Farriers Visit

My buck off from not doing ground work last month has prevented me from moving forward with Blossoms feet. In order to teach a horse to have their feet trimmed or shoed you have to go through several steps. You don't just dive in with your hands and head putting those body parts in a dangerous situation. You have to bend your legs, bend over and pick up the horses foot and a lot of times a horse will strike out with their leg to prevent you from picking up their foot. They are afraid to give up their footing, so you go slow and take your time. You have to have a lot of patience. Please don't try this unless you fully understand that equine activites can be hazardous to your health and if in doubt, call a professional. Here are my steps.

I put a halter and lead rope on the horse. I then take him to an area with no grass but with soft footing. I take my handy stick and attempt to rub it on the horses legs everywhere. Some horses freak out and move around, others stand still. I keep the stick on the horse no matter where the horse moves to and when the horse stands still I remove the stick. That is conditioned response. The horse soon understands that if he stands still the stick goes away. When he is used to the stick I move onto using a soft rope
and put it around the horses leg and pull the leg up, and yes, there is moving and kicking at this point sometimes too. Over a period of time the horse will stand there with the rope around his leg and his leg off the ground. I then get rid of the rope and start using my hands. I start rubbing his legs and feet with my hands to get him used to hands touching that area. Then I squeeze his oyster, no joke, there is a part on the horses leg, kind of like a callous, called an oyster. Squeezing it makes him lift his foot. Then I see how long he will hold his foot up in my hands. After all those steps are complete, I emulate the ferrier by putting the horses foot between my legs and holding with my thighs and pretend like I'm working on the foot by tapping it, cleaning it, etc...

Since I have a lump the size of a softballl on the inside of my left thigh I can't do the final step to help my ferrier stay safe and do his best he can do. Good news though, you are allowed to have help training your Mustang, I don't want to because it is a personal journey for me, however I broke down and hired my ferrier to train her to pick up her feet. So thats what we did yesterday
just kept picking and holding those feet. Our next visit is Tuesday and we are hoping to trim her feet then.

FYI: I have been told over the years that the oyster on the horse dates back to prehistoric times.
That at one time the oyster was part of the horses hoof when prehistoric horses had split hooves.

Have a great day!