Teaching Young Horse to Pick up Hooves

[HannahSmiths]

Does anyone have any experience or ideas of how to teach a reluctant young horse to let me pick out his hooves? He came from a farm where I suspect he has been treated like their cows in the sense of not being handled much.
He has obviously seen the farrier as he had very neat hooves when I viewed him but doesn’t want to stand on three legs.
I’ve only had him two weeks and have made progress on other ground work but not this. He will pick up a hoof but then waves it about wildly so I can’t keep hold of it. If he wasn’t such a calm lovely quiet type I would be worried he was threatening to kick me.
Any tips or tricks welcome, he will now back up, turn, lead etc so is a quick learner.

Make sure you’re not trying to lift his feet too far off the ground - initially keep his toe practically touching the ground so he doesn’t unbalance himself and panic. Don’t attempt to pick his feet out straight away, just lift each hoof, hold it barely above the ground calmly and firmly and set it down as soon as he relaxes. Make sure you stand him up so he can balance easily before you attempt it. You can build up the time you lift the hoof steadily until you reach the point where you can pick his feet out/hold them at a comfortable height. I learnt it from a yearling prep yard many years ago and found it useful!

Thank you I will give that a go. It is an adjustment to not worry about picking hooves out as this is normally a part of my daily checks with my other horses.

Exactly this!! and dont rush it at all, you risk undoing the good work if you get over confident and lift too high too soon too :)

You can also build in a tiny tap to the fetlock or a click sound as you lift the hoof slightly and they quicky learn to rearrange their weight and lift for you...

Thank you will try this. I am finding the best method at the moment is to hold the fetlock with one hand and squeeze the chestnut with the other. He will lift one or two feet slightly but then gets bored. He is only young though so I don’t mind taking my time. He is making faster progress in other areas and is a lovely natured chap.

Every time he does hold it still, tell him good boy, hold it up! Then shove a treat in his mouth. They get the picture quite quickly when there is food involved. I used a lead rope to get him to lift it initially. Wrap it round just above the hoof then give gentle pressure until he lifts it. Means you don't get kicked in the face when he's waffing it about like a demented ballerina.