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Morgan, Sara and whoever else... what would you do...

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With a horse who hops on three legs to take a hind away from you when you're trimming? There is no way to hold his hoof when this happens and he's learned it gets him out of it. Round penning (make him work every time her tries it) hasn't helped. He seems to prefer the work. :laugh1 Would this be a situation where a one leg hind hobble might teach him that when the leg is up he might as well not fight? We have to find a way to teach him that hopping won't give him the desired result. Thoughts?

Rusti Thu, 06/18/2009 - 15:27

Try asking for the hind leg, hold it by the toe as soon as he gives it to you, and let him have it back before he has a chance to take it. Then repeat...and repeat...and repeat.....and repeat......lol. You'll be able to hold it up a little longer every time. He will eventually learn that it is OK for you to have his foot and that he will get it back if he stands still and behaves. If that doesn't work, you can always do what another horse would do and discipline physically, give him one good swat (with your hand, nothing else) when he takes the foot away from you. I tried the repeat, repeat, repeat process on my Arabian gelding who likes to hop away from me while I have one of his FRONT feet between my knees and it never worked. One firm whack on his belly and a NO! and he hasn't done it since. Remember, your safety comes first so you need to do what it takes to get this problem fixed before he gets tired of hopping away and kicks you across the pen. I'm afraid that's what might happen if you restrain his other legs. Good luck, and be careful.

all that sass Thu, 06/18/2009 - 15:57

stick his nose in a corner! if he has nowhere to go, he can't hop away! i always trim noble in his stall because the allure of walking away is more then he can handle! i don't have to have anyone hold him in a stall, he just eats his hay in one corner while i am trimming.

I want a power trimmer thing! its sooo coool! maybe this winter i can swing for one, they aren't ridiculously priced if you consider how much one is saving on farrier fees.

accphotography Thu, 06/18/2009 - 16:13

He gets trimmed on cross ties so he can't move very far. In reality he doesn't move much at all, he just kinda pulls his back feet under him when he hops. The holding the toe for slowly extending times has been done. This is a horse who used to stand fine until he learned this habit. I may suggest trying the spank method if he's not too sensitive (don't want him lurching forward).

Heather Thu, 06/18/2009 - 16:47

Id be tempted to spank him lol, he is just being plain disrespectful, i will swing from a leg before I will let it go, but I am stronger then your average ox lol I have cussed the holder at the head before when trimming (hubby) for not paying attention to his job and I go swinging back and forth attached to a back leg.

all that sass Thu, 06/18/2009 - 17:47

yeah, spank him. noble has had a few back when he thought it was funny to push me away form him with his hind foot while i was trimming. I have even spanked my nervous rescue pony for taking 1/2 the skin off my shin one time when he discovered he could get his foot back by pulling and pushing it towards the ground while i had it out front and he stood darn still after. sometimes its required.

Rusti Thu, 06/18/2009 - 17:49

Haha...sounds like this squirrely booger just needs a reminder of his manners. You didn't mention if he does this with both hind legs...if it's just one, have you checked the other to make sure he doesn't have something making it sore? If not...spank away!!! LOL as long as this horse trusts you and you don't let your emotions show anger when you do it (you angry=him nervous), he should get the idea and not hold a grudge. I, on the other hand, have a mare that makes me a total hypocrit by giving you this advice lol. Well I guess not a hypocrit but it is good advice if it's the right kind of horse. She was abused by a previous owner, I believe a female, and nothing I have ever tried can calm her down when I am trimming/grooming/saddling her. Eventually she will settle a bit and let me do what I need to do but she is always tense and ready to bolt any moment. Once when we first got her I did spank her and she darn near broke a rope halter cause it scared her so bad. It was after that I was informed she'd been abused. Day late and a dollar short with that knowledge. I can't ride her...she's given me 2 concussions and ICU for 24 hours due to bucking me off at a canter two different times. But as soon as she sees Joel...big sigh...licks her lips...stands still...he can do anything with her. Shoot his pistol, sort cows, swim ponds, gallop, she would probably climb trees if he asked her to LOL. Anyways enough with my rambling, hope you get it straightened out with wiggly leg. Let us know what happens.

all that sass Thu, 06/18/2009 - 18:34

in general i use a 5 second rule for most instances of poor judgment on the part of a horse. if i am leading a horse and they act like knobs i will turn and face them quickly get really big and check down on the lead for 5 seconds while using my more colorful vocabulary....then stop, take a breath and get back to what we were doing before the incident. its harder to accomplish while hunched over trimming a hoof, but quite effective. a single reprimand is the same as 2 horses taking shots at each other while they play, but a lead horse in a herd will chaise or bite or corner and kick for 5 seconds to drive the point home and then go back to what they were doing before interrupted. Making what you want to do easier then the alternative is always key.

my cousins gelding is a SH IT to trim so i would trim him in the stall with a halter and lead on so i could jump up when he tried to kick me and give him a good reprimand. He is the kind of horse who discovers he can rear and get his foot over the lunge and then you have to stop to fix it so he spent one summer on his hind legs while we struggled to keep the lunge high enough so he couldn't reach it with a front foot. ANNOYING

Sara Thu, 06/18/2009 - 22:30

ooh, coming in late on this one too (I've actually been riding and teaching ALL DAY... I love summer for that!) but yeah, I'd rule out pain and smack him. For example, Teddy jerks his hind feet away but I'm pretty sure he's either getting stringhalt or a locking patella (will have that checked the next time the vet is out) so I patiently wait it out. If I have an issue that is obviously not pain and I'm in a dangerous position such as the one trimming puts me in, I go for something physical. When I'm trimming I have either a rasp or nippers in my hand so that's what I use. I just make sure to turn it to the flat side and give a good thump with it.

all that sass Fri, 06/19/2009 - 08:39

trimming does put you in a dangerous position. My farrier was telling me the other day how he was trimming a mini one time that he had been trimming for a year or so and it had always been good but this particular time he was trimming it and it turned and kicked both hind feet through his front teeth. If that is what a good to trim MINI can do in a split second, one who is being rotten can do a whole lot more if it isn't corrected early. these types of behaviors tend to escalate unless corrected. I usually give a horse the benefit of the doubt at first and try holding the leg in a different position, but if they continue and i know they are sound and can't see a problem, i will do what i need to do.

when my mare was in foal i couldn't lift her hind legs very high because her belly was sooo big but she has locking stifles, so really needed to be trimmed every 4 weeks till i got ehr toe down. I had to hold her hind foot really close to the ground in order for her to be comfortable enough to let me trim it. Noble prefers not to rest a hind leg on my thigh, so i hold his hind feet to allow him to keep it lower..i think its reasonable since i am the only one who trims him. Its the same thing as a horse who doesn't like the curry comb where you would use a soft one and go gently. each horse is different and sometimes trying a different position will work.