Hoof Picking Problems - youngster

Persephone

Persephone

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I have a couple of little dartmoor X 3 y/o that I am doing some basic handling with at the moment.

One is fine with picking up her feet but the other well...

Today was just an assessment really to see what they knew.

The skewbald was tricky to catch but then ok, she led in fine, tied up and had a little check over and a groom.

She was fine, no stress or tension, certainly not frightened until it came to picking up her feet.

She still stayed very cool but as soon as I touched below her knee or hock she literally threw herself to the floor.

A very beefy male then stood up next to her because I wondered if she had a balance problem. That time I managed to lift her foot an inch off the ground but once again she tried to throw herself to the floor. It was literally me and him holding her weight.

Having tried it a couple more times I am confident that this is a learned evasion because when she discovered we could stop her laying down, she turned to kicking at me instead. Those kicks were really mean and there is no problem with that pony's balance lol!

I have left her for today having got both front feet up fairly successfully but the back end was not good.

I am at a loss. I am used to ponies planting, and snatching away, but falling on the floor?

If anyone has any experience of these or ideas of how I can move forward with her I would appreciate it!

Thanks
confused.gif
 
Is it only when you actually try to pick the foot up, or when you touch the foot?
I have a mare who was awful, she would lash front and backs when you tried to even touch her legs.
Glove tied to a pole, and run all over her legs and feet helped enormously.
 
Can you stroke/brush her legs? Is it just picking them up she doesnt like? This is what we do with kicky/stroppy youngsters at work:

Use a sock on a stick to stroke their legs (make sure it stays touching them even if they have a paddy so they learn you wont go away. Once they are happy with this, we run our hands down their legs (we always wear hats for this!!). We then use a lead rope to pick up their feet (just loop it round their fetlock) so you can stick hold and keep out of the way if they are kicking/trying to shake you off. Once they have stopped having a paddy then transfer foot from lead rope into hand (lots of praise) then put it down. Repeat as many times as neccessary!
 
we used to have a pony who had been mistreated and she also used to do this throwing herself down, kicking, snatching her foot away etc she tried everything in the book, we did what gigglepig above said and it was a long processbut eventually she got the idea and started to pick them up normally. good luck x
 
When i first got the nervous one, you couldnt get anywhere near his feet so i worked on them one at a time till he was happy before moving on and adding another foot. Started with his front feet as this is what he was happiest with (he now picks them up for me as soon as he sees the hoof pick) then gradually added the backs but the only way i could do that in the begining was by brushing his leg at the same time. Was more than happy for the brush to be between hand and leg, didnt like my hand being directly on there. Now i can pick his back feet up, he still tenses up and sometimes snatches but there isnt a day where i cant do it.
 
perseverance is all I can say, when I first got my mare and I'd lift up a front leg she would lean back so far I'd have to let go or she'd end up on the floor, though with me she was trying me out
 
Thanks everyone that's great.

Yes it only happens when you try to lift the foot. I can put my hands all over them right the way down.

She originally came from some travellers as a yearling and was wearing shoes:( So she has obviously had a rough start in life.

I think I am going to start again and adopt Gigglepigs system. Hopefully I will have happier news soon!

On the up side, it took a long time to catch her this morning, but this afternoon she has let me walk right up to her and give her a fuss. She then followed me back to the gate so I can't be such a monster lol!

x
 
Have come across this in several animals, some young, some not so young. the only answer really is daily handling, with plenty of time and patience, which honsetly will pay dividends in the end.
There are various methods of going about this, so I won't post what I usually do.
 
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