Success Stories for densitising horses who hate the farrier?

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Morgan123

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For the sake of my farrier.... any ideas or success stories?

My horse particularly hates the nails being banged in and has a very clever little move which involves rearing and also trying to kick farrier's head with hind hoof at same time (effectively balancing on one hoof at the time, which I think is really quite an achievement). This is with 6 sections of sedalin. My farrier is incredibly good about it but obviously it would be much nicer for all involved if things were calmer.

He repsonds well to clicker training so the obvious things I'll be trying are practicing banging his feet with the hoof pick and clicking and what have you (starting small and building up), but I'd be interested to hear other's opinions and experienced!

Sorry - obviously title should read 'desensitising' but it won't let me edit it now!
 
Morgan123 said:
For the sake of my farrier.... any ideas or success stories?

My horse particularly hates the nails being banged in and has a very clever little move which involves rearing and also trying to kick farrier's head with hind hoof at same time (effectively balancing on one hoof at the time, which I think is really quite an achievement). This is with 6 sections of sedalin. My farrier is incredibly good about it but obviously it would be much nicer for all involved if things were calmer.

He repsonds well to clicker training so the obvious things I'll be trying are practicing banging his feet with the hoof pick and clicking and what have you (starting small and building up), but I'd be interested to hear other's opinions and experienced!

Sorry - obviously title should read 'desensitising' but it won't let me edit it now!
Click to expand...

Is he in pain, does he object to the vet also, or having feet picked out....what about trying no shoes
 
Have you tried switching farriers?

One of mine was the absolute worst with one farrier. He would rear, kick out, hop along on two legs etc. The farrier had a bit of a grunt at him but nothing major, until one day my horse knocked him over and the farrier just lost it. He got up and walloped my horse around the face, and then grabbed hold of his ear and pulled it.

I was in absolute hysterics crying and screaming at him to stop. I don't think I've ever been so angry at someone before.

After that I switched farriers and I was dreading it. I used to feel queasy before each farrier visit because I knew what a nightmare it was, despite me spending every waking moment getting my horse used to having his feet messed around with by different people.

Anyway, I switched farriers to another (really lovely and kind) man and I honestly couldn't believe it. My horse just stood there as quiet as a lamb and practically fell asleep!
 
No it's definitely not the farrier. He's been barefoot for eight years (becuase he was so naughty with old, different farrier). Now needs shoes again (long story) hence me sedating him for this time.
He's fine to trim feet, poultice, etc etc - it's the banging that he objects to.
 
Morgan123 said:
No it's definitely not the farrier. He's been barefoot for eight years (becuase he was so naughty with old, different farrier). Now needs shoes again (long story) hence me sedating him for this time.
He's fine to trim feet, poultice, etc etc - it's the banging that he objects to.
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Have you tried getting a hammer or something made of metal and gently tapping his feet with it to get him used to it?

And thank you. It was horrific!
 
When I got my mare she had been beaten up by a farrier so hated them ..... so when she got here for a year we either did fronts or backs never both as well as every desensitising thing I could think of. Now it is a distant memory so ultimately, although a pain at the time, was worth the effort.

The other thing that helped was she used to get very tight between her forelegs, by having this freed off by a chiro/massage it made putting the feet up for the rasping much easier.
 
I bought my horse knowing he wasnt great for the farrier, first farrier didnt have much success, managed to shoe him but he wasnt easy, changed yards and farriers and he tried it on but new farrier took no messing, was firm, calm and basically stood his ground and he was shod all round with little problem and has got better since. Tied him up for the first time last time to be done so really chuffed.
Lady on our yard uses Domesedin not Sedalin as it works so much better for her horse who is evil with her hind legs when being shod, just a thought.
 
Would it be worth arranging for your farrier to visit between shoeings, to spend time 'messing' with the horse and banging the shoes? Obviously you will have to pay for his time, but such 'training' visits are worth giving a go.
 
Giving him a feed or favourite treats when the farrier gets to the tricky bit? (I am a fan of bribery sometimes....) and or I read somewhere recently of someone sticking a longish dangly bit of sticky duck tape to the end of the horses nose - it flaps a bit, and apparently they play with it and / or it provides a distraction (!) apparently it can work well...... hmm.
 
I totally understand as I had the same problem it's just the nail banging that's a problem, I've changed my farrier and pony is currently bf but will have fronts on soon when he starts doing more work ( does anyone else only go bf part of the year?). Anyway treats seem to work well but for some reason old farrier didn't want me to do this anymore ( wouldn't give a reason) new farrier encourages it if they are difficult, I am also going to try the confidence eq gel and see if that works, anything is worth a try.
 
There was a video on fb last night I saw - piece of duct tape on horse's nose (edge stuck on and rest dangling loose not stuck down) - supposed to get them to think of something else.
 
Has your farrier tried a rubber mallet for banging the nails in? Helped my horse very marginally when he was at his worst. We do suspect in hindsight that his was at least partly pain related and it's part of the reason he was taken barefoot (main reason was lameness related) I was worried he was going to seriously injure someone eventually (He caused many minor injuries to me, the farrier and himself). I tried desensitisation with banging a hammer attached to a broom handle (so broom handle was what got kicked at!) for a few minutes every day. Can't say it made any difference (Oh sure he got used to ME doing it but then I wasn't actually trying to bang any nails in which was the bit he had the issue with) but it may do for a horse who problems have a different cause.
 
This did work for us on the only occasion farrier didn't come first thing in the morning.

Sorry meant to reply to the quote regarding working them first.
 
