Posted by Joe on June 18, 2004 at 13:49:18:
In Reply to: Re: Impossible to trim & shoe? posted by Frederick on January 14, 2004 at 05:21:50:
We own a large sale barn. 40% of the horses are these kinds of horses. They HAVE to be shoed. We dont have a set of stocks yet. Typically we use a 'humane' twitch on the tough horse. If that does not work, we give them a little sedation and have someone whos not afriad to lay down the hold their head.
My father has this strange ability to just stand at a horses head, and talk to him, its bizzare. Even the WORST horses behave 90 better when my father is just there.
With backfeet problem horses, we use a thick lungeline. You tie one end around the horses neck so if just fits round the neck without a lot of play. So its on there sort of like a tie. You take the excess of the rope and toss it between the horses back legs and bring it around the back of the problem foots pasturn area, and then loop it back up through the neck tie makeing a pully. Its on there so that when you pull on the rope though the neck loop it will pully the rear foot up to the finishing position. when you get the foot up to a suitable postiion, tie the rope in a slip not so you can easilly yank it out. Then just go to work. They cant kick out or put there foot down.
You need to use a thick rope, a thin rope could cause burns or even some damage to the tissue in the conctat area.
These mothods are not for the faint of heart. But if you dont teach the horse that its much easier to submit an co-operate, someon else is just gonna get hurt down the line. Most of the horses i have had to do this with were perfect to shoe the 2nd or 3rd time.