One of the most important parts of ensuring long term health for horses is proper hoof care. A farrier (someone who shoes horses) is an essential component of that. We do not shoe our horses as they live in a pasture instead of spending time on pavement or other hard surfaces. We do need to have their hooves trimmed on a regular basis. If a horse's hooves grow too long there are many problems that can occur. At 9 weeks of age, Alexios had his first encounter with our farrier, Justin. He is truly wonderful, very patient and gentle with our horses. He was pleased to be able to start with Alexios at such an early age as this will make things much easier as he grows older and larger.
At first Alexios seemed curious. He'd just watched Anastacia and Poesia have their hooves trimmed. Before approaching him, Justin said to Alexios "This is a cap. I always wear a cap so get used to it. Also, these are chaps. I will always be wearing chaps, so you better get used to them as well."
The closer Justin got the more uncertain Alexios became and he started to back away.
He backed all the way into the shed until finally he stopped and allowed Justin to give him some scratches on his neck.
Justin carefully ran his hand down Alexios' leg. This is something we've done with him many times so he was used to the sensation.
He picked up Alexios' hoof...
and held it in the position it would be in every time his hooves are cleaned out or trimmed.
He picked a little dirt out of the hoof.
Then gently placed it back on the ground. A horse should never be allowed to pull it's hoof away when it is being worked upon and should allow it to be held all the way back down to the ground.
Justin picked his hoof up again...
and that's when the fun started. Alexios decided that he didn't feel he needed to stand for this any longer and started to fight Justin. This is the last photo I have of the experience as I needed to put the camera down and help hold Alexios in place.
On this first visit, Alexios had both of his front hooves picked up, cleaned out and filed. He is not ready to be trimmed yet but hopefully by that time he will be comfortable with the experience and stand quietly. Yes, I am always an optimist.
Justin was very pleased with how things went for Alexios' first experience with a farrier. All the hours we spent chasing him and getting him used to being touched seem to be paying off.
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