One of the most important aspects of horse care is looking after their feet. We all hope that this is an easy part of horse ownership but alas this is not always the case.

There are many horses that fidget lean snatch their feet away or worse still kick when the farrier is attempting to trim their feet or shoe them. This can be frustrating for both the owner and the farrier and could potentially cause a breakdown in the relationship between yourself the farrier and your horse. Finding a good farrier is a job in itself without him refusing to come back to shoe your horse as it has just taken him hours even to pick your horse’s hoof up!  There is also the possibility that you or the farrier could get hurt by a frightened horse with the situation deteriorating with you and your horse becoming even more anxious and upset about a visit from a farrier creating a circle of frustration for all concerned. The answer for a lot of people is to sedate the horse; however sedating should not be a long-term solution. It is your responsibility as the owner to train the horse to willingly lift his feet and allow the farrier to work on them. This can be accomplished fairly quickly by not asking too much too soon of the horse this applies to young and older remedial horses.

Where to start:
Firstly we need to look at the reasons why horses can be difficult when handling their feet:

• A horses’ first line of defense is to run away this is difficult if we have hold of a foot! He feels vulnerable.
• The horse has not been taught properly how to lift his feet.
• Maybe he has been mishandled in the past when having his feet lifted.
• There could be a physical problem making it painful for him to either lift the foot you are working on or put his weight on the other three feet.

Training:
When training a horse to have his feet worked on we need to break the training down into small segments. So although ultimately we want the horse to stand quietly whilst having his feet held up and worked on this is unlikely to happen during the first training session. We need to look for small improvements and end a training session on a good note rather than ask for more than the horse can understand and risk confusing him.

All horses are individuals so it's difficult to say how long a training session should last but anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes twice a day. If you don't have time for two sessions a day then once a day will also get results but it will take a little longer to end up with a calm well-behaved horse.

Initially work with the horse in a safe enclosed area. This is to ensure that if the horse somehow gets away from you while you are working it cannot get into a dangerous situation. Do not work with the horse tied up at first this can cause a horse to panic if he feels that he cannot get away from something that he thinks may put him in danger.

Start with the front legs: To begin stroke the horse on the neck and slowly make your way down to the shoulder if he is happy and hasn’t moved away stop and take your hand away. Then gradually work your way down the front leg taking your hand away each time you go a little further to reward him giving him a nice stroke is also good. Soon you will be able to touch all the way down the leg to the hoof with the horse remaining relaxed. If you find that you can only get to the knee during the initial sessions that’s fine finish on a good note and attempt to get further down the leg in the next session.

When working on the back legs use the same technique. As with the front legs it will not be long before you are able to touch all the way down the back legs and around the fetlock area.

Do alternate between legs during a training session to keep things a little more interesting for the horse (and you). This will also help to get the horse happy having all his feet lifted. There are a lot of horses that are really good having their nearside front leg lifted and gradually get worse as you work your way round. There is no rule that states what order the horses feet need to be lifted in.

The next step is to be able to pick his feet up. For the front legs run your hand down to just behind the knee and whilst standing a little to the side gently pull forward. As soon as the horse lifts his leg put it down and give him a stroke. Continue like this holding it up a little longer each time. Once again do not ask for too much too soon it’s best to do too little than risk upsetting the horse and undoing all the previous good work. When you are able to lift and hold the leg up by pulling it forward gently try getting it into the more usual position by bringing the hoof back and under as if you were about to pick it out. Again reward the horse by putting the foot down and go to the other side to do the same with that foot. Now try gently picking the front feet up in the normal way. If the horse finds it difficult go back a step lift the legs forward again and repeat the above he will soon get the idea.

Once the horse is happy having his feet lifted and held up you can start to get him used to having them held as the farrier would hold them. Also if your horse is to be shod get him used to having his feet tapped and the sound of hot metal in water. Maybe have him around when another horse on the yard is being hot shod to let him see and smell the smoke and experience the noise.  Finally do keep practicing as this will instill in the horse that it is a completely normal part of life to have his feet worked on.