the feirer was out lol something funny

[jessejames]

ok the feirer was out today and started to do my horses front hoof and she whent kinda nuts not to bad finished it and did the second front hoof and whent nuts hopping around on 3 feet lol. so then he did the 2 back feet and she just stood ther perfectly still no how wered is that freek out at the front feet but do fine on the back lol.

[mandyme2]

Yeah usually it is the back feet that are harder too do,I think its couse people tend to play with the fronts more often than the backs,Mine stand pretty good for all of theirs.

[ediee]

I wonder why she doesn't like her front picked up? I wonder if right after you picked it up if you put it right down and gave her a treat and praised her, then do it again and again, just an idea i had. ;D

[twnpnds]

Has your mare ever foundered? Sometimes when a horse founders they are kind of afraid to have their feet messed with due to all of the painful work that is done to them. This happened to a friend's horse. You could pick up and clean her feet with no problem but when the farrier came it was a totally different story. He told her it was from him working on her feet when she foundered. Remembered the pain. It was only with her front feet also. They tried lightly sedating her and that worked. After the 2nd visit she didn't need sedating anymore. Sedating her allowed her to relax and realise he wasn't hurting her. She was perfect from then on. If you go this route talk to your vet and farrier first. It's important that they aren't oversedated or they could fall.

A few other possibilties might be she had a bad experience while having her front feet done or her front feet might have been improperly shod sometime in the past causing pain. You might also want your vet to check her out to rule out any pain she might have while her front feet are being done. Pain in her knees, shoulders, and even her back. Holding her leg up and in front of her like when your farrier works on the front of the hoof may cause her discomfort from something like arthritis. Horses don't forget when something painful is done to them. But with a little understanding and patience they can learn it's okay. Treats, encouraging words, or a good scratch are great rewards.