help with hoof troubles

[pammy]

We have had a mare for about 4 months now, and when we first got her she was fine with having her feet picked out, but was unshod. The farrier came and trimmed all her feet and shod her front ones, but by the time he came to do her back ones she wouldnt let him hold them up and kept pulling her legs away. In the end he gave up and left her with just front shoes on. Since then, she also wont let me clean out her back feet, which is really starting to worry me, as the one and only time I managed to do one of them the stuff that came out was white and smelly underneath. They are also becoming cracked and will need trimming again really soon.

I have been trying to pick up her hooves every time I groom her, which I can usually do for a couple of seconds, but she pulls away before I would have a chance to clean them.

Any ideas why she is like this, or what I can do about it??

Thanks for your help!.

ps. She is also slipping really badly on the road at the moment, is this because her front shoes need replacing? Bit of a divvy question, but this is the first horse I have owned, so am a bit of a novice!

 

[Yann]

Foot handling problems can have various causes. Sometimes the horse just hasn't been taught to pick its feet up properly and has trouble balancing, especially if it hasn't been allowed to get itself set up correctly. 'Discipline' applied at this stage can add to the problem, especially from farriers.

It can also be a trust / relationship issue. What are her ground manners like otherwise? Does she lead nicely and respect your space or is she bargy and pushy? Giving one of your feet to a human takes away your ability to flee from danger, so a horse may be minded not to if it doesn't respect or trust you.

Most importantly it can also be a sign of physical problems, issues in the joints, back or even sorenes in the feet (laminitis etc) can make them resistant if it's going to hurt. So a physical check from a specialist would be a good place to start if you haven't already, just to eliminate it from the enquiry.

Work on being able to touch the leg and foot all the way down before asking for it to be picked up. Use approach and retreat, starting wherever the horse is comfortable eg up on the hindquarters and gradually working you way down to the foot. Once the horse is comfortable with this start asking for small lifts with lots of praise and reward when you get it. If the horse struggles at all try and stay with it but release as soon as it relaxes, you don't want to train that shaking the leg gets rid of the human. You should gradually be able to build up to lifting the foot and playing at farrier on it with tools but it may take a while and lots of patience. Always make sure the other three legs are in a solid triangle and that the horse can balance on them before asking for the fourth. Treats as a reward for a correct action can be a powerful motivator

 

[pammy]

Thanks for the message. She is a bit of a pushy mare! She will barge past you to get to her hay, and thinks nothing of using me as a scratching post at the end of a ride! She can also be a bit pushy when we are out, and if she decides she doesnt want to go a particular way, we are on a losing battle! Otherwise, she is very friendly and affectionate and loves being groomed etc.

With her feet, I wondered if it was a balance thing, as she doesnt seem to be able to stand still on 3 legs, so seems to pull her leg away before she falls over! One thing that I did wonder, is whether this could be because she is er, how shall I say it.... FAT!! I wondered whether or not that being as big as she is makes it hard for her to balance? What do you think?

I have been spending a lot of time running my hands down her legs (as you suggested) and getting her to briefly pick her hoof up every time I groom, and giving her lots of praise, but no treats, so I will try it with a bunch of apple and carrotts on hand as a reward and see how we get on.

Thanks again, and any more advice gratefully recieved.