Tern said:
There was a video on fb last night I saw - piece of duct tape on horse's nose (edge stuck on and rest dangling loose not stuck down) - supposed to get them to think of something else.
Click to expand...

Ha I saw that earlier and thought this thread was referring to it! Something I will try as my boy can be a bit silly about picking up his front feet, although I have hi=viz duct tape, not patterned like in the video!
 
Normally it's the vibration of the hammering, so if you've ruled out some sort of pain in the feet and legs by the vet, then you're going to have to work on simulating the hammering, even if it it's just tapping with the hoof pick to start with. If you're still getting an adverse reaction with distraction and weeks of trying to simulate the farrier, then I'd go back to the vet.
 
Thanks all, this is helpful.

Haha - my horse is incredibly spooky/nervous and putting duct tape on his nose would DEFINITELY not improve things, I wouldn't see him for dust!

I have done the 'farrier trianing' in as much as, this is the same farrier who's been trimming him for 1/2 years now so he knows and is fine with him usually - it is literally a hoof-banging issue.

He wasn't interested in treats (very unusually, for him - I think it was the sedalin) but I'll certainly be using treats while I desensitise him. I guess to start with I'll do one hammer for one treat!

Boulty - this is interesting, I hadn't thought of the rubber mallet, but I guess if it's concussion (not noise) he doesn't like, that makes sense. I also did suspect I'd have the same issue as you and get him used to me doing it and not my farrier! Urgh.

Thanks for the ideas all :-)
 
I also did suspect I'd have the same issue as you and get him used to me doing it and not my farrier! Urgh.
This is why I would be de-sensetising myself AND having an extra farrier visit to bang about with his feet without his being shod.
 
My new horse last year was terrified of the farrier/vet/any male picking up his feet and was being routinely sedated for trimming (he was barefoot when I got him) and then continued to be sedated when I begain having him shod.
I could pick his feet up, run a rasp round them and he was totally fine but if a man approached, especially a farrier he totally freaked out. We have a farrier at the yard on a weekly basis so I was bringing him in to stand on the yard each week and had progressed to him standing quietly to take a treat from the farrier. However, picking his feet up or coming near him with any tools resulted in explosive behaviour - not nasty in anyway whatsoever, just pure terror.
A female farrier was recommended to me and I honestly can't overstate what a massive difference she's made to our lives. On her first visit he panicked the moment he saw her and tried to barge off and I even said I'm sorry I don't think this is going to be possible. But she just said lets see what happens. We took him on to the yard and with tons of patience and armed with polos she had him lifting all 4 feet. He went from total fear (you could actually see his legs shaking) to calm within 30 minutes. She broke everything down to tiny tiny pieces, touched each leg, lifted each foot for 2 seconds, then 5 seconds etc. the order she asked for his feet was always the same so the odds of him getting things right were high and this boosted his confidence no end. She also doesn't "pick up" his feet, she asks for the foot but it's his job to actually lift it for her. Then that was it for the session. She came back a few days later and repeated but this time reshod the fronts. After just 4 visits he is being shod all round with no issue. I stand at his head with a likit, this seems to reassure him in almost the same way as a dummy to a child! It also gives a good indication of his state - when he worries he stops licking! He is only allowed these treats when the farrier is on site, he doesn't get them at any other time. I know they are far from ideal but they help him and I'd rather him have a likit than a syringe full of sedative at this point in time!

The farrier never ever raises her voice or tells him off. Even if he blasted off in the early days she would just go back as many steps in the process as he needed her to.

So, that very long story short, my experience has been that you need a patient but persistent hoofcare person who isn't scared of a scared horse (and some are!!). Consider trying a female farrier if you suspect the problem is gender related.
Very small steps.
Short regular sessions.
Consistency.
Follow set routines so the horse can predict what you're going to ask and get things right which makes a massive difference to their confidence.

Good luck!
 
Thanks Lancelot, that's interesting! She sounds like a brilliant farrier/horse woman to perceive the issue so clearly and overcome it like that. I'll definitely keep that in mind.
 
There is always a reason a horse objects to the farrier, and it's usually pain related. I had a horse like this and in the end I retired him. He had kissing spine and it was the lifting of his legs and holding them at certain angles that set him off. Also the banging in of the nails. Even when he had his shoes off, when trimming him, the farrier had to ensure he held his legs in a certain fashion, close to the ground.

Why does your horse need shoes? Could he not be kept barefoot with boots?
 
Wagtail said:
There is always a reason a horse objects to the farrier, and it's usually pain related. I had a horse like this and in the end I retired him. He had kissing spine and it was the lifting of his legs and holding them at certain angles that set him off. Also the banging in of the nails. Even when he had his shoes off, when trimming him, the farrier had to ensure he held his legs in a certain fashion, close to the ground.

Why does your horse need shoes? Could he not be kept barefoot with boots?
Click to expand...

That's a whole other story - I won't go into it but please be assured it's been a very long barefoot road and has been a very big decision, not lightly made, to put shoes on him, and wiht the advice of the vet and farrier.

He's absolutely fine with all other elements of hoof trimming so no reason for it to be pain related really, and he is prone to being scared of random things, especially if they are noisy (like velcro). It could be pain related but je could also be being a bit over sensitive! I'll try de sensitising anyway, if it doesn't work he'll just have to go back to being barefoot and reduce the workload.
 
My horse loathed farriers. He is now very good to shoe. He was sedated for some time and we also used licks to encourage him to stand. generally when he got too restive the farrier would call a halt and for some time was shod either in front or behind.

There is hope, the critical thing for my boy was to stay totally calm and have a farrier with no temper.
 
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