Picking feet up

[Kat]

I'm looking for advice on getting a horse to pick up its feet when you ask and keep them up until you put them down without snatching them away.

We have got a horse on trial at the moment and we know that she is a bit wary about her legs and that picking feet up is very much a work in progress so I am looking for tips to help improve this.

Her owners have been feeding her a treat while holding her foot up, and that works ok, especially with the front feet, but I am a bit concerned that using titbits will encourage her to nip. Obviously if there are two of you then you could pop a treat in a bucket or scoop but not if you are trying to do it on your own.....

Oh and it isn't so much that she won't pick her feet up, more that she'll lift it up and put it straight back down or snatch it away before you have finished.

Thanks!

 

[Ditchjumper2]

Does she kick as well?? What we do if they are difficult is get a soft lead rope and put it round the pastern and pick it up with the rope. Then when they start waving their legs around and trying to slam it down it is easier to keep it up. In time we progress to holding the foot and so on. However, you must make an effort to do this at least twice or more a day. Make sure you have plenty of time so that the foot goes down when you say so. It is just time, patience, repetition and making sure that you are in control. Good luck...it isn't easy but the more you do the better she will get.

 

[LouS]

If you can't hang on to it, just keep picking it back up again every time she puts it down and don't stop until she lets you hold it. They soon learn. Don't feed her for it. Its just basic manners.

 

[polly1976]

Hiya - practice, practice, practice. Thats the best advice i can give. When i got my boy about 5 months ago, he didn;t understand at all what i was asking him to do when picking his feet up. He got the idea fairly quickly, but keeping certain feet up for any length of time was an issue. I just keep doing it. The farrier struggled the first few visits as he kept dropping his feet and leaning, trying to put them down. We have overcome this, but it was by me continually picking them up and not letting him put them down. If he started to lean on me he got a lot of growls and the odd smack etc and then loads of praise when i put it down in my time. No treats though.
Now he is there on 3 feet its just one hind he still struggles with. I do his feet morning and evening and anytime brough in between. just for the practice.
You'll get there just keep doing it over and over again - and make sure you change the order. She will have to learn to do it for the farrier and the vet if ever needed.
Good luck - sure she will get the hang of it.

 

[nikkimariet]

It's a perseverance type of thing IMO.

Try and make sure you ask in the same way every single time. Run hand down the front of the leg, gently press your finger/thumb into the dent above her heel, click if you need to. When she snatches, just try and keep a hold, and then hold her foot still when she settles. If she does successfully snatch it away, pick it up again in the same way and do it all again!!

Wouldn't reward with titbits, would reward with tone of voice and a pat and stroke

 

[flirtygerty]

As nikkimarriet, keep a routine, I start at front left and finish with front right,
I say "foot" as I run my hand down the leg, mine now are lifting their foot as
I am going down the leg, but with new horses who pull feet away, I hold on as I say AH AH and I always put the foot down, rather than just letting go.
Patience and routine is the key with picking feet up