I do both, I’m not physical able to hang on to a 1000# horse that flys backwards.
He flys backwards when I make any attempt to pick up his feet, there’s no hesitation it’s immediate. I’ve tried in his stall and alley way. Same response each time, of course the stall limits how far he can go.
Will he let you touch his legs?
Yes, I can rub his legs no problem, it’s when I attempt to pick up his feet that he panics.
Then I’d do the whip technique i described above. If he’s picking up his feet on his own accord, that might disassociate the fear (or whatever) response he’s gotten accustomed to.
Thank you.
So what vet exams have you done?
All three gaits appearing normal (normal to whom?) isn’t really helpful.
If his feet weren’t awful when you got him, if they were bad but not horrendous, if they showed years or months of growth, rings, etc… if it appears they had been done at some point, some how.
That is helpful info to know.
What happens if you put him in stocks?
A video of you touching legs, and then attempting to pick them up and what he does would be helpful.
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Beyond that, you’re basically dealing with an adult, older horse who is not trained to have its feet handled, and you’re best to start from square one. That’s a long slow climb. There are no shortcuts.
If you’ve never done that, starting from scratch with a 20yo reactive horse, you’re best to hire a trainer who has.
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At 20, it’s likely he has some
Arthritis in his joints which can be painful trying to balance on 3 legs.
My late teenaged horse, who was always an absolute gentleman about handling his feet, got very resistant to picking up his feet. Yes, arthritis.
Bute before I trimmed him, helped til it didn’t.
It is most likely pain related
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It’s also helpful to know if he reacts more based on how, in what position you hold the leg, from the shoulder on down.
Each of those joints and the angle of them when you pick up and then hold them could contribute to discomfort in the leg you’re trying to pick up … as well as potential pain and iffy balance of the remaining legs he’s balanced on to hold up that foot.
Ex
Look how high she’s holding that hoof up tight to the elbow and away from the horses midline (ie bent away from the body) That could really be painful in a number of places if held this way
Look how loosely/lower she’s holding the hoof. For some horses this may be much more comfortable, or if they have an issue higher up it could be more uncomfortable.
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Correct. Sometimes I could only lift his leg a few inches.
Her horse may be panicking cause someone forced the horse to comply.
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Exactly.
It’s so hard when you don’t know where they’ve been or what they have endured.
A recent job with lesson horses reminded me how complicated legs are wrt cleaning hooves. One lesson horse really objected to a quick clean and when I slowed down and examined what I was doing and how, I found a better process for him.
Sooo much of good horsemanship is in observation.
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There was a horse at a barn I boarded at that did amazing in the junior hunters at 3’3. Amazing equitation horse but he had mild shivers and was a NIGHTMARE to shoe. Had to be sedated for his back feet with Dorm or he panicked. He was about 20. It was not behavioral. It was a visceral panic response to holding up a hind foot.
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When my horse Yo was >23 and dsld, his farrier ended up doing his feet a bit at a time; take shoes off each foot, then trim a little off each foot, working his way around doing a little to each foot then moving to the next.
He was a really great, thoughtful farrier and I was so grateful he thought outside the box to get the job done safely for both of them, but comfortably for Yo as well.
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I think that for horses with neurological issues no matter how slight or hard or pain issues having a leg raised can be frightening. Almost like a panic response.
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Cannot hold my old welshie’s foot high like in the first photo at all, that’s when he goes back. Holding it fairly low, going slow and letting him find his sweet spot is helpful. I just had a discussion concerning this for the umpteenth time with the vet and they said once they have a painful experience with the feet, they have a memory like an elephant about it. I still think OP’s horse has some pain triggered by the position or maybe is anticipating pain.
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I worked with Diego again tonight in his stall with the boat hook. Went pretty well. Thanks everyone for your ideas and comments.
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My kill pen Paint mare had muscle damage in her rear. She walked with the typical string halty step, kicking that leg forward, and she was clearly uncomfortable holding it up. She was fine with the other three legs and generally had good ground manners. I had a farrier that tried to get into a contest with her about holding that leg up. She became my ex farrier, and a friend recommended a guy who’d been trimming her arthritic mare. He was wonderful. He would feel the mare tense up and would release that hoof. As she got into her 30s, she had trouble with holding all four feet up, and he started trimming her fronts holding them fairly low, and did her rears with him sitting on the ground with her foot in his lap. She could have killed or severely damaged him with him in that position, but he had built up her trust and she never kicked when he was trimming her. The risk he was taking still scared me. She never had shoes in the time I had her, so that was one less mountain to climb. Luckily she had decent feet, and she only did very light work for a few years, then none at all.
Rebecca
