Draft Horse Village

[glenne]

Hello, We are new to draft horses. Bought 2 in mid December. They are 2 older Belgian mares. One is broke to harness pretty well and responds to verbal commands. The other one does fair, but not as good as the other one. Both can be ridden. Their hoofs need trimming. We have had 2 different farriers out and they were not able to trim them. The horses really didn't go crazy, just wouldn't stand and let their hoofs be held for trimming. We were able to trim the front feet of one of them. She would stomp down her back feet when they were picked up. The farrier tried using a rope to hold the back leg up but without success. The other one would not stand still at all, not trying to run away just moving around and refusing to pick up her feet. I know that as old as they are (10 and 15 years) they must have been trimmed in the past. Don't know the history of these horses, they may have been Mennoite horses and were worked on in stocks. We will have to do quite a bit of work with them to get them to stand properly for trimming. Any suggestions as how to build the confidence of these horses where they will stand and allow their feet to be lifted would be very much appreciated.

Thank you,

Glenn

[duffy]

from what I know a lot of time shoes used stock for draft horse. My guy had the same problem and every shoe that tried say good bye and good luck. I work with my guy (Duffy) every chance I got picking up hes feet and taping them with a hammer the shoe that dose him now can not believe that a draft will stand with out stocks. I think if you just work with them they will get it . I now it work for me and duffy
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ride a draft and see the world differently

[Beth]

Heard about this site and tried it. I think its a great deal. For my first dvd
I got the Doc Hamills #4 it covers some on picking up the feet. I have Docs #2 at home to watch this weekend. Only bad part I think it hard to get them in order but still good information.
Check it out.

They also have lots of other horse related dvds in case anyone else is interested.

www.barnsweetbarndvds.com/action/films~search_genre/genre/2/
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All I pay my psychiatrist is the cost of feed and hay, and he'll listen to me any day ~ Author unknown

[de okie]

Hang in there, Glenne.

It can be done. I've heard it's a lot easier with a set of stocks though.


By null at 2005-05-20

lita
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Just LeDoux it!

I perform my own stunts.

[Brock]

I second Lita's "it can be done". A few years ago, I'd never lifted a horse's foot in my life. When I visited my Shire friends to clean stalls, spend some time together, and glean more of their knowledge, we were standing in the stall with their younger mare. One of her owners told me how to get them to raise their feet, I reached down barely tugged on her feather, and suddenly I was holding her hind foot in my hand. First try.

How they've reached that point with her, I wish I knew to share, but it can be done.

[BlackKettle]

About half of my Percheron's stand to be trimmed by a regular farrier. .. well Wixi must have been logically trained to pick up her feet as Leroy enjoy's trimming her outside the stocks at his home and did all four of her scotches without them. The other two are my own homegrown babies.. Coming 4 and 2yr old. Of course they know how to pick up their feet. I know logically that they may not always be owned by a strictly draft only owner so I want them well rounded in life. Plus I'm a stickler for feet being picked out regularly whether out for grooming or work.

The other 3... well it's a fight. One amish bred and owned for her first 5 years. You can get her front feet up, her back feet. It's exactly your same problem. She'll stomp it down, or else consider kicking you. That's when the whacker comes out from my end. Another won't pick up a single foot no matter what. She is strictly stocks only period. The 3rd is decent sometimes. So sometimes you can pick her feet up, and sometimes you can't. In my case I don't really fret over it as I purchased stocks.

Be diligent and work with them everyday on it. Praise them when they do well. It's just like when I start the babies. Use the hair to help the idea that picking up your foot is good. Praise them each time they hold it up for you, even for a few seconds.
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Diane Blanzy
Pipe Dream Percherons
Home of the Blue Roan Percheron Research Project

[Judi]

Both my Shires are done without stocks. The one I've had since babyhood helps; the new mare puts up with it and is getting easier. My farrier says she'd rather work on my Shires than on most of the light horses she does (and she's a little bit of a thing, although strong).

I second the advice about lots of practice and repetition. When Bravo was little I picked his feet up several times a day, smacked em with my hand, the hoofpick, etc. I was taught to NOT pick his feet up by the feathers, since that makes it hard to comb the feathers without the feet coming up. We used a scratch cue on the outside of the leg. That was always a bit of a pain, and the past couple of years, though, I just go with using the feathers and it's not a problem, they are old enough to know the difference between combing and lifting.
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Judi

Bravo: 8 y/o Shire gelding (jousting; trail riding)
Creek: 26 y/o draft/QHX mare (lawn ornament; crowd control)
Lady Fi: 5 y/o Shire mare (trail riding; princess)

[horsemix12]

My Percheron mare and her Draft X yearling are both done without stocks.

