That's funny Anna, about your horses being "dropped" when relaxed. My boss has a Belgian that was very bad about picking up his feet (came from Amish country and was used to being forced into a shoeing stock). He'd get really twitchy and nervous when you just started looking at his feet, and if you got a hoof picked up, he'd very soon yank it out of your hand or kick at you. After several weeks, I finally realized we'd made a lot of progress when I said "foot", he lifted it, I clicked, rewarded, and he "dropped"! It also was impossible to clean his sheath and I found out that after the first drop, if I did a clicker session with his feet he always dropped. I started clicking when he was dropped but after his feet were on the ground and he soon let me clean his sheath!
Cherie Western North Carolina Lilja, Roka (Icelandics)and Tyra (Fjord)
