Picking up Feet

For many, teaching a horse to pick up his feet can be a nerve wracking experience. You have to get close enough to touch their feet and struggle to get them to pick them up, but at the same time, you are concerned about them kicking you. You are nervous, which in turn makes them nervous, which in turn makes them even more likely to kick out.

Being the craven coward that I am, I use a cane with a hook at the end to start this process. It keeps me out of reach of the kicking horse, if he should kick, it keeps me calm, and if the horse should kick at the cane, I wont care. It is a win win situation for all and can be accomplished in a few minutes a day. Generally, I would expect a horse to become very calm and easy going about getting his feet picked up in about 4 or 5 days, if you apply this exercise every day for about 10 to 15 minutes.