How to deal with footwork failures

Q:My 12-year-old rescue gelding is very sensitive to having work done on his feet. I don’t know if he was hurt at some point in his life, but he appears to be particularly fearful about having work done on his back feet. I’m able to lift, handle and pick all four hooves, and I do this with him on a daily basis. But when the farrier arrives, it’s a different story. My gelding allows his front feet to be trimmed with a bit of coaxing and patience. But when it comes to his back feet, he fights so fiercely that I’m

forced to sedate him for the farrier’s safety and his own. He’s barefoot for now, because the thought of shoeing him seems a little daunting until we’ve gotten past his aversion to having his hooves worked on. Eventually, I’d prefer to not have to sedate him, use a twitch or any other form of restraint when his feet are being tended to. What can I do to work toward this?

Great question---and I particularly

like the fact that you do as much as you

can between trims to help your farrier.

You’re definitely right about the steps

involved. Don’t try for shoes until this

horse accepts handling and trimming.

I assume you have had your

veterinarian examine this

horse to make sure he