Shoeing and trimming behaviour problems
These are usually straightforward to retrain. If your horse:
- snatches its hoof away
- kicks out
- struggles
- fidgets
- head tosses
- bites
- won't pick up its foot
- leans, or
- has any other issues
You can have this behaviour retrained for life, usually in one or two sessions. Then your horse will lift its hooves easily without snatching, stand calmly, with a passive leg, in park, while the farrier gets on with the job more safely. Forever.
Much cheaper than sedation!
This horse was presented as very difficult to shoe. 45 minutes later, problem solved. Super-impressed farrier.
What they say:
"This was a truly phenomenal day. To see my two Exmoor ponies taken through the simple training programme and, after only a morning’s training, standing absolutely still for the farrier and holding each leg up was unbelievable. Previous experience for the farrier and myself was the ponies jumping sideways, knocking myself and my husband over several times, oh, and stamping on both of my big toes - which are only just recovering now after three months.
Another unexpected benefit was that one of the ponies used to refuse to move forward when leading or riding. He’d bolt his feet to the floor, and the only option was to turn him around and back him along the road. Using the whip had no effect whatsoever. With Julie’s training involving asking the ponies to move forward when tapped on the side (where the heel would touch), I now have a pony that goes forward when asked and has become a pleasure to ride. Don’t ask me how it works. But it definitely does. Astounding. Julie's leaflets do not exaggerate. Julie, Scarsy has become such a great ride. We have been hunting together, riding out on our own, and enjoying the bond between us. ..... I've been bomb-proofing them so we can now ride past rubbish bins, etc."
"Hi Julie
I have some exciting news about D. We have reached proof on the shaping scale with shoeing. Tonight I didn't use a bridle or whip-taps and he stood there like a trooper, relaxed and sleepy in park, showing none of the distress and fight that we started with (before training).
The farrier is super impressed and can't really believe he is the same horse that used to need sedating to get the job done. We can't be happier and it's all down to Equitation Science Training and your help.
😍😍😍😍 Thank you!!
Kind regards
PS The horse that I am leasing while D is turned out is 4 and is strong and bolshy and the first time he was shod he was difficult, pulling his legs away and not standing up. With only one ES lesson he was so much better and probably only needs a couple more lessons.
Feeling very satisfied!"
"I couldn't wait to share my news with you!
D's hind feet were shod for the first time today and he didn't move a muscle!
He only had half the sedation he normally requires and soon he won't need it at all.
This is a horse who could barely cope with having his hind feet trimmed let alone shod, and it was not worth putting the farrier in harms way by continuing, due to how dangerous his behaviour was. Even shoeing the front feet took two handlers and a lot of strength and patience to get the job done, hence the reason for sedating him.
Today, he was a different horse, the farrier noticed he was much calmer straight away and there was no resistance from him and all we did was keep his head low.
The farriers were very impressed with the result of his training because they have been battling away with us for the past 18 months to get to this point.
For me, I was speechless, I couldn't believe what I had actually just witnessed, if I hadn't seen it I would not have believed that a serious issue like this could be resolved in two ES sessions with Julie.
I can't thank you enough Julie. This is the turning point for us in a very long journey and it is down to you and the amazingness of Equitation Science, I can't wait to see what else we can achieve!!"
"Hi Julie, thanks so much for working with me and my horse last month. Previous to this I had read books and watched the DVD series, teaching myself the basics of ES groundwork, D and I had made great progress but I was missing a few vital pieces of the puzzle. After you worked with us there was a huge leap forward in our progress, D is much more attentive, and I can keep his focus really well now and his stop, back and yield has improved rapidly as has picking up his feet which he now does very politely. Dash is due to be shod just after our next training sessions so I'm really excited to see how this will go. Thanks again Julie, you have made a huge difference to our partnership!"
"G is doing so well, even the farrier has asked what's happened to her. He said he always used to expect her to kick him, but now she's calm and shows no sign of doing it. Thanks to you!" R
This is sure to get you in your farrier's good books! From an equine welfare perspective, it is far better for the horse to be calm rather than aggressive or afraid.