help and advice needed .. nightmare mare with farrier

donablue

donablue

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 June 2008
Messages
927
www.myspace.com
good morning all ....
please can someone help ...
i have owned my mare since she was 1 month old (with the mum )
since she has been small i have had the same farrier and hes dealt with her all the time .. not a problem until recently .
she has always been a typical mare when in season.
2009 she had an accident back end which ended in a tear actually inside her, vets came and stitched her back up etc ..
now these past few times my farrier has been she has been so defensive and nasty kicking out and trying to bite him .
ive managed in the past to keep firm control of her and he has managed to get on with the trims .
this time oh lord well she just wanted to kill him . i couldnt hold her as shes now grown and very strong.. (plus shes in season)
we tied her up with a net to try and distract her . he managed the fronts but wasnt going to tackle the backs far to dangerous . he tried afterwards to give her some polos for no hard feelings but she wasnt having none of it ..

im at the end of my tether as to what to do each time the farrier comes ..
she isnt broken in yet but is due to go this summer ..i do have her on epson salts and it seems to of calmed her a little as shes not bolshy but the farrier is just a nightmare .

has anyone else had similar problems ... ?
 
If this started from a pain thing - are you completely sure that there is no more pain? Would it be worth putting her on a bute trial for a couple of weeks to see if that changes her behaviour?
Can you handle all her feet yourself? Will she pick them up smartly for you and hold them up until you put them back down again? If she's not 100% for you then she will be worse for the farrier.
If you are worried about touching her back feet in case she kicks out, use a stick to reach down and stroke them. Actually I have seen my farrier use a broom handle for this purpose with one particularly difficult mare to get her used to having her hind legs handled!
If she is good for you, can you bring her around to the farrier every time he comes to the yard, not just when your girl is being trimmed and have her just hang out there with a haynet so she gets the idea that being around the farrier doesn't have to be stressful. He could give her a stroke and a polo - let them make friends.
If she is fine with you handling her feet then maybe get other people to also handle them, starting with the fronts, and obviously only calm experienced people you trust.
One last idea - could your farrier give you an old rasp that you could rub and tap her feet with in between his visits, perhaps every day, to help build her confidence with his tools?
Sorry if I've said anything you've already thought of, I'm just trying to give you a few different ideas. Good luck and I hope you find a solution.
 
Are you sure there is no more pain? I would want my vet back out or at least speak to them again.
If there isn't any pain then I would think it's just going to be a long and slow process. If your farrier comes out for other people on your yard inbetween your visits ask him to just pick her feet up etc. How about seeing if other people can manage to pick her back feet up/mess about with her etc?
Sorry it's not the most helpful answer but keep us updated :-)
 
thanks for the advice.. anything will help.
there is only myself and my sister whos on the yard as its private ,
she will let me pick her feet out and groom her all over back legs too .
my niece grooms her too shes fine leading in and out .
i did have her sent away to a reputable lady to teach her some manners and shes come back wonderful still stroppy but i think thats a mare thing.
shes very highly strung and i dont think shes going to be a walk in the park when she is broke .
the farrier thing i really dont know hes always calm he gives them time and reassures them,
she just seems so defensive with him and she really means it when she kicks out and goes to bite him. her ears are pinned back so tight.
we did have a chat as hes a stunned as i am .
we did talk about the injury that she had and her seasons and we both agreed that it probably has messed her up in her head and her body with the hormones ...
this was yesterday when he came to trim her and put shoes on my other horse .
im going to call the vets to see what they say ....
i was thinking of putting her in foal at some point but is this going to make her worse .
she is in the picture of my thread at the bottom the wee little brown foal thats when i bought her @ 1 month old shes now 15.2hh lanky slim and strong.....
 
Obviously the pain thing has to be looked into - and also it may be worth giving her a bute before the farrier comes?

Apart from that it is just up to doing a massive amount of practice inbetween farrier visits - tapping the foot with whatever it to hand, etc.

Have you thought about clicker training to get your horse to pick up her feet on command. If she is clever she might really enjoy that and find it quite calming. Even if you don't use it for other training, it also has the benefit of clarifying your training reactions. (Alexander Kurkland(?) does a great basic book).
 
thanks canterton .. i do need to get the pain issue sorted . i do try and do alot with her anything else shes fine with .
i will look into the clicker training i do think i have a book somewere on it but no clicker !
shes a fun horse to be with and she loves the attention i would say she is a fast learner (obviously not with the farrier anymore)
when i walk through the field she follows lovely as she wants to be with me ..

this has totally thrown me
 
As others have said, eliminate the posibility of pain first, do a lot of desensitising (why not call the lady who worked with her in the past to see if she can help again?), and for safety's sake try sedative. You may need the vet to sedate her the first few times, but if she sees that it's not painful she may relax enough to get through the whole thing with sedaline.
 
hi booboos .. i will contact the lady who did work with her ... lucky for me shes only in the next village ...
i will call my vet today to dicuss it and some form of pain relief .
and eliminate things ..

thankyou
 
You poor thing, it sounds like a right pain! Firstly, of course speak to the vet about pain/hormones etc. Moodiness is not "just a mare thing", lots of people have mares who are not moody at all and it sounds like your mare has issues. I hate to say it but I would not be considering putting a mare in foal if she has issues with her temperament either.

Best of luck getting her sorted though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top