Training a young horse to pick up his feet

I’ve started training our yearling pony. He escaped from his field on the day he was born by sliding under the fence and now, it seems, he’s got a taste for it. After several phone calls from my neighbours to say he was out on the lane, I’m now bringing him into a stable during the day as he has to share our most secure field with another escapee. This gives me an opportunity to teach him some manners. The biting has virtually stopped and he’s getting used to having a rug pulled on and off, as well as being tied up and groomed.

The next step was to tackle his feet. The front ones were no problem to pick up. Nice, placid yearling, I thought, as I moved towards the hind only to be nearly booted out of the stable. Days followed with us doing circuits of the box without him letting me near his hindquarters. There is no point getting angry with him as a horse is programmed to use four legs to escape from predators and is often phased by having to stand on three until he learns. I ran my hands down his legs and brushed them gently day after day. After five days of hopping around the box, he gave up. On Saturday I was even able to pick out all four feet (not at once!) with a girl holding him in the field. My farrier will be very pleased.