Do you hold your horse when the farrier visits?

[TelH]

Mostly I hold mine for the farrier. Occasionally his son who has recently qualified comes with him too, if he comes the well behaved ones are tied up for him to do and I hold the youngsters and my mare who has in the past been known to whip round and pin a farrier up against a wall when tied up

 

[christi]

I tie my horse up for the farrier , and she just falls asleep while being shod, and i go into the house and make farrier his coffee and a sandwhich .

 

[Smitty]

A mare I had many years ago I would have to hold in a bridle so that she could be shod by my farrier. She was 7/8ths T/B with awful feet and would go up etc when shoes were coming off/going on.

All the others I have had since have been brilliant and just tied up whilst we gossiped/drank hot chocolate (oh yes, I have to treat him right).

My little chap now I have to hold at the end (or be around anyway) as he has the attention span of a toddler and tries to undoe farrier's apron when boredom sets in (he's 16!).

My goodness, we've both aged in those years but we still love a good gossip so I wouldn't wander off and leave him to it for the world!

 

[RuthnMeg]

I expect all of mine to stand up and behave for the blacksmith. Like hell I'm going to 'hold' them for such a basic requirement. Bugger that, I have better things to do and my blacksmith/s are more than capable. I have never in all my life heard of so many 'nonce' equines, could it be the 'owners' fault or is it a genetic breakdown which is causing all of these 'terriblle' probs?

Shocked by that!
I HAVE to hold my mare Meg for one, the others get held to. I hold her for the simple reason that she doesn't tie up well, and would get ''difficult'' and kick out. I dribble feed her polos to keep her attention on me. I have a fab lady farrier who I would hate to see being hurt, and it is my responsibilty to make sure MY horse doesn't harm her. I have known the mare all of her rising 15 years, she will not change, she pulls back if tied up and gets more upset if you tell her off, so it simply isn't worth trying. I also hold her for safety reasons, if she gets loose she can go down on to the road as no barrier, fence is around where my 'stable' is.
My old mare Juno would always be held now. She has been known to panic if something spooks her, and filly foal is very new to the farrier. I will slowly train her to tie though.
I do not own 'nonce' equines, and I am not at fault for not tying them up - in fact I call myself responsible.


ets - for those who can tie their horses up, you are lucky and although part of me envys you, I would not change my mare because of it! (Meg is also a tad bulshy with the vet, and has to be bridled and held - just in case!!)

 

[martlin]

I just tie them up and get on with whatever else I have to do.

 

[Liesel]

Another tie up here.

Im on part livery so can arrange for her to be brought in when I cant be there. Farrier is happy to get on with it and I trust him implicitly. She is good to shoe so I dont worry.

That said if Im on leave or its a weekend (which is very rare) I would be there for him but again she would be tied and I would have a chat and tea with him or get on with anything that needed doing.

 

[only_me]

We find the horses are much better when tied up; they are expected to stand when tied and is no different with the farrier

 

[Firewell]

Mine is tied up but I'm usually around to keep an eye on things. If he has lost a shoe I leave the shoe outside the stable with a headcoller and my farrier usually drops by and puts it back on late in the evening long after I've gone home. My horse is very very good for the farrier.
My last horse was awful for the farrier! I always held her. In fact I used to ride her before he came to get rid of energy, have a bowl of feed ready to keep her occupied and an endless supply of polos and she was still a dangerous witch. For years we had to do 2 at a time. I dont know why she was so awful, maybe a bad experience before I got her or maybe she just didn't like the sensation of being shod ( she had really thin Walls) I don't know. She got better but was never good.
Untill you have a horse that's bad to shoe you don't realise what an awful experience it is and what an absolute pain in the @rse!
For the record usually she would stand like a donkey on the yard and she had beautiful manners at all other times .

 

[tinkerbelle]

Tie Up. but am always around (usually comforting naughty foal who doesnt like Mummy on other side of stable wall) - means you can multitask! If I just had my mare chances are my farrier would be happy to get her out and get on with it without me chatting in his ear! Lol.

Saying that though used to have to hold my old mare because she pulled back when tied up.

