naughty for farrier

J

janet68

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Had horse shod today for second time,sedated him 1st time and he was fine but today with pretty much same amount of sedation he was a complete nightmare:ie trying to strike farrier,snapping leadrope,barging and at one point nearly had me on my arse after an hour of fighting with him i couldnt feel top of left arm for a couple of hours. Has anybody any ideas what to do to make this an easier process?
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Hmm,have you had him checked all over?(with you saying only 2nd shoeing,did you have him vetted before buying?)pain can cause that response,and they can fight sedative like knowbodys business,especially if they are not completely relaxed!
 
Plus...past shoeing experiences can be a nightmare if they were not good
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,if you havnt had him long will guess this may have been a problem not mentioned at point of sale??
 
Could you check out what he's been like with previous farriers and failing that get him sedated by the vet before shoeing. A stronger sedation than Sedalin etc.
 
Is it the shoeing process that's a problem - or the whole thing??

It could be that he's only been cold shod in the past - or perhaps never shod???
 
As above if he is scared or in pain they will still succesfully fight sedation... I would rule out the pain and figure out what might be causing the fear (eg the smoke, the having his leg pulled forward, having the nail tapped in?) Then go from there- honestly if there was 'no reason' for his behaviour then he should have succumbed to the sedation and stood quietly...
 
For the next time, get the vet out to sedate him, but until then when you are picking his feet out, hold it up for a while and starting tapping the show with a hammer to try and desensitise him.
 
what is he like when you pick his feet up?

can you tap his feet with hammer etc in between shoeing to get him accustomed to it- most horses i know that are bad to shoe are bad with the nailing in part which is so easy to work on.

can you take his shoes off for a few months until he is fine with you hammering his feet, pulling legs into the same position as farrier etc?

and i would recommend a control headcollar- i did all of the above with one of my mare's who was funny to be shod and even though she is an angel now she always has her control headcollar on for the farrier as a reminder if needed.
 
good advise M


but also what's your farrier like as yes i know they have a job and need horse to behave, BUT some farriers are better with youngster and will give the time and comfort to them.........

My farrier is brilliant and was very good and gave the time at start and yes it did take a bit of time, but now he's not a problem at all. But you do need to ground work aswell
 
I have one mare that was a nightmare to shoe going from having to have the vet every time to sedate her to today when she now needs nothing at all. Then moving on to Sedalin whole tube to half then lastly ACP tablets. Now she needs nothing. If unsettled she might need a twitch for a short moment. This all has taken 4 years to do but it has been worth it.
The farrier said it was not his job to teach the mare to behave for him. He has been very very good with her inspite of the cow sending him across the yard on more than one occasion.
He said I must work with her every day. Lifting and picking out the hooves which to start with she even resisted. Her backs were her worst. To lift to start with I had to use a tea towel and pull. Sometimes using the end of a walking stick for my own protection. Working with her daily has worked. It is hard work and I had the bruises to show for it. Tapping around each with to start with the end of the hoof pick then moving on to a hammer. We also found that shoeing her hinds first helped. Having more than one horse to do at a time he did her hinds then moved over to do one of the others full set and coming back to the cow to do her fronts.
Hope this is of some help.
 
When my boy was young I wound that working\riding him before he was shod helped immensly. He was never really naughty, but this took the edge off and made him less likely to fidget.

Otherwise as other people said, practice, lots. Also if everyone who normally handles him is Female, and your farrier is a man, then find a man to come out and do some practice too to see if he is just a man hater or something.

Don't forget to wear a hard hat etc. and gloves too.
 
My horse was exactly the same when i had him shod. He would also bite me. I had the back woman out as he would not let me lift one leg in particular. His back was fine but she could not lift his leg up either. So one day i was so annoyed i found the strength and managed to pick it up and hold it there. After that i lifted it all the time. He was still naughty with the farrier and to make matters worse he always got his apprentice to do him and sometimes it would take 2 hours to do him as he would take the p***. Now he is very good took me over 12 months but he still has his moments but now he trusts me and we have a bond. Maybe when you have had him a little longer and he trusts you, then he will trust your farrier.
 
One question - is this horse the Richie of your "richie is a loony" username fame? If so, does that indicate that being difficult for the farrier is not his only issue?
 
sorry a little bit of history needed here. I have owned him since he was 5 mths old he is now 5 rising 6 yrs, always been funny but farrier really good and patient with him unlike the one that saw him a couple of days before i bought him (wrestled to ground and done on the floor) my current farrier is the only one i have ever used as rich is really funny about men in general and he seems to respect him but it was when his helper (fully qualified) was finishing him off that real problems started. And yes sally2008 he is quite a loony in all ways but never quite as bad as he was yesterday, I still ache like i have done a 3hour workout. Ps he broke his femur as 2yr old but fully healed now(back right) and he is only shod on front
 
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