It’s OUR job to take care of the farrier.
I’m a firm believer in prepping my horses to ensure they stand quietly for my farrier. I also believe farriers should charge more if the horse is overly problematic. The idea that it’s the farrier’s problem when our horse misbehaves for him or her, is a massively misconstrued concept that allows owners to hide from taking any ownership in their horse’s behavior. It’s extremely unfair to whoever has to stand underneath the horse, for way longer than if the horse were to stand quietly. Plus, how can we expect an excellent job done if half the time spent is the horse pulling away, threatening to kick, and dancing around? Nowadays, it’s become more common to sedate if needed. But can’t we do better than that?
A horse reacts for one of four reasons: from pain, fear, lack of respect, or lack of education (which oftentimes translates into fear). The reason he’s ill-mannered come time to have his feet done falls under one of these categories. I mention this because it’s extremely important to first understand where the behavior originates from. This will dictate how we can go about fixing it. More often than not, a horse that’s been shod its entire life and knows the drill but is still unwilling to stand relaxed, is simply disrespectful because he knows he can get away with it. They are smart animals, if they’ve been allowed to play games with the farrier since they were green, what makes them all of a sudden change their mind? Not a thing.
I’ve also worked with plenty of horses terrified of having their legs and feet touched, let alone hammered on. For some, the lack of training paired with a reserved personality makes them scared. For others, something caused them to be fearful, and that is their first impression of anything near their feet. A perfect example is a rescue horse I once had in training, who came to me terrified of anything and everything, both on the ground and under saddle. When I first got him, he’d panic and attempt to kick me anytime I simply touched his legs. He had scarring around his back legs, indicating having been caught up in something. Every farrier visit was paired with a dosage of Ace.
In essence, regardless of why a horse is reactive with its feet, it’s still our problem adress, not our farrier’s.
The rescue horse mentioned above, standing quietly and confidently after 5 weeks underneath him teaching to be relaxed and brave.
A moment at Clinton Anderson’s Ranch helped alter how strongly I feel towards this entire topic at hand. I was around 3 or 4 weeks into training a 3yo that had been halter broke at best upon arriving in Texas. This was my first real taste of a horse that was seriously problematic with his feet. He was just downright mean about it. He’d kick out and dance around because he’d been used to being spoiled and never having to answer to anyone but himself his entire young life. So I worked with his legs, making my way down to his feet, mimicking what the farrier would do in all aspects. But I underestimated just how much work it’d take to have him ready in time for his first trim. I didn’t realize that with a horse this extreme, I’d have to get underneath him multiple times every day. Until the farrier came, and he’s still threatening to kick out and move around. The holes in my training were exposed. That evening I got a phone call from Clinton, in which he proceeded to chew me out for a piss poor job. That bill came out of my pocket, with a firm reminder that how we set them up for the farrier is just as important as how we set them up for their owners.
It wasn’t having to pay for it myself that engrained this memory in my head, but instead the feeling of not putting forth my best effort. I let the horse, the farrier, and my boss down. It was the first and last time I ever let that happen.
Because of that one particular instance, I can proudly say that I’ve not repeated the crime since. I’m grateful for it, as it showed me just how high the standard should be, and I’ve easily carried that with me to this day. When I moved on to start my business in Virginia, I was prepared and equipped with the discipline I needed to help the most extreme cases. Let’s be honest here; having to teach the horse to stand perfectly while having all four of its feet done is a bit backbreaking. I gained a new level of respect for the professionals who do it daily! It also opened my eyes to just how important it is for them to have a well-trained horse to work on. How unfair and disrespectful to allow them to deal with the problems our horses carry.
A great feeling is when my farrier tells me how nice my horses are to work with. Just recently, I had Parlay shod for the first time here in New Jersey, and the farrier commented on how great he was to work on.
As horsemen, it’s easy to establish a good working relationship with the professionals in our field. Take care of them, and they’ll take care of you!