Misbehaves with Farrier

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EquiHolly

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Hi,

My 6 old mare is AWFUL with the Farrier. I Have recently changed farriers due to it being very difficult to get in contact with my old farrier, understandably he was very busy.

The farrier came out today, and she was jumping around, rearing ,running through me etc.. My farrier suggested that we try cross ties which i didn't agree to, but he assured me It would be fine. This was the worst mistake ever she stood on the farriers foot twice and reared and came free and ran around. He did the cross ties differently he treated both lead ropes as a headcollar as it was a long lead rope. This ended up getting very tight around her head, and ears, however he said it was fine. I only realised how tight it was after the bridle and rope came off.

Last time the farrier came she was fidgety but no where near as bad as today, we even managed to hot shoe her! However I noticed he was a lot more patient and calm this time, today he got angry and pushed her a lot.

He assures me she is just being naughty and need to be disciplined.

I do not know any of her history, I only know that the travellers had her as she is a trotter.

Any help would be much appreciated :)

Thanks
 
sounds more like your farrier was AWFUL with your mare.

I agree horses should have manners for a farrier but the farrier should have manners and patience with the horse
OP tried to get hols of your last farrier even if it is just to ask him for a farrier he trusts to take your mare on, then ask that farrier what you can do to help improve your mares behaviour for him-work together to help your mare improve
 
twiggy2 said:
sounds more like your farrier was AWFUL with your mare.

I agree horses should have manners for a farrier but the farrier should have manners and patience with the horse
OP tried to get hols of your last farrier even if it is just to ask him for a farrier he trusts to take your mare on, then ask that farrier what you can do to help improve your mares behaviour for him-work together to help your mare improve
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^^^^ that
 
Thanks for your reply. I agree he wasnt the best today. But she was exactly the same with my last farrier although he handled it better. But i will definitely get in contact- want to do anything I can to try and get her better with the farrier.
 
I'll tell you what heled with my boy, I'm not saying you don't do this already, but you haven't said. Regular picking up of feet, working in hand so he listens and understand what 'stand' and 'up' mean. Exposing him to the blacksmith as much as possible, eye when other horses sew getting done tying him up next to them or standing with him next to them. Before he gets his feet done he is worked - hard, and always has his feet done at the same time as my very sensible mare who is so laid back she will go to sleep. Other thing I do is give him a mini molasses lick which is an excellent distraction, he only gets it when he's getting his feet done. He is definitely getting better and better. If your not happy with the blacksmith change, but at the end of the day he doesn't have to do your horse and if he is injured by her he's losing money so series I can see why they can be harder than we would like on them, hope this helps or gives you something to consider anyway
 
Thanks for the reply. It is tricky to work her before the farrier as it is normally during the week so have to take an hour out of work, so unfortunately do not have the time. However he does come some Saturdays , depends if he has anything planned. I will definitely try working her before the farrier comes when I get the chance. I have tried the molasses lick but most farriers don't allow it as my horse usually dribbles on their back:/ It is bizarre she will go to sleep and then all a sudden charge and rear out of nowhere which is getting very dangerous, does not help that she is an extremely strong horse.
Thanks so much for your suggestions :)
 
Put the rope around her muzzle and make her behave, where are her manners, she wouldnt do it if she was mine, i wouldnt belt her or anything but i would be firm but gentle and she would know it. I do like to wear my steel cap jodphur boots, they can climb over my feet as much as they .ike and it doesnt hurt which means i can be as up against them as i like without worrying about my feet being trodden on.
 
bowl of chaff instead of a molasses lick? i have to bribe my gypsy bred cob to have her feet done, she is getting better with quiet patience but at the moment we still need a distraction. I do lots of faffing with her feet when i pick them out too, bang them with the hoof pick, pull her leg forward etc.
 
This might sound an odd question, but how is she generally with men? I know of a pony who is very upset around men but fine with women - could there be a female farrier you could try if she doesn't improve.

