feet/farriers and sedating!?

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noodle_

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Youngsters feet are in a bit of a state - so she needs a farrier asap... trouble is... she cant tie up/hasnt really been handled loads (is very sweet will lead a little) hasnt picked feet up etc.

so im thinking of getting the vet out fo ra once over and a sedation too so the farrier can sort her feet out

or ....is there anything else i can get (sedalin)? wthout having the vet out? foal is one.

thanks
 
Usually the stuff you can buy without having the vet out isn't as effective- it'll calm them down a bit but won't help with genuine fear. A friend of mine had to have the vet out for sedation every time her horse needed new shoes because of a scary incident once and the horse wouldn't let a farrier near her hind legs- the sedalin pastes did nothing. (the horse is over the fear now though)
How much sedation do you think your horse would need? Perhaps ring your vets and ask their opinion?
And in the mean time practise getting different people to pick her feet up and tap them a bit :)
 
Practice now and everyday. The ground is soft the feet won't suffer, so practice until it's 2nd nature to the youngster.

We have just bought a 2 yr old and his feet were just clipped by the owner :( not very well either, but he was a good boy with the farrier (my husband) after I practiced picking up and picking out his feet daily for a week.

There is nothing worse than a horse that is bad with the farrier - it's a big costly vet overhead
 
thanks both :)

i need the vet out anyhow so figured combine the two?

they are seriously desparate and the farriers due this week anyhow..
 
I have done exactly this 2 weeks ago - my boy is 5 but came to me more or less unhandled and had never seen the farrier.

I had to separate the physical needs of getting his feet done and the mental need to learn to over come his fear as that is going to take months, if not years.

So, he is sedated for the farrier (properly not sedaline as if a horse is properly scared it won't be enough) and in between visits there is a lot of handling and picking up of feet.

I would rather his first experiences (if he remembers them!) with the farrier to be as stress free as possible, and regular trimming will also make his feet more comfortable thus hopefully reduce his reluctance to have them handled.
 
A friend's mare is badly unhandled when it comes to having her feet picked up. She used Domosedan Gel, bought from the vet but vet doesn't have to come out. Stronger than Sedalin but worked a treat.

If she badly needs them doing, sedation is the way. After this visit just get cracking with it and do lots of handling, else it gets rather expensive!
 
I had this prob with my 15.2 unhandled 2 year old and i would def opt for full sedation. My horse was so nervous that when they put needle in to sedate her and she freaked out and bronked around holding pen for 10 mins with needle hanging out her neck before the sedation could be administered she was so worked up a second sedation was needed and she still proceeded to kick living daylights out of the farrier. For everyone and the horses safety i would def say get a full sedation and have the vet there while farrier does trim. If you give your horse as little stress as possible the first time it will help you in the future. Just to let you know 6 weeks after this experience my horse lifts all 4 feet beautifully. I hope you get on ok and im sure you will have all feet up in no time xx
 
Yep, my vets wouldn't do anything other than full sedation so I went for that to just get foot condition better...my boy is now finally much better about his feet being handled but just had to forget about the cost in the meantime (it was more than if he was being shod, but less frequent so prob about the same over a year).
Talk to your vet, they usually like to time their arrival about half an hour before farrier so they can sedate before adrenalin levels go up...
In between farriery, the following have helped:
hand-on-a-stick when he was really bad and kicky - keep hand on, take away when kicking/fidgeting etc stops - gradually increase comfort zone...
daily leg brushing using same principle, ie keep brush on until horse is relaxed and accepting, might be in tiny increments but keep at it, eventually it will work.
And all general handling helped with my boy for just increasing trust and calming him from a feral nightmare to an equine that does a passable impression of being domesticated! So, as he became less feral, he was more happy that standing on 3 legs next to me wouldn't mean he would be eaten by a tiger! ;)
 
thank you all :)

will sort it all out tomorow!

how do i devise a hand on stick? really could use one for the back legs... as she is pretty nervous!

thanks :)
 
Get an old glove and stuff it with something..(old tights?) and tie it onto a long enough stick that you can handle it comfortably and be out of range...works a treat, my boy is actually now very fond of his 'handy'...he always likes a good sniff of it, think its like a comfort blanket these days! ;)
 
brilliant thanks :)

will make one of those tomorow! those back legs need to get used to a hand being there to pick up those awful feet!
 
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