Friesian Horse Needs Help.
I have a Friesian, ASA, I have had him since birth. Had his Feet done by farrier every 3 weeks so that he would be a great partner with his farrier. Picked up his feet nightly. Nothing scary, just practice. Asa is now 12 years and he started something new & getting worse. He doesn't want to get his feet done. Mostly the front feet.. Yes, I have had the vet out. Checked bones, feet, hips and back. Healthy. I have tried to use Dorm Gel to take the edge off. Nope, now he runs around and hides his head. I have tried picking (groomed) his feet nightly. He is fine with that. But when the farrier comes he is not having it. Asa will wait until the farrier puts his front foot between his/her legs and then throw his front foot forward. Slamming his foot forward and down on ground. Farrier is thrown off to side. He will allow you to pick up his foot. He will let farrier put the foot between their legs, but as soon as they use the nippers or file he is throwing that foot forward and slams it down on ground. Its dangerous for farrier. Hurts their backs. This is exactly what as a colt I tried to avoid knowing Asa was going to be a huge horse; 17 hands high. I have farriers that charge extra since his feet are the size of a dinner plate and now a vet call as well. ugh. I have had several farriers. Male and Female. Nothing seems to work. He allows me to pick them up, groom them out and he is good. Let the farrier pick them up and start to work on his feet and he throw the foot forward and down saying NOPE not letting you do it. I can't even guess why. Don't know the solution. But I can't stand having him stressed or drugged I am running out of farriers and ideas. He needs his farrier so Asa can get his feet done and he has a good foundation to stand on. PLEASE HELP
I have a Friesian, ASA, I have had him since birth. Had his Feet done by farrier every 3 weeks so that he would be a great partner with his farrier. Picked up his feet nightly. Nothing scary, just practice. Asa is now 12 years and he started something new & getting worse. He doesn't want to get his feet done. Mostly the front feet.. Yes, I have had the vet out. Checked bones, feet, hips and back. Healthy. I have tried to use Dorm Gel to take the edge off. Nope, now he runs around and hides his head. I have tried picking (groomed) his feet nightly. He is fine with that. But when the farrier comes he is not having it. Asa will wait until the farrier puts his front foot between his/her legs and then throw his front foot forward. Slamming his foot forward and down on ground. Farrier is thrown off to side. He will allow you to pick up his foot. He will let farrier put the foot between their legs, but as soon as they use the nippers or file he is throwing that foot forward and slams it down on ground. Its dangerous for farrier. Hurts their backs. This is exactly what as a colt I tried to avoid knowing Asa was going to be a huge horse; 17 hands high. I have farriers that charge extra since his feet are the size of a dinner plate and now a vet call as well. ugh. I have had several farriers. Male and Female. Nothing seems to work. He allows me to pick them up, groom them out and he is good. Let the farrier pick them up and start to work on his feet and he throw the foot forward and down saying NOPE not letting you do it. I can't even guess why. Don't know the solution. But I can't stand having him stressed or drugged I am running out of farriers and ideas. He needs his farrier so Asa can get his feet done and he has a good foundation to stand on. PLEASE HELP
The other option is to use the Dually headcollar & school him with backwards steps when he acts out. My Kirk used to play 'tug of leg' with the farrier - who tried to deny Kirk release of his leg. That didn't work & over a year or so the habit just got worse. A single
session of farrier dropping his hoof when he started to play, allowing me to back him up only 3 steps resulted in an 85% improvement in less than 5 minutes & Kirk calmly accepted he wasn't allowed to muck about. I've never tried to train out the last little bit as I feel it's important that Kirk is confident that if he needs to rebalance or reorganise himself he's allowed to do that - he's not a robot! My farrier has been very complimentary of my 4 guys cooperative attitude - they live out 24/7 365 days a year & the rugby scrum of inquisitiveness when the vet or farrier comes can be a little overwhelming for some people. They are gentle & affectionate, not everyone's cup of tea but, I've had significant medical issues recently & they have adapted of their own accord to let me continue to care & interact with them.
I hope these thoughts are helpful. Asa may have no physical reason for his actions but he will have a reason. Perhaps you need to use the Dually to show him he can trust you to keep him safe. Cheers, Jo.