ArizonaRealCountry.com 13 July 2019 Whether for medical attention, shoeing, trimming or just cleaning, giving your horse the opportunity to have a good understanding of picking up his feet can reap dividends, for the rest of his life. One of my earliest lessons in working colts came when an old buckaroo told me “the way you shoe a horse the first time will likely be the way he gets shod for the rest of his life.” Meaning that if you take the time and get him good to shoe the first time, he will likely be good forever, but if you hurry and get in an argument the first time, an argument will come easy the next time. Horse owners that leave it up to their horseshoer to pick the foal’s feet up the first time often put the horse and their shoer in an unfair situation. If the shoer takes the time and has the compassion to make it a comfortable experience for the horse, you’re lucky and should be grateful. But too often with young horses the handling of their feet has been avoided or neglected and the shoer shows up on a tight schedule without the time, interest or maybe even the patience or knowledge needed to make it a good experience for the horse. First impressions are very important, and if the experience is good for the horse, he can be better next time, but if the experience is bad for the horse, he can be worse the next time. Two things that are important in preparing the horse to pick a foot up is first he needs to stand still. If a horse is trying to move around, he is going to pull the foot away to travel. And second, the horse needs to be comfortable being touched all the way down the legs. If he is not comfortable with the person’s contact all around the legs inside and out, there is no reason for him to be any better after the foot is raised up. If the horse will allow a person with a soft brush to brush all over his body and the horse can stand still while being brushed or rubbed to the coronet band inside the gaskin and cannon bone, this can be a big help when the time comes to pick the feet up. Most of the trouble we have with the horse is dealing with his self-preservation or defensiveness. If we can eliminate or minimize this issue, the horse and person can have a better experience. Once we get past the point of getting the horse comfortable it is pretty much an issue of just getting the horse to transfer the weight off of one foot to the other three feet. With a rope or by hand, apply pressure until the horse transfers weight as if he were to cock a hind leg to rest or a front foot that is sore. Once he learns to balance on the other three feet, taking one foot up and keeping it up should not be a problem. The sound of tools against the hoof or the feel of tools jarring the hoof may need an introduction, but most horses will gain confidence quickly and tolerate this if the experience has been good up to this point. Some things that can help maintain the horse’s confidence with picking the foot up would be not to hold the foot up too long. If the person is working with more than one foot at a time and rotates around, the person can be efficient with his time and the horse has more opportunities to prepare and give his feet. In summary, we need to get the horse comfortable with our touch and willing to stand still. Then he can balance on the other three feet when we pick one up. Remember, don’t hold one foot up until the horse starts leaning or pulls away. Set the foot down before he takes control. Buddy Uldrikson Buddy Uldrikson Training at Rancho Rio Bonita: buddyuldriksonhorsemanship.com Talking Feet