 

[Fairynuff]

Shocked by that!
I HAVE to hold my mare Meg for one, the others get held to. I hold her for the simple reason that she doesn't tie up well, and would get ''difficult'' and kick out. I dribble feed her polos to keep her attention on me. I have a fab lady farrier who I would hate to see being hurt, and it is my responsibilty to make sure MY horse doesn't harm her. I have known the mare all of her rising 15 years, she will not change, she pulls back if tied up and gets more upset if you tell her off, so it simply isn't worth trying. I also hold her for safety reasons, if she gets loose she can go down on to the road as no barrier, fence is around where my 'stable' is.
My old mare Juno would always be held now. She has been known to panic if something spooks her, and filly foal is very new to the farrier. I will slowly train her to tie though.
I do not own 'nonce' equines, and I am not at fault for not tying them up - in fact I call myself responsible.


ets - for those who can tie their horses up, you are lucky and although part of me envys you, I would not change my mare because of it! (Meg is also a tad bulshy with the vet, and has to be bridled and held - just in case!!)

Im honestly upset that you are 'shocked' by my reply. I expect all of my 'charges' to act in the appropriate manner which, once upon a time, was looked upon as the basic education of the horse. Likewise, when someone entered the box the horse, moved over. There is nothing cruel or exagerated in asking a horse to participate in normal every day life. More like more education=less animals on Project Horse.

 

[martlin]

ets - for those who can tie their horses up, you are lucky and although part of me envys you, I would not change my mare because of it! (Meg is also a tad bulshy with the vet, and has to be bridled and held - just in case!!)

Trust me, there is no luck involved - I have just taught my horses manners, it's work not luck.

 

[Tinypony]

I tie mine up and leave them with the trimmer while I sort out the tea and biccies. I'm about though, and would step in if they started to play up. The trimmer is great with them, and seems to manage to deal with the odd fidget or fiddle without ever feeling the need to hit anyone.

 

[Maesfen]

I always hold the youngsters and mares that only have trims but Joey comes back here to be shod and he is better tied up otherwise he fiddles but is as good as gold if tied up. By the time we're on the last trim, the other farrier is finishing Joey so they come and hold while I go get the coffee and biscuits. It's a standing joke that both of them time it to finish almost together so I can go and get the drinks.
I wouldn't dream of not holding the youngsters although the mares are good.

 

[LeneHorse]

Normally she is fine tied up. She just goes to sleep. However if she is in season it is a different story as she gets a bit flirty with him and tries to present her bum to him at ever opportunity! This makes it a bit difficult for him to do the backs. So if she is being seasonal I tend to hold her. She has been a lot better recently so hopefully has given up on her farrier lust!

 

[missshell]

If hes shod in his stable I hold him. He can be a fidget and needs to be turned around sometimes depending on the light. Outside hes tied up but i still keep a hold of him. My farrier prefers this whatever the horse.

 

[RuthnMeg]

Trust me, there is no luck involved - I have just taught my horses manners, it's work not luck.

Please feel free to come and 'educate' Meg then! I've had her over 10 years, and have yet to teach her to tie for the farrier without anyone, or anything getting in the firing range....
She hacks alone and in company, has competed BE, loads and travels well, good to clip and hunt, has no vices, she is just difficult to tie, and adding on with the farrier we have learnt it is her no-no, so we live with it!

 

[ladyt25]

4 of our 5 are tied up - I also am of the belief that they should be well behaved when tied up. It's basic manners. 3 of them are brilliant to be shod. my old pony even falls asleep and funnily he is the most neurotic of the lot but he has very good stable manners (although can get panicked easily) and I guess he trusts our farrier as has had him for the 16/17 we've owned him (the pony not the farrier! Lol).

My horse is tied up but he has v thin walls on his front feet so, when having his front shoes nailed on we have to bribe him with drip feeding so that he doesn't pull back and thus cause the farrier to not get the nails in straight. The farrier is very careful with him but it's still a case of hoping he is sound after being shod!

At the moment I am holding my 19mth old. He does tie up but tends to fidget and is a bit of a biter when he finds something difficult. also he had an 'incident' with me a week or so ago where he got his head under his rope (due to fidgeting) and panicked and I thought he was going to break his neck as he ended up almost on the floor. Sooo, in light of that i am making sure he stands still and does not fidget. However, I shall be progressing to tying him up although i still will stand with him (i don't always with the others) just until i get to a stage where I know he will stand and behave.

