Training horses for the farrier and the use of stocks.

The motto I use when training horses is: If you wouldn't want it done to you, don't do it to your horse. 

The use of stocks on the heavy horse is something I feel very passionate about. When you have a heavy horse you should be, and most probably are, prepared for the fact that they are 'heavy' and that they need training to behave, in many ways and most of the time, better than a normal sized horse. Therefore you must train your horse better and train harder for compliance and assistance and not skip this important education and instead tie your horse to a structure so it cannot move or react to pain or fear. The reasons people do this usually get put down as these 5 points - 'its safer for the horse / farrier', 'its nicer for the horse', 'its been done for years', 'it reduces the number of people who need to be present' or that 'the horse couldn't hold its leg up for long enough otherwise'. These statements are entirely rubbish. Using stocks is both cowardly and bad practice and if any farrier ever said to me that he would not do my horse unless he was in stocks I would send him away and classify him as a bad farrier who I would not trust at all with any of my horses welfare. If an owner feels he must use stocks, they have not trained / handled the horse enough, have not dealt with a problem which is causing the horse to have issues or they do not know their horses as well as they should and they should consider to themselves if heavy horse owning is right for them if they are not willing to put in the time or effort needed for heavy horse ownership.

Horses, all horses, not just heavy horses, work with you in a relationship that is based on trust. By stopping a horse from reacting naturally to its surroundings, or the actions of others you are breaking that trust by saying to your horse that you do not trust him and you are also saying that the horse shouldn't trust you because you are by your actions saying that when you want to do something with your horse you will not work together but instead you will force him with might to do what you want even if its frightening or painful. You will only find in the long run that those horses which do not back down and give in and those that suffer through your actions will become more difficult to work with in other areas of training and those with a lot of spirit will not trust you or work with you and will become violent or dangerous. You are in the long run doing your horse a dis-service and he will end up as dog meat further in the future.

It is true that without a hoof there is no horse so the need to train a horse for the farrier/ trimmer is the most important thing you will do for your horse. It as important as the selection of your farrier / trimmer. Not all farriers / trimmers are equal in my mind, even if they all have the same qualifications you must always have your horses best interests at heart and look at the work carried out objectively. It is important to have a farrier / trimmer who shows respect to your horse at all times, constant hitting or jabbing in the ribs will only start a reluctance for your horse to stand well and show respect for the farrier rather than encourage good behavior. It is far easier to stop a problem before it starts than to fix one, this is a heavy horse, if he doesn't wish to lift a leg in fear of being jabbed or smacked, he simply wont!

All training is, in the end, is repetition and consistency. Repetition of the same things till they become second nature and consistency so your horse knows his boundaries and whats good and whats not.  Good training of the heavy horse starts at a very young age with regular hoof lifting, getting the horse used to having his legs touched, bathed, picking out and trimming every 6 - 8 weeks. I go 8 weeks because my horses hooves are strong but they do grow relatively fast and after 8 weeks there is always 1 inch plus to be trimmed. I try to always be regular and only stray by a couple of weeks if it is necessary that I must. If I go up to 12 weeks, as I did earlier in the year due to not being paid on time, my horses hooves start to have issues. Cracks form, bars grow and pockets of infected tissue which are difficult to pick out begins to fester which can lead to problems such as abscesses and infections all of which cause expense and can take a long time to recover from. During this training you will need to train your young horse to the halter and to stand tied to a safe tie point with a safety release (a bailing twine circle loop or safety release purchased from a shop). It is important that the young horse enjoys all of your training so the use of 'good girl / boy', pats and encouragement can never be underestimated. Clicker training works for some people but I find telling horses they are 'good' with lots of over the top praise is all I need, I haven't found a horse yet that doesn't love it and that doesn't train positively from it!

Not all of us are lucky enough to have a horse from young or before they have been failed. Most of my horses have been 1 year plus and some have been dangerous to handle even at this young age. When you look at most violent or dangerous horses it comes from fear, illness or they are trying to protect themselves. To get past this fear you must let your horse know that they can trust you and that you have their best interests, in return they will give you their full trust. You will not gain a horses trust through the use of stocks, even as a temporary method but persistence in training can change what was once somebodies failure into an extraordinary achievement and it is so worth the effort to train your horse well. To explain some ways I train a heavy horse which has not been taught to lift the hoof or has had some issues I will use the example of one of my own Shires Solly with some background information.

