Handling the Feet
Todd Mera
I was working with my yearling Pooka. She is an Arab-Shire filly.
She leads OK and is not afraid of us. She comes up to us when we
enter the field and will let us pet her when she is lying down.
So today I decided it was time to handle her feet.
Just do it…
I had a friend hold her lead rope while I started to touch her
leg. I basically did the old approach and retreat working my way
down to her hoof. This went well. I then tried to pick up her
hoof and things did not go so well. She tried to move and jump
around. I tried to hang on but she is about 500-600 lbs so in the
long run, she won.
Plan B: Regroup and try again…
OK, so maybe I was a little quick to handle her feet. So, I
decided to take it a bit slower. I took my lead rope (15 feet)
and tossed it over her back repeatedly. She was OK with this as I
had done this before with her. I then tossed the lead rope around
her feet. I would swing the rope so it would wrap around her
legs. She did not like this. Pooka would kick and try to get
away. I would just keep tossing the rope and making sure her nose
was pointing towards me, so I wouldn’t get kicked, until she
stood still. Eventually she did. After a bit of a fight she stood
still and all was OK. The rope around her legs did not kill her
and she stood still while it happened.
Now it was time to pick up her leg. I took the lead rope and put
it around her foot. So, basically I had this huge loop in my rope
that went around her leg. If I dropped one end of the rope he leg
would be free, just in case all hell broke loose. While keeping
her nose pointed towards me I seesawed the rope back and forth
all over the upper to lower parts of her leg. When Pooka was OK
with this I pulled on the loop picking her foot up. She jumped
around and kicked but I was safe, nose pointed towards me, and
the rope felt no pain. Once she should stand still and let me
hold her leg up for 2 seconds I would release the tension and let
her put her leg down. I then worked up to 4 seconds and then 10.
Once I could hold her leg up for 10 seconds I decided that it was
time for me to pick up her hoof with my hand.
Finally (OK, only 20 minutes later) After all this I again attempted to pick up her hoof with my hand. Wow, no problem. She let me pick it up. I would hold it for2 seconds and let it go. Then 4 seconds. The 10 seconds. Then I took a pick and picked out her foot.
That was a good day for Pooka so I let her go on her way.
About the Author
Todd Mera is a Biochemist that has always had a love for horses.
Todd started training horses in his 30s. He has worked with and
trained many horse starting from birth and older problem horses.
http://www.TrainingTheHorse.com