 

[ladyt25]

Please feel free to come and 'educate' Meg then! I've had her over 10 years, and have yet to teach her to tie for the farrier without anyone, or anything getting in the firing range....
She hacks alone and in company, has competed BE, loads and travels well, good to clip and hunt, has no vices, she is just difficult to tie, and adding on with the farrier we have learnt it is her no-no, so we live with it!

Has she had a previous incident when being tied up? can you tie her to groom ger/clip her etc? If so then i imagine she has had a bad experience previously with a farrier. i got a pony who was terrified of the farrier when I first got him but with patience and calm handling and trust i guess he turned out to be one of the most relaxed ponies to be shod ever. I remember the fiest time I had him shod when we'd bought him - he reared up and nearly flattened me he was so scared (I was only 12 at the time too!).

Maybe with yours something bad has happened before.

 

[soulfull]

Too be honest I think nearly ALL horses should have the manners to stand still when tied up for the farrier. I am not saying they don't need teaching or reassurance Micah is fine with front shoes on but had never had back shoes before I had him and he was fine until the hammering started and this really scared him at first. As long I stood and talked to him he was an angel but if I wasn't there he would freak and bounce all over the place

Right now he is barefoot so he just stands there good as gold. If he ever needs shoes I will just stand and cuddle him until he gets used to it again

Problem solved

 

[RuthnMeg]

Has she had a previous incident when being tied up? can you tie her to groom ger/clip her etc? If so then i imagine she has had a bad experience previously with a farrier. i got a pony who was terrified of the farrier when I first got him but with patience and calm handling and trust i guess he turned out to be one of the most relaxed ponies to be shod ever. I remember the fiest time I had him shod when we'd bought him - he reared up and nearly flattened me he was so scared (I was only 12 at the time too!).

Maybe with yours something bad has happened before.

I've learnt not to tie her up at all, she stands well to be groomed and clipped, and I can put the lead rope over her neck to bandage her legs for example usually without problems. When I have tied her up, she leans back on her rope til it 'pings' then she panics. If I tell her off, she gets very bulshy and I will never win against that! She is happy with my arrangement, and lets face it, I like to have a happy horse!!
I have known her since birth, and have been the only family to have had her shod. She has always been like this, and I will doubt she will ever change. I have always been there when she has been shod, and although a past farrier did get cross with her, she has never been mis-treated during visits. She has got a large scar on her hock (wire at 18 months) - it never got the proper treatment it needed, but has healed well. Due to this, she hates treatment, and vets. If she gets a cut, I have to use a makeshift paintbrush to put cream on her and stay out of the way!!!

As I said before - if anyone wants to come and see her, and help me with her tying up issue - please feel free!

 

[Seahorse]

My horse is tied up, never even crossed my mine to hold them when getting shod. She will stand up quite happily and is better behaved if she is tied up.

Why do people hold their horse for their farrier? Surely a horse should be behaved to just stand their while its feet are done

My horse is fine to be shod, he just doesn't like being touched!!

 

[martlin]

Please feel free to come and 'educate' Meg then!

LOL, I don't think it is my place to teach your horse anything, TBH.
Whatever works for you is great by me.

 

[RuthnMeg]

LOL, I don't think it is my place to teach your horse anything, TBH.
Whatever works for you is great by me.

I would like to know where - maybe, I have gone wrong in not educating my horse to stand tied for the farrier? It is no-ones place to do the job for me, but if anyone has got any ideas then I'd be willing to try. So, open to all maybe?? (At the mo, what I do works for me, but it clearly is far from ideal.)

 

[ChestnutConvert]

The farrier came where i work the other week, an owner left after 20 mins, they had three horses in total being show. Paid the farrier then left him to get the horses in or out, i can't say i'd do this as he might want to let you know something and in case something happened, maybe that's just me!

 

[ozpoz]

I hold mine - but it's really a token gesture, as we catch up on gossip and put the world to rights in a leisurely sort of way.
They are mannerly to be done, but my farrier is a horseman and I appreciate his observations. There is always something to learn or discuss - and he travels a long way to get here so it would be quite rude to leave him to get on with it - apart from the coffee making,of course.

