Charley is our ten-month-old Suffolk Punch colt. He came to our farm when he was five months old, and I've been working on simple training basics since he arrived. On a daily basis Charley and I work on building good manners, trust, and respect. He stands quietly with his head lowered to accept the halter without throwing his head around or bolting off. He's well socialized to people and other horses. He’s trained to stand tied in a tie stall and to stand quietly when groomed. He leads willingly and without pushing into my space or pulling back on the lead. He moves back on voice and touch commands and moves his front and hindquarters with a gentle touch and “step” command. I have also carefully prepared him for his first hoof trimming.
My husband, Rob, trims our horses’ feet. We try to keep a schedule of trimming hooves every 8-10 weeks, keeping the intervals shortest in the spring and summer when their hooves grow the fastest. We don’t shoe our horses because they’re never on pavement, and I don’t work them when the ground is very icy. If possible, keeping horses barefoot is healthiest for their feet, and certainly saves us money.
Rob uses a hoof stand to help ease the back strain inevitable with working on horses’ big feet. The stand has two adjustable attachments-a stirrup to cradle the hoof when it’s pulled back to trim and rasp the bottom of the hoof, and a rubber tip to place the toe of the hoof on when the hoof is pulled forward to rasp the edge and hoof wall. He uses a pair of nippers to clip all around the edge of the hoof - nippers are very much like oversize nail clippers. He also uses a rasp to even out the edges and shape the hoof and a hoof knife to clean the sole of the hoof, exposing the white line and cutting off loose flaps on the frog of the hoof. Keeping the white line clean is absolutely critical to the health of the hoof. Bacteria can build up in the white line and create pockets of rot that can make a horse lame.
Charley was soon quiet and patient when I picked up his feet and cleaned them out on a regular basis. I had a few weeks before his hoof trimming, so I also spent time getting him familiar with the various motions a farrier uses. First, I got him used to cradling his hoof between my knees. I did this while I cleaned his hooves out with the hoof pick. A farrier will alternately do this or use the hoof stand, so Charley needed to accept different handling. I also pulled his hoof forward, rapped on his hoof, and simulated rubbing a rasp along the edge using a hoof pick. I made sure to ask Charley to keep his hoof up for longer than the usual time it takes me to clean out his hooves. This is important because trimming hooves takes more time and involves different sounds and sensations than cleaning them.
Once Charley took these different motions in stride, I brought out the hoof stand and worked on the same motions. He learned to rest his hoof quietly in the stirrup and to leave it there as long as I asked him to, and then to bring his hoof forward and rest the toe on the stand. Charley again showed himself to be remarkably calm and quick to learn. He just doesn’t make a fuss about new things or new requests. Once he understands what I’m asking of him, he generally does it without resistance and remembers his lessons well. He’s still a young colt and not yet gelded, so he has moments of wanting to rebel but on the whole he delights me with his gentle, sweet and willing temperament.
When I felt confident that Charley was comfortable with the training I’d done with his feet, we decided he was ready to trim his feet. I was unsure whether he’d stand quietly for the actual trimming when Rob used the tools and hoof stand for real but he exceeded our best hopes. He was friendly and calm with Rob and showed no fear or worry about any of the work. When he tried to pull his hoof away a couple times, there was no real effort in it and he quickly relaxed and let Rob continue with the work.
We'd planned on taking as much time as needed to help Charley through this first hoof trimming, being careful not to set any bad habits or fearful reactions, and it ended up taking much less time than we could have expected. This was excellent confirmation of a training adage I always try to keep in mind—take the time so it takes less time. Charley now has the foundation of good manners necessary for him to have a stress-free and safe relationship with Rob or any other farrier.
This is an important milestone in Charley's development, and I'm happy he passed it so well.