I must say here that I take on a lot of heavy horses with issues and sometimes this can be dangerous and I am always willing to take responsibility for my own actions when dealing with my horses, if you are unsure in your ability to train you should employ a professional to work with your horse. You should always keep yourself safe, wear protective clothing eg hard hat and get to know your horse slowly first so you know how far you can go, his reactions / signals, likes and dislikes. Do not push the limit of your safety for quick results, slow is better for both horse and owner anyway, its a journey you are taking together.

Solly was purchased by my father at a dispersal sale several years ago as a yearling. His previous owner was reasonably honest to my father and said that he had some (understatement) issues due to being put in stocks after being taken from off the field, wild and un-handled, to be shod ready for sale. Unfortunately for Solly the shock of this without any prior training lead to him having severe colic and as the seller said he 'didn't think he would make it but somehow he pulled through'. This lead to him, 2 months later, in a sale unable to be touched let alone handled and a danger to himself and others, it was clear he would most likely end up as meat. Horses like Solly do not get given a second chance and once a fear has been put upon a horse especially a heavy horse they have very few chances at having a life even though it wasn't his fault he ended up this way. My father purchased him and the next day he was eventually dumped by our transporter 40 miles from our house due to his behavior in the lorry. He was fearful and exhausted and this was our first meeting in the middle of a car park, just me and him in a halter made from blue nylon twisted rope that had cut into his face and was bleeding, he was terrified of having any part of him touched and he just darted here and there but luckily he had no real strength at that time. I thought at this point I would most likely get him trained to have his shoes removed within a couple of months. I was wrong. I put in daily bouts of training, short bursts around and as part of his routine and some longer sessions when I felt he could take it, and after a month I could put on a halter, tie him up and groom his head and neck and lead him reasonably well although sometimes he would bolt, but his back end was impossible, he still had his auction sticker on his behind and I couldn't get near to remove it. I was doing daily leg rubbing with 'Yorick', A stuffed rubber glove, stuck on a 6 ft curtain pole. This is a wonderful tool for the nervous / dangerous horse. Allows persistant touch with genuine feel without danger to you or the horse, horses do however kick out at 'Yorick' and you should be prepared for your implement to go flying. It teaches a horse that no matter what he does the hand will not go away so he may as well get used to the feeling of being handled. Not only is this good for the legs but it is also good for back and rear end, under the tail, all over. Make sure its fun, lots of praise and encouragement.
After 2 months I was still no nearer to getting Solly farrier ready. At this point I called the vet to assist because the shoes needed to be removed for his health, they were awful shoes on top of everything else, weighted to make his confirmation better and he just tripped over all the time flat on his face, his skinny little legs couldn't even lift them. He had awful digestion, worms and constant diarrhea and could not put on any weight so the effort was making him exhausted. They really had to go. My vet who is very used to our family and that we have animals with issues sedated Solly first to see if that would calm him enough to allow shoe removal and a trim. Our farrier did manage his fronts like this and Solly was very well behaved but even with double sedation it was not enough to make Solly calm enough for the farrier to even get near his back hooves. Solly was put under full anesthetic in the field to have the rear shoes removed and a trim. This way Solly didn't get damaged by the efforts of trying to pick up his hooves and when he came round he was drowsy but none the wiser and our training didn't get affected in any way so it didn't leave any trace in the long run. He was however able to walk better once fully awake, his hooves seemed a lot lighter and he seemed confused by how much less effort he needed.
For the next 4 months I continued to use 'Yorick' and it allowed me to get closer and closer. After seeing Solly when he was under sedation our farrier would not go near him again even though he was improving, which we accepted, there is no point in trying to make a farrier do a horse he doesn't want to do, and for Solly we got a trimmer who was willing to spend time and maybe just do one hoof on a day but take her time and be respectful and kind to him. It took 9 months before we could trim all 4 hooves in one day properly and even then this took 5 hours. It was a New years day and it was the greatest way to start the year - I cried tears of joy! Within a couple of months from that he was trimmed every 8 weeks just like the others and taking the same amount of time (30 - 45 mins) as the others on the yard but still by his trimmer. We have changed trimmers since (its been 4 years) and although Solly still hates most men we now have a trimmer who is male and Solly adores him and he does a great job on his hooves and now I don't even have to stay in the stable, I can go and make tea or anything. I will never get Solly shod, I don't think its worth it, his hooves are so good without it and its not worth taking the chance of any fears it could restart. The only issues we have now are that I can't let Sollys tail grow below the hock or have long in the rear rugs, if they touche his back legs he kicks out at nothing all day, people even knock on the door to say they think he has colic and he just hates it so his tail is kept short!