 

[ladyt25]

RuthnMeg - does she tie up ok travelling? Does she tie up to a wagon or trailer or do you always her?

I don't know of any techniques to teach horses to tie up and not panic but I guess it's a case of identifying whether she is scared of being tied up or if she has just learnt she can break free so always pulls back.

When I got my v neurotic pony 16 years ago I was told "he won't tie up", "you can't touch him round his ears" and numerous other things. They were right and he would panic at the slightest thing (these weren't his only issues). he can still have his moments now.

What I did and still do with him is just tie him to a few strands of baler twine so, if he does pull and panic it will definitely break. He is brilliant now to tie up and it didn't take long from the moment we bought him. We`expect ours to tie up and I suppose expecting them to behave in a certain way can help as they pick up on your attitude to it I guess. Have you tried just holding the rope through a tie ring and seeing what happens if she pulls back and feels the pressure? This way you can immediately release the pressure but not necessarily let her get 'free'.

It's very difficult to advise without seeing an individual horse's behaviour really and I am certainly no expert on these matters but if she was mine I would have to ensure she allowed me to tie her up so I guess I would try different things tto see what worked.

 

[RuthnMeg]

RuthnMeg - does she tie up ok travelling? Does she tie up to a wagon or trailer or do you always her?

I don't know of any techniques to teach horses to tie up and not panic but I guess it's a case of identifying whether she is scared of being tied up or if she has just learnt she can break free so always pulls back.

When I got my v neurotic pony 16 years ago I was told "he won't tie up", "you can't touch him round his ears" and numerous other things. They were right and he would panic at the slightest thing (these weren't his only issues). he can still have his moments now.

What I did and still do with him is just tie him to a few strands of baler twine so, if he does pull and panic it will definitely break. He is brilliant now to tie up and it didn't take long from the moment we bought him. We`expect ours to tie up and I suppose expecting them to behave in a certain way can help as they pick up on your attitude to it I guess. Have you tried just holding the rope through a tie ring and seeing what happens if she pulls back and feels the pressure? This way you can immediately release the pressure but not necessarily let her get 'free'.

It's very difficult to advise without seeing an individual horse's behaviour really and I am certainly no expert on these matters but if she was mine I would have to ensure she allowed me to tie her up so I guess I would try different things tto see what worked.

Thankyou for your input.
She is fine to tie within the box/trailer, she always seems very settled in there. She is just about ok when tying within her stable, but if she 'thinks' something exciting is going on outside, she starts bucking (no room to pull back I guess yet gets cross!) I have only tied her to a lorry before, and she was fine, but I was with her and also had another horse too. Never even tried tying her to a trailer. (If I have to leave her, then I will load her.) She is a mare with attitude - thats why I love her so much, you can't bully her. She enjoys the string breaking when she leans back on it, it is when it has broken she panics. I guess if I was 'well 'ard' I'd tie her to a post with a chain, teaching her she can't just lean and 'snap'. But, I don't have the guts to do that!!

 

[Mike007]

I wish I had the time to come and hold my horse for the farrier, I knew his grandffather. I love to see true skill . If my horse pratts about and gets a thump from him I know that my horse will have earned it.The truth is that I have a good horse and a great farrier so nobody gets thumped.Its great to have somthing to rely on in life.

 

[FanyDuChamp]

Our farrier knows our 2 well, especially Captain, and is happy to do them when we are not there. He is the best friend of YO's OH so they like to have a gossip when he comes.

BTW what is it about farriers and their sense of humour?
FDC

 

[Ditchjumper2]

Ours are all tied up outside whilst I get the drinks and biccys. If I am unable to be there I leave them in and let him get on with it. However, when I had "the mare" I was always there as she was not the best at being tied up. To start with had to ACP her to get shoes on then gradually reduce them until eventually she would be OK to shoe without. She never was and never would be good at tying up. My boys would stand in yard tied up all day and night if nec, "the mare" would pull back and break headcollar if left. She had been spoilt rotten and was very bolshy when we got her. She did improve and would stand all day in lorry tied up, but in yard no way. It was a pain but her jumping ability more than made up for it.