Hope you find the solution.
 
asommerville said:
I'll tell you what heled with my boy, I'm not saying you don't do this already, but you haven't said. Regular picking up of feet, working in hand so he listens and understand what 'stand' and 'up' mean. Exposing him to the blacksmith as much as possible, eye when other horses sew getting done tying him up next to them or standing with him next to them. Before he gets his feet done he is worked - hard, and always has his feet done at the same time as my very sensible mare who is so laid back she will go to sleep. Other thing I do is give him a mini molasses lick which is an excellent distraction, he only gets it when he's getting his feet done. He is definitely getting better and better. If your not happy with the blacksmith change, but at the end of the day he doesn't have to do your horse and if he is injured by her he's losing money so series I can see why they can be harder than we would like on them, hope this helps or gives you something to consider anyway
Click to expand...

^^ Great advice^^ My other half is a farrier and my horse was one of the worst on his books. He reared up so quickly once while the shoe was being nailed on that he actually threw the OH in the air and across the yard (he's only a Connemara!). You need to bear in mind that if your farrier gets injured then he won't be able to work and pay his mortgage so very often older farriers won't tolerate a dangerous/naughty/scared horse. My advice would be to find a younger, more recently qualified farrier who has more time on his hands to spend with the horse slowly reassuring him that everything is ok. You could pay him something like £10 per week to call in and play around with her feet for 10-15mins so they learn that farriers aren't scary. It's better to do little and often rather than expecting to see progress with 6-8 week gaps in between farriery visits. You wouldn't school your horse then wait eight weeks to school it again so the same things applies. Sometimes even the smell of the farrier brings back a bad memory so the more times he can see them the better. It's a slow process but two years on and my horse stands like a dream as long as I'm holding him with a loose rope. Even now if he's tied up to the wall or in cross ties he still rears but every horse is different so experiment and find out what suits your horse best. Good luck!
 
EquiHolly said:
Hi,

My 6 old mare is AWFUL with the Farrier. I Have recently changed farriers due to it being very difficult to get in contact with my old farrier, understandably he was very busy.

The farrier came out today, and she was jumping around, rearing ,running through me etc.. My farrier suggested that we try cross ties which i didn't agree to, but he assured me It would be fine. This was the worst mistake ever she stood on the farriers foot twice and reared and came free and ran around. He did the cross ties differently he treated both lead ropes as a headcollar as it was a long lead rope. This ended up getting very tight around her head, and ears, however he said it was fine. I only realised how tight it was after the bridle and rope came off.

Last time the farrier came she was fidgety but no where near as bad as today, we even managed to hot shoe her! However I noticed he was a lot more patient and calm this time, today he got angry and pushed her a lot.

He assures me she is just being naughty and need to be disciplined.

I do not know any of her history, I only know that the travellers had her as she is a trotter.

Any help would be much appreciated :)

Thanks
Click to expand...

Have a read here. http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/foru...rrier-but-cant-be-barefoot-PLEASE-HELPPPPPP-(
Also here. http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/equinebehavior/publixs/Papers/How to Injection Shyness.pdf

and here http://www.healthyhoof.com/articles/Gavilanandthefarrier.htm
 
With all due respect, a farrier who won't allow a molasses lick to settle the horse because they might get a bit sticky, but who complains about the horse's behaviour, suggests restraints that actually make the horse behave more dangerously, and who says the horse is "just being naughty" isn't a farrier I'd be using - sounds like their priorities are back to front!

It shows a complete lack of empathy, understanding of how horses learn, and also how to deal with fear in animals.

I'd suggest finding a farrier who's more open-minded, is willing to take their time and work *with* the horse - and in the meantime the Sue McDonnell article Amandap links is excellent, as is this article by Shawna Karrasch (also her videos on Connection training are good on how to start improving behaviour in a non-confrontational way). http://shawnakarrasch.com/blog/tag/farrier/
 
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