--- Lorraine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> --- Robyn Schulze <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> > Skye!! what a great post! Could you please explain
> > some of these
> > exercises that you recommend for horses that are
> > difficult? My Icey is
> > fine w/ his back feet, but pulls away w/ his fronts.
> > I don't know why
> > or how to fix it.
> >
> > Robyn
>
>
>
> Scooter is just the opposite. Good with the front,
> bad with the back. Lori
>
> Happy Trails from Lori
We use positive reinforcement training to help with farrier issues.
We will use clicker training, show the owner how to link the clicker
with the good action and food.....then they need to pick up the foot,
click and feed only if the foot is up and they are not pulling
back...it is best with 2 people.
If for some reason clicker training is not possible, Sally and I do
positive training with very tiny amounts of feed.....the horse gets
feed (mabye 5 pellets at a time ( because a horse can be like a
squirrl and store food in their mouths) only when they have their
foot up, then it goes to foot up and rasping, nailing, clinching
etc..
They must have their foot up to get the food...so Sally and I work
together on it, timing is essential, we have found that most owners
do not do the training the way it needs to be done and are much to
easy, giving food to their horse when the foot is not up, this just
leads to reinforce the behavior that you do not want.
Eventually after a few visits food is removed and your horse now is
relaxed for the farrier, and is over the trauma it had. Usually
after 2 visits a horse knows that Sally will not hurt it, and it
knows she will respect them and give them a break, or not hike up
their rear feet so that their hips hurt, or whatever the issue is.
Good luck!
(If you do this method with your farrier, really talk to them about
it first, some farrier hate food out, we generally do not like horses
getting fed while shoeing is going on....but expalin the system to
them and see if they will work with you. You have to communicate
both ways for this to be effective.)
Skye
~~~~Fire Island Farms~~~~
Breeding Quality Icelandic Trail Horses
Certified Farrier Services
'Natural Balance' Shoeing and Trimming.
Founder, Navicular options for your horse.
808-640-6080
