Ready??
Preparing Disco for his first hoof trim - I've been working up to it every day. Disco was not at all interested the first time I attempted to lift a foot a couple weeks ago, backing away and jerking his foot away. But like everything else, it takes time and patience. Every day asking a little more, not getting greedy and expecting him to stand still, just rewarding the slightest try by releasing. You definitely can't force him to. A horses hindquarters are like a loaded double barrel shotgun, you better respect them when cleaning, trimming, shoeing etc. and be aware of your surroundings. Something as simple as another person walking by, dropping something, or anything that may cause alarm or even the horse to shift his weight could easily put your foot under his, and 1000 pounds can do a lot of damage. All our horses we train to lift their foot on their own by positioning yourself like you are going to pick up the hoof, but just say the word "foot" and up it comes, it sure saves my back on trim day. Yesterday Disco put all four up on the hoofjack, with no fuss, fronts are lifting on cue so far. I trim all our horses and only got kicked once by Starbuck, he was fussing and pulling away so I tried to pull back. Next thing I know I'm on my back 10 feet away and cant walk, with a football size bruise on my thigh. So yeah a little nervous about Disco's first trim! Hopefully I won't get a swift kick. -Dad
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