FOR THE MATURE HORSE

down the leg and then pick up the foot.”

Once the youngster accepts having his feet lifted for a few minutes at a time, hold up each hoof in a shoeing position---between your legs for a front foot, resting across your thigh for a hind foot. Then use a hoof pick to actually clear off the sole, and tap and scrape the hoof to get the youngster used to the feel of it. If he gets accustomed to having his foot held up for a longer time, he will be less impatient when the farrier trims (and later, shoes) him.

“Use your hoof pick and tap on the feet each time you clean them out. Sometimes the young horse does very well for his first shoeing until the farrier starts to nail the shoes on,” says Boudreau. “The horse isn’t used to that sensation and may resist. So use your hoof pick to tap on the feet.” It also helps to lay an old shoe on the foot and tap on it, because this is a different sensation/sound than simply tapping on the hoof. You want the youngster to be at ease with and accustomed to everything the farrier will do.

• Make sure the horse is not hurting. Injury, arthritis, stiff muscles or other sources of soreness may make it difficult for a horse to shift his weight to three legs or to raise his hooves off the ground. If your horse seems to be having trouble, talk to your veterinarian about a possible physical cause. If one is found, let your farrier know so he can adapt shoeing sessions---perhaps by allowing more frequent breaks---to make them easier on your horse.

• Choose a safe setting and take precautions to protect yourself from harm. “Work with the horse in a relatively open area but with good fences around it so the horse can’t get away,” says Boudreau, noting that the ideal place would be a round pen or arena with good footing. “Anytime they are working on a spooky horse, I advise clients to always give themselves plenty of room, and always have a place to move away from the horse (not in a confined space), and work on a nice flat surface with no obstacles to run into if the horse spooks or jumps sideways,” Boudreau says. “You don’t want the horse to run over you or run into an obstacle or smash you into a fence or wall. Always think ahead to what might happen and don’t be in the way.”

• Use desensitization techniques. For the inexperienced horse or one