Horse bad with feet

Irishcobs

Irishcobs

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 August 2005
Messages
6,174
Visit site
My new horse is brilliant in everyway, except her feet. I can pick up her front feet and hold them/pick them up etc. But if you try to pick up her hinds she cow kicks. I have manged not be actually get kicked till today (sat here with ice on a rather swollen knee!). She is fine to touch the legs, I can brush them and run my hands all over them it just when you insist she picks them up. She is very quick with the cow kick.

Any ideas that I can try hopefully without me being kicked again?
 
She wasn't vetted. I got her pretty much straight off the boat from Belgium, but I can't believe it is a pain thing as she is fine to ride, move, handle etc. Her feet were/are in very poor condition so I think it is a defensive thing.
 
I'm trying to find the owner in Belgium.
She was sent for meat in Belgium, but it was realised she was broken and she was sent over here instead. Her passport is all in Flemish or Dutch and from what we can work out the owner is registered as the vet who did the passport but she was passported for meat, if that makes sense.
 
Try the witchcraft that is clicker training. I once trained a pony who had been beaten on the forelegs to 'teach' him Spanish Walk. If you touched his legs he lashed out in panic. Took me three weeks to get him to lift a foot and hold it to be picked out. The first thing I taught him was to put his head down to the floor and relax, then we moved onto touching shoulder and gradually moved lower down the leg. You have to teach both sides as they don't transfer learning from one side to the other.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I'm trying to find the owner in Belgium.
She was sent for meat in Belgium, but it was realised she was broken and she was sent over here instead. Her passport is all in Flemish or Dutch and from what we can work out the owner is registered as the vet who did the passport but she was passported for meat, if that makes sense.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah right - yes the passport make perfect sense. How did you find her?
 
She was sent to a friend of my boss who told me about her and said he would swop her for my big coloured lad. He only had her 3 days before I got her and had the same trouble I have with her feet.
 
[ QUOTE ]
elastic bandages....

[/ QUOTE ]

For me or the horse?
grin.gif
 
Use the rope trick.

Get an old leadrope - cut the metal clip off so you've just got the rope. Loop the rope round the pastern underneath the fetlock joint and lift the hind leg using leverage from the rope. You get more leverage to lift the leg than using your hands plus you're far enough away that she can cow kick all she wants but you're at a safe distance. And when she kicks out you can keep hold of the rope, keeping her foot in the air until she stops kicking. When she relaxes and stops kicking let the rope out and she can put her foot down so she learns when she stands quiet she gets her foot back but the more she protests the longer the foot stays up. I did this with my youngster who had never had her feet picked out before I got her and would lash out with her hinds. After about a week of using the rope to pick her feet up she was behaving perfectly. I got the trick from one of Richard Maxwell's books but it's been around for donkey's years.
 
Great thank you. I had heard of the rope trick but wasn't sure how it was done. I will try with that and see how it goes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top