New pony! And a picking up feet qu!

[Arniebear]

On friday i took delivery of a new 4yr old irish lad he's very sweet and has settled pretty quickly. I lunged him yeaterday and as he was so well behaved decided to hop on board for a wander up the road, he was a gem! 😀

Of course on arrival he was a little nervous but over the weekend he has settled in nicely to my routine and even had a bath sussing out fairly quickly that the green snake wasnt in fact that scary and i could wash all the soap out of his coat with it! Bless

We do have one slight issue thou and im not sure what to do?

Ive had youngsters before but they have all been good to handle, he is by no means difficult but he is very unsure of you touching his hind legs and his reaction is to kick out :/

I start by brushing him all over head to bum and then slowly begin to brush down his hind quatres to his hocks this part is fine but below the hock he snatches his legs up and if you carry on will strike out. Obviously this reaction needs to be reactified i would like him to be comfortable to be touched all over and have all his feet picked out. He does have a full set of shoes on so someobody has managed to get them on him- im not putting it past him having had a bad session so want to teach him that its all right and not to worry but of course want to avoid getting caught by him as well it hurts!! 😀

Any tips of how to avoid getting kicked but to get him comfortable being touched and having his feet picked up? He has 4 white legs which evidently will need washing so he needs to be ok with it all!

Other than that im very happy with my new purchase and hope he makes a nice smart eventer!

A few pictures of Beanz!!

 

[kassieg]

I like him !!

sounds like he is being an angel as well !

however, the irish as a rule don't pick out feet ! only time the horses get their feet picked up is by a farrier who in turn are very skilled at getting them. Therefore when ponies come over here & we try to get their legs the confusion sets in !

They do get it in the end, I just do lots of work running hands up & down legs & asking them to shift weight onto the other side as if going to pick up leg then don't. Sometimes ask him to pick them & other times don't. If he kicks out its probably him panicking rather than telling you to buzz off so don't tell him off just pick up a front 1 again then give pats & ask for the back again.

They get used to it in time, probably the 1 downside of buying an irish horse !

 

[Arniebear]

He's a pretty chilled out dude so i dont thinks its malice when he kicks out just panic as you say.

Thanks will just keeping calmly trying and hopefully it will eventually click in his head!

 

[Season’s Bleatings]

I like him !!

however, the irish as a rule don't pick out feet ! only time the horses get their feet picked up is by a farrier who in turn are very skilled at getting them. Therefore when ponies come over here & we try to get their legs the confusion sets in !

Not sure I agree with this...... mine definitely get theirs picked out, as do the rest I know.

If he's really tricky, you can always try using something that allows you to touch him, but keeps you at a safe distance, until he is more comfortable with the sensation of being touched. You could try a stick with a big sponge over the end so it's reasonably soft. Chances are he just needs a chance to get used to the feeling and to understand that it isn't going to hurt him.

Good luck, he's very cute

 

[FfionWinnie]

Use something to touch them and keep it on him while he kicks only take it off when he stops. Keep at a safe distance.

Once you've got that accepted a soft rope round his fetlock will be the safest way to train him to lift his feet. Again, safe distance and don't let them down while he's kicking and jumping, only when he behaves (that could be for half a second at the start then progressively expect more)

 

[Arniebear]

Not sure I agree with this...... mine definitely get theirs picked out, as do the rest I know.

If he's really tricky, you can always try using something that allows you to touch him, but keeps you at a safe distance, until he is more comfortable with the sensation of being touched. You could try a stick with a big sponge over the end so it's reasonably soft. Chances are he just needs a chance to get used to the feeling and to understand that it isn't going to hurt him.

Good luck, he's very cute

Use something to touch them and keep it on him while he kicks only take it off when he stops. Keep at a safe distance.

Once you've got that accepted a soft rope round his fetlock will be the safest way to train him to lift his feet. Again, safe distance and don't let them down while he's kicking and jumping, only when he behaves (that could be for half a second at the start then progressively expect more)

Will try this thanks!! Once u have a hold of his leg he stops kicking it about (as long as you can get a hold of it!) so i think it may just be a case of repitition and increasing the time of holding the leg up. He's very sweet thou so perseverance is definitely key!

 

[cobgoblin]

It will take time and be very frustrating but you will get there!
One of ours was like this, I don't think he'd ever had his feet picked out - he simply didn't know what we wanted and took it as a threat even though he's the sweetest natured horse.
Keep brushing his legs and get him used to being touched. Putting a stuffed soft glove on a stick is a good way of touching his lower leg without putting yourself at risk, he will eventually realise that nothing bad is happening and get bored with kicking. We managed the front feet first ( big feelgood factor!) the hind feet took about six weeks but now he is perfect for the farrier.

 

[Cowpony]

I had this with mine when she first arrived, although she didn't kick out just snatched up her feet whenever something touched her hind legs. Cleaning her legs with my hands helped her to understand that I wasn't going to hurt her, and after nearly 4 years I still need to brush her legs gently or she will lift them. She also doesn't like things being sprayed on them, although I don't let that stop me! I picked out her feet twice a day and very soon she was lifting each leg in turn for me and she is great for the farrier.

However, when we went to Hickstead a couple of weeks ago she was so excited and stressed that she reverted to her former behaviour and did actually kick out too. I had to lift the diagonal front leg so my husband could pick out her back foot. And yes she can balance on 2 legs, but has to concentrate and keep still, so it did the trick

 

[Arniebear]

It will take time and be very frustrating but you will get there!
One of ours was like this, I don't think he'd ever had his feet picked out - he simply didn't know what we wanted and took it as a threat even though he's the sweetest natured horse.
Keep brushing his legs and get him used to being touched. Putting a stuffed soft glove on a stick is a good way of touching his lower leg without putting yourself at risk, he will eventually realise that nothing bad is happening and get bored with kicking. We managed the front feet first ( big feelgood factor!) the hind feet took about six weeks but now he is perfect for the farrier.

Front legs he gets!! Just the hinds im sure it wont take long he seems to be a quick learner! Just wanted to make sure i was doing the right thing!! 😀

 

[nagseastsussex]

we've had numerous irish ponies/horses and none of them like having their back feet picked up - fronts are usually okay. Plenty of praise and polos/carrots and they get the idea quite quickly. good luck

 

[EQUIDAE]

I had one like this - she had been hand hobbled and fallen badly. I got her used to having her feet handled by initially touching her foot with mine - that way I was close enough that she couldn't get a cow kick in, and I could stroke her to reassure her. Then I used a broom as an extension of my hand, and finally was able to move my hand down her leg. It was a long process and took about 6 weeks to get her to lift her feet without panic. But the previous owners couldn't do it at all and she was sedated to be shod!

Don't forget hat and body protector whist you're getting him through it.

 

[PorkChop]

We have one that was horrified that we might want to pick her back feet up!

Patience and repetition, we would try and pick up her legs at least four times a day, keep out of the way and do what you can. It will come, I promise

 

[CinnamonChristmasCookie]

Mine used to cow kick when I first got him. I don't think he'd ever had his back legs touched (Irish boy). Patience and repetition and TBH, a strong bloke doing back feet while I had treats at the front worked. Even now, tho, he's often reluctant, despite having his feet lifted several times a day for months. A dream for the farrier, tho.