Horse Hoof Pick Practice

Pick Up Your Feet

How many times have you forgotten or decided to skip the chore of checking your horse’s hooves?  With all of the tack checking and re-checking, the barn chores, the riding preparation details, the maintenance and care around the ranch and with your horses, we may sometimes neglect at least one thing.  Our horses’ feet, should not be that thing!  You ALWAYS double check the tack, the clasps and cinches before you ride, but have you ever skipped the hoof check?  Your horse always has the same manure or sand packed in under the hoof and you have scraped it out countless times while your horse leans all of his weight in your hand.  Or, perhaps you fight to get that hoof high enough to look underneath and every time, your horse jerks it out of your grasp to stomp on to the ground.  Is it defiance? Is it refusal? Is it uncomfortable to stand on three legs when he has four?

1.               ALWAYS check with your veterinarian FIRST, to rule out any and all medical issues that could possibly be associated with the horse’s ability to comply with your requests.

2.               Time to determine the cause. 

Sometimes, a horse’s refusal to stand on three legs willingly indicates a lack of “ground manners”, or perhaps a lack of “ground rules”.  You must establish to your horse that it is pleasant to comply and that you will not hurt or scare the horse into submission.  Respect is an earned response, where you will need to establish some basic ground rules with your horse.  If this is new to you, then this is where you start!  Learn what ground manners are and set some ground rules. 

    Ask your horse to perform some simple moves on the way out of the paddock.  Check that he will walk on easily and halt, back up, turn on forehand in each direction and a nice turn on the hind.  You can notice the bend and comfort level that your horse is experiencing right away.  If there is a slight lameness issue, you should be able to determine that here and call your vet.

    If ground work is not part of your training to date, please seek the advice of a professional horse handler or trainer with whom you respect.  You may need to correct something that you are doing that is creating a negative or dangerous response from your horse.

3.              Run your hand firmly down the front of your horse's leg and give your horse time to shift the weight off of that leg.  Most horses will respond by picking that leg up.  At first it won't be perfect and held up for very long.  If he doesn't willingly lift it up, or hesitates too long, pull up firmly under the fetlock.  You can even press or tap his shoulder (if in the front, or hip for a back leg) to remind him to shift the weight.  Your hand then comes around toward the front as the hoof as he picks up that leg.  Your hand will quickly be positioned underneath his hoof and should be a guide, not a resting place as it is held up calmly by the horse.  Once you have the hoof in hand and the horse's weight is off of that leg completely, don’t be afraid to remind him to hold the hoof up a little. 

      Important tip: Do NOT let the horse take his hoof out of your hand!  This bad habit can quickly result in a devastating kick to the handler.  Be sure that EVERY time YOU place the hoof back on the ground, directly under the horse and discourage any pulling away from your grasp.  

      Practice and patience go along way with this one.

4.               Hold your horses.  The connective joint of the front legs and rear legs are different in horses.  Bringing the hoof up directly under the horse is the most natural balance position, such as when the horse gaits at a walk or trot.  It is a common mistake to pull the leg off to the side, which actually can throw off the balance of the horse.  The leg does move circularly and most horses will comply, but the best way for them to relax in your grasp, is to keep it natural.

      Is it comfortable?  It is not uncommon, even among seasoned horse people, to pick up the hoof in a way that is uncomfortable to the horse.  He may brace against your request or ward you off with frustration or fear in response to your request.  Your horse will try to let you know that you are NOT doing it right! 

      With all horse activities, in order to become well respected by your horse counterpart, you must learn more about the horse.  Be sure that you understand the dynamics of the horse’s shift of balance and what that looks like.  It’s not to say, that when a person doesn’t think of the horses comfort level that they are not a good horse-person, but many people do not think of what it might be like for the horse to stand on three hooves at the very instant of your request. 

5.               As with any horse grooming activity, this one should be performed preferably when the horse is tied, or held by a second person.  Please do not feed your horse to keep him still or distracted.  "Standing Tied" is a very important safety skill that every horse must respect.  It is important to allow the horse to relax and also be aware of you when they are expected to comply, because this is a valuable time you can determine if they actually trust and respect your handling.  A horse will eat and swat multiple flies at the same time, but that is not how you want them to respond to your grooming and handling requests.

6.               Listen, pay attention, and educate yourself.  You may be asking for understanding from your horse, but are you also giving that to your horse.  It is surprising what they can actually tell you, when you pay attention.  Horses have a multitude of ways to communicate with body language and cues that you can easily understand when you are aware of their language.  This knowledge will improve your experiences with your horses and make you a safer handler.  Pick up a new book on how horses communicate and try to become knowledgeable of the horse language.  You can also acquire a tremendous amount of knowledge on this subject by observing the horse herd where you board your horse.  Many books have been written on the subject and some professional trainers have implemented the ideas in their training methods to help people have a better understanding.

Skipping that hoof check can also result in a preventable veterinary bill.  While it is important to always check with your veterinarian should you have a concern, you can certainly take measures to keep your visits to a minimum.  It is wise to schedule regular visits with a professional and reputable Farrier.  They can also be a great resource on how to pick up your horse’s feet safely and what to check for.  Rocks can get lodged in the crevices of the natural shape of the hoof, a rusty nail can threaten a horse’s life, and some surfaces will create health problems in the hoof.  Your horse cannot remove the uncomfortable or hazardous foreign objects, but you can.  A simple sweep along the natural curves under the hoof, on a daily basis, will clear out most debris and help keep your horse’s hooves in better shape.  There are also many great products on the market that you can treat your horse to.  Your horse will be able to perform much better when their hooves are in great shape.