come) but new farrier is also very good and I've now taken his back shoes off.

Good luck with your girl - it can be frustrating but time, patience and a good farrier who you can work together with can work miracles.
 
We keep the horses at home (well, my parents house) so we only see the farrier when we need him. The two horses and pony are tied up in a row, each with a haynet to keep them busy, and the farrier was really patient with her (even when it was obviously annoying him, he was very calm with her).

It is not to much the hammer on her hooves that she doesn't like, though that does set her off sometimes, it's just when she sees him approaching and maybe has a tool in his hand. She is often worried about swinging ropes or broomsticks or things like that so I can only presume that she's used to being whacked. Thanks for the ideas though and I think now I will try less to be all quiet around her and to try the hammer suggestion and other ideas so that she gets used to it.

I do think she'll get better with time, it's just that when we only need the farrier every 7 weeks or so, it will take many visits and I guess he doesn't need the hassle. I think it's the whole thing... the strange man, the van, the tools, the noises etc.

As for the back shoes - her feet are good but this time they did look a bit more worn down (and we have hardly been out on the road at all due to the weather). We have no choice but to do roadwork when hacking so when the weather picks up and I want to use her more often, I guess she will require shoes on the back.

Thanks for the advice.
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My old mare was terrible for the farrier. The woman i brought her off was sure she'd been beaten by the farrier when she wasn't there to hold her as she really was terrified and had never been before. She had all sorts of physical tests done by vets to ensure there was nothing hurting her further up to cause this but nothing was ever found. She was told by vets in newmarket to pick her feet up lots, and work up to getting others to pick them up, then start tapping with a hoofpick etc... to desensitize her to other people messing around with her feet. She had to be sedated when the farrier came as there was no way she could be shod without. I think the first few times the vet had to come out & sedate IV, but managed to wean her down to sedalin gel in time. By the time i had her it had been going on for around 18 months & she was getting better but still had to be sedated. By the 5th or 6th farrier visit i no longer had to sedate her and she was getting much, much better. It took about 2 years to get her round to thinking the farrier wasn't going to hurt her but it did happen eventually so keep at it- you'll get there!
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I'll echo what firewell said tho, if you use sedalin she has to be kept calm & quiet beforehand and whilst you administer it or adrenalin can override it. Polo's always helped lots too, as did any other kind of food- bribery is a wonderful tool to have! Would turning out/riding help burn off some excess energy beforehand? It's important for whoever is holding her to stay calm and quiet too. My girl used to pick up on it straight away if i was anticipating her being difficult. My farrier taught me to completely ignore anything she did 'wrong' (kicking out, pulling foot away etc...) and not to say anything at all to her,not even look at her, but to praise her when she'd been good. He did exactly the same, if she kicked out or pulled back he just picked the foot back up again & carried on. It didnt take her long with this farrier to learn he wasn't going to hurt her.

Good luck with Belle- you'll crack it eventually
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I used to sedate one of my ponies, but it was years ago and I cant remember what the stuff was called. It was in a tube like worming paste which we got from the vets. It worked fine with my pony (she never wobbled or fell or anything like that) but I would, as others have said, explore other options. I would get anyone who comes to your yard to go and say hello and give her a treat so she sees new people as being a good thing. I would also pick out her hooves every day so having her feet lifted becomes something day to day and nothing to be worried about. At least you have a patient farrier, mine has quite a short temper and has been handy with his tools in the past.
 
gert your farrier to only do two feet at a time and shoe her in her stable - with the lead rope just looped through a tie ring, One of my horses was a complete gibbering wreck for teh farrier, he had come with 3 shoes on and we were told he was good to shoe. transpires the set he came with were the only pnes he had ever had on and he was tied down for it to be done. So our farrier started with just 2 shoes at a time, and cold shod. he tried it with the horse tied up and he couldn't cope, and we tried the sedation route without sucess. So farrier suggested just leaving him in his stable with the lead rope through the loop. It worked. we went from 2 cold shod a week apart. To 2 hot shod and then to 4 hot shod. it took about 6 months to get him totally chilled but almost ignoring the horse and not making a big thing of it meant he came good. Our farrier would then simply turn up and shoe him loose in the stable - no headcollar at all and he was fine.
 
Had the same problem with Angel she hates my farrier and would try and do him damage, she has muzzle put on, but she's no longer shod and she is starting to mellow. I did think it was she may becoming in to season, but you never can tell with her. Use to annoy me when people use to say pick up feet every day. I DO and she's fine with me,never had a problem. Try sedalin for the next three goes and make sure you make afuss over her.
And yes my mare was abused before I bought her
 
I would have her barefoot if I could, I just don't think she'd handle the roadwork without shoes.

As for shoeing her in her stable - she lives out 24/7 and although we do have stables, she is not used to being in them. I am going to work on getting her used to different people, tools and so on and will consider calmer or a sedative for the next time. I think if she needs shoes on her back feet then I'll consider doing the front and back in two sessions.

Thanks a lot for all your advice. I'm feeling a bit more positive about it all now!
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Well - my three lads, including two recovered laminitics, manage roadwork and really rough surfaces quite well without shoes. Would you like to go walking on the road in bare feet or steel shoes? Lots of impact, jarring and high frequency vibration in shoes.

You could always use boots if you are worried - they are quite good nowadays. I use them wiht the pony.
 
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