Here are a few of the tricks we used for him to get to this point during those months before he could be trimmed regularly.

• Holding the head collar by the cheek piece gently is like holding a childs hand to a horse. It gives reassurance and will calm a scared horse. It also builds trust. You want your horse to be calmed by your presence.
• Using thick soft lead ropes looped under the leg at the knee or gently around the fetlock to lift a front or back hooves is very helpful. Lifting and counting to 5 and then putting the leg down. You can slowly increase the time you hold it up for and get closer and closer to the hoof. Eventually you can pat the hoof all over and then eventually hold the hoof. Remember lots of praise. Don't be surprised by any shaking or an amazing will to keep that leg down stuck to the floor. Give a good distance, keep yourself safe, be prepared to drop the lead rope and move away.
• Solly would sweat and foam when very frightened and I didn't like to go to far when he got into this state. Short sessions are good as well as long sessions, don't push it too far.
• Always end on a high note. A good point is something your horse will remember ending on.
• Grooming the horses legs as far as you can go, combing the feathers, that is also training!
• Don't just do leg training when being tied up, they will learn to not want to be tied, mixing with grooming or plaiting etc calms nerves.
• Treats are good in the right place. As a super reward for really good behavior it isn't a sin. When Solly picked all his hooves up on the same day he got a Crunchie bar (yes I know its a chocolate bar but I've fed them to my horses since I can remember without any issues and they love them! Pineapple is also a great treat in my horses eyes for super behavior), he really felt it was worth doing if he got something great for trusting me!
• Solly hated to see any tools, or any other person in the stable, out of the family circle, when doing his hooves so standing between him and the trimmer was a good plan.
• Feeling a hoof pick was a worry to him, if he heard metal noises or felt it, he would worry so the radio being on was always helpful. Getting him used to just tapping all over the pad of the hoof with the hoof pick (after patting all over with my hand) before placing down the hoof and then praise really helped and eventually I managed to actually pick out the hoof. Seems like a long way round but it was worth it.
• Praise when he does it right not just praise everything or you will be giving mixed messages, you must be consistent, if you don't know what you want, how can he know? For example, did he put that foot down or did he snatch it away you don't want to praise snatching. Be clear.
• Never hit your horse, jab them in the ribs or shout, you will take your training backwards. I train so all I have to say is their name in a low gruff voice and he knows that means that hes not being helpful.
• When your horse is eating his hay net whilst you are working with his feet you are getting somewhere. Encourage eating, if they have the time to eat they are feeling happier!
• Solly hated me to act fearful, rubbing down his back towards his back legs in his mind gave anticipation of something horrible coming and that I was worried about getting to what I was going to do. He prefers for me to be to the point and just tap the side of his leg with the back of my hand saying 'lift'. This may just be Solly but I think sometimes confidence is important to a horse, if you're confidant he doesn't feel he has anything to fear - Please use common sense though if you have something to fear don't be stupid and go straight in, an accident will not help either of you with training in the long run.
• Saying lift as you lift will eventually lead to your horse lifting his hoof by voice command this is always helpful and stops any feather pulling being needed by anyone at any time.
• During the time when your horse will not lift his legs for the trimmer, nappies soaked in disinfectant will keep your horses hooves healthy as will walking over a soaked sponge mat. Its not ideal but it keeps infections at bay and luckily during this time we only had one time when a large chunk of wall detached and it bled badly. Our trimmer was able to cut this away from the floor and we sprayed it and luckily we had no infection.

Most importantly in the end don't be afraid to change your timeline things don't always happen in the amount of time you want them too and when training your horse this is definitely something you have to be flexible with. Some days things don't go to plan, one day you may feel like you've gone backwards but never mind, get back on track tomorrow, you are still a lot closer to your goal than those who don't bother!

Solly and his trimmer earlier this month.