When I got her she was 10 and would not pick up her feet for nothing!
I had a trainer come out and he showed me a rope trick
to get her to pick up her feet.

Worked great and only had to use the pulley rope trick twice.

[Cielo Azure]

With 11 drafts here presently (and horses in and out for training), we have had the good, the bad and the ugly about feet. Even had one or two that would STRIKE you with their front feet. With 30 days, all of our drafts pick up their feet reliably and stand for farrier work.

Since you have owned them since Dec, that is about 180 opportunities (each day) for feet training. Get with the program!

Each day, pick up and clean. Use a second person, and treat train if necessary (as soon as they pick up and then each time, demand a bit longer). At first, they may pick up and drop or kick out (if they kick, a sharp repramand is in order). For the truly difficult, treat training or just having someone with a bucket of grain as you pick can work wonders (take the grain away when they don't cooperate). I am not a big treat trainer but this is one time when it works wonders. The key is EVERY DAY!!!!! Better yet, twice a day.

Another trick for the truly obnoxious. Go to your ring, try to pick. If they stomp, lunge for five minutes. Pick up again. If they again try to kick, lunge. Rinse and repeat until they decide lifting their foot up is better than trotting in a circle. Can work wonders with the right characters.

Once you can reliably clean, Start doing psuedo farrier work. Tap on the hoof, do stretchy excercises -moving the hoof around as you hold it. Stretch it out, stretch it left and right. Get a wire brush or wrasp and move it over the feet. Then bang on the hoof. Each day, each training session -do a bit more. Continue to use treats, if needed.

Let me repeat, you have owned these horses for how long without getting them to reliably pick up??? Without working to get them used to farrier tools? Why? What have you been doing with them each day?

The key is EVERY DAY!!!!! Better yet, twice a day. Better yet, three times a day.

Another idea. As you feed twice a day (yes?), before feeding -take them out, put them in cross ties and pick and work with feet. When you are done and they have behaved, they get their food.

Did I write this already? The key is EVERY DAY!!!!! Better yet, twice a day. Better yet, three times a day.

So, yes. I am kicking you in the butt a bit but honestly. Horses have to have their feet picked. Drafts can learn how (from scratch in one or two sessions) with the right trainer. If you absolutely can't train them, you have some options. Send them away for 30 days, bring someone in to teach you how or sell them. What are you going to do if you get an abcess? A cut on the hoof or a crack that has to be repaired? You are setting up your horses to get white line (certainly bad, bad thrush), if you aren't checking them regularly. You have to teach them and you can do it. It is part and parcel with horse ownership.

B.T.W. I own stocks and do use them with our foundered horse, as they help stablilze him when working on his feet. They are a pain in the butt and really are more difficult to use than just training. But if worse comes to worse, buy some. Know that if you are wrong, and they aren't trained to stocks -training a horse to stocks is much more difficult than training to get them to pick up and behave for the farrier. It can be downright dangerous to train a horse to stocks. I have heard of some horror stories (stock being tipped over, coming down on people or their feet, etc).

Last thing, there is a very good chance -as you are new to horses that they have just figured out your number. They may just think at this barn, picking up and behaving for the farrier is optional. We have had plenty of horses come in that "don't pick up." Only to find that they DO pick up, the owners have just been buffaloed into believing otherwise.
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Jill @
Cielo Azure Percherons
http://www.cieloazure.com

[Cielo Azure]

Seemed appropriate to post this here and to emphasize the dangers of stocks and an untrained horse...
http://www.ruralheritage.com/messageboard/frontporch/13475.htm
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Jill @
Cielo Azure Percherons
http://www.cieloazure.com

[horsemix12]

I always emphasize to my kids to never wrap the leadrope around your hand, wrist, etc... My neighbor a few years back had her finger pulled off when a horse pulled back!

As for the story, good one. I thought it was kind of interesting that the guy was more concerned about hay season then where his finger went to

[duffy]

my draft horse was so BAD that the vet had to come to tranquilize him ( before I own him) now he stand for all hoof work.Duffy is quite the baby if I just give him the look It can be done
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ride a draft and see the world differently