Buckaroo Texan Blog

Each session with a foal or horse should be pleasant and build the relationship between the buckaroo and horse. Think about what you would like to accomplish each time you are with your foal or horse and let the situation develop as you go.

The sessions so far, with Sassafras our yearling foal, have been very productive and she is becoming a mannerly young horse. She is starting to feel really confident around humans and relates to them with respect. She will come over for a scratch or a pet but stop at a respectful distance and no try to run over the top of you or give you a big push.

To keep this confidence, is a big job for the human and can be destroyed easily if you do not stay mindful of what you want to accomplish each time you are around her. We want her to like being with humans but also respect us and look to the human as the leader.

Sassafras needs her feet trimmed so we start this session like the others. We watch her and catch her as described in previous post. She actually comes over to me today and I just slip the halter on as I have many times before. She has been haltered with quality enough times, that she has no fear what so ever about the halter being placed on her head. I brush her and handle her feet as in previous sessions and she is very receptive so we can move on with a goal of trimming her feet. 

I have enlisted a helper today to just hold the lead rope and keep her from following me around when I pick up her feet. The helper does not try to hold her, just direct her. Sassafras has learned to balance on three legs pretty well from previous sessions. I pick up the left front foot, hold it a few seconds, tap on it with the hoof pick then set it down. She may not be ready to have a person hold her front leg between a person’s legs so that the person has two hands free to use the nippers. So, this takes some skill, to use the hoof nippers with one hand, while holding her hoof with the other.

You may think that you should just grab her foot and got to trimming. You need to be mindful of the horses thinking when their feet are trapped. We have worked with her so that she will allow us hold her foot for about 30 seconds or a little more, gradually working to hold her foot longer each time we hold it. You strive to let go of the foot before she takes it away from you. Otherwise you are teaching her to jerk her foot away each time you hold it. The secret is to pick it up often and hold only for a moment and give it back.   The timing here is to turn loose when you feel no resistance from the horse.  It may only last a half second at first but if you give her back her foot before she pulls she  will catch on real quick and let you hold it longer and longer. The horse then understands that you will give them back her foot and it is not trapped. Sometimes you will need to hold onto it if they try to take it back.  Try to wait until there is no resistance. This is an experience thing. You need to know when you can hold it a bit longer due to the horse is just trying to take it away compared to the horse being scared and jerking it away out of panic.

My helper holds the rope but there is no pressure or energy on the halter. Sassafras is standing free on her own, a result of her previous halter training.   I pick up it and proceed to nip the hoof. I make one nip with the hoof nippers and set it down. Due to preparatory work, she is not scared of the sound. I pick up her foot again and nip a couple of clicks. She is fine, a slight struggle for balance, before I set it down.   A good horse try. I pet her and pick it up again, and nip the rest of the way around her hoof. It is now ready for rasping. I pick up her foot again.  She is a bit squirmy, as she seems to think we should be done with this foot.  I hold it a moment and set it down. I take the lead from my helper and lead her around a few steps to let her legs relax and for her to relax inside. I pick up the foot again and rasp around the edges of the wall and get it smooth. We are ready to move on to the right front foot.

I repeat the process on the right front foot and it goes smoothly. By the time I get the nipping done and start to rasp, I can tell her little baby mind has had about enough for this session. To keep things relaxed and keep her in a good frame of mind, I stop the hoof work .  Equine babies are like a lot of other babies; their attention span is short.  Short sessions with quality keep the youngster learning and looking forward to each session with the human. Giving them a little bit more challenge each session is fine; the idea is to not overload them. Change the subject often lets them refocus on something else.  Let them search and figure things out.  On a colt or young horse, only one or two new things per session are enough to not overload them.

Late in the afternoon, I get my helper to help me again. I catch her with ease. She did not have a bad experience with hoof trimming this morning. I brush and pet her a moment, then pick up a front foot, hold a moment and then set it down. My helper keeps her from trying to follow me, by taking the slack out of the lead rope, as I approach her left rear leg. I walk to her rear leg and pick it up. I let the leg rest in my lap and start to use the nippers. I let her leg down. She is ok with the procedure. I pick up her foot and finish nipping this hoof. Then set it down again for a brief rest before rasping. The same process is done on the right rear and it goes smoothe.

Job well done, our first hoof trim and she is happy about her experience. This sets her up for hoof trimming for the rest of her life. She will remember that it does not hurt her.         Jeannie

If you would like help in developing the try in you and your horse contact me. My training is in the Buckaroo Way and I offer consultation services to those who believe in partnership of horse and rider.