A way to spare the farrier’s back

Having read “Special Handling for Arthritic Horses” (Consultants, EQUUS 499) I wanted to share what I do to make my farrier’s work easier.

I have a little pony mule---she’s not quite small enough to be a Mini but she is short. The hoof trimmer has to lean over farther with this little mule than with the full-size mules. So I trained the little bugger to stand with two feet (front or back) on a heavy block of wood. It’s about 18 inches square and four inches thick. The hoof trimmer thinks it’s really cute and also helpful.

Standing on a block would also help a stiff horse, because the farrier wouldn’t have to lift the hoof as high. But he would have to have confidence that the horse was steady enough not to fall off the block.

Training to stand on a mat is one of the popular lessons in clicker training. Then standing on a sturdy block becomes a simple training goal.

I considered teaching my pony mule to stand on a table but then thought better of it: If she gets excited and falls off the four inch block it’s no problem, but I wouldn’t like to see her falling off a table! She may think she’s a goat, but I don’t.

Pat Wolff

Arcadia, California

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