Sunday July 1 2012
Two months old and Owhee Super Luna had her first trim.
Any two people can outmuscle a 2-month foal and have their way with her - grab her, force her into a corner and overpower her into standing still and holding her feet up.
Or, you can make it easy for her to stand still and willingly have her feet picked up, held, and worked on.
You won't find any better shoers/trimmers with more patience than Linda and Mike of Perfect Balance.
They have the knowledge, the skill, and the timing to work with pretty much any equid that needs foot work.
Luna's been wearing a halter and dragging a lead rope for a few hours almost daily for the last month, and we've picked up her feet, though we haven't been holding them up for any length of time.
Today was Luna's first time to stand there like a big girl, hold her feet up, and have them trimmed. With Linda and Mike working together, and with only a little initial resistance from Luna, it went smoothly and quickly.
Luna gets to know Linda (you can see Luna wasn't too worried)
Luna gets to know Mike
At first Luna had a few objections for holding her foot up longer than she wanted to
But eventually, and with little objection, she allowed it to be held for the work to be done, with no fear
She even let her front feet be set on the stand
The back legs were really no big deal either
Afterwards, she didn't even run to mama to nurse… instead she stood there for 5 minutes while I scratched her, all over
Just like with children, early experiences in a foal's life are so important. Your farriers' patience will pay off big time. What a cute, sweet little filly.
ReplyDeleteOMG, what a cutie pie!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAwesome :)
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love the scratchy face pictures! So nice to see a gentle trim introduction to a youngster!
ReplyDeleteKim & Mystery The Morab
That is adorable. With good handling like that now, Luna is going to grow up with perfect manners. To me that is more valuable than almost anything.
ReplyDeleteWhat a good little girl she was for her first big horse manicure. *S*
My mare is due to foal any time, can't wait to have a baby to play with.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, she is precious!!
ReplyDeleteAnd what a good girl for the hoof trimming.
This is how it should be done.
ReplyDeleteLuna is so beautiful! And what a good girl! I'm glad you have people who know that trust goes a long way with animals. Wonderful photos!
ReplyDeleteBeen there. Love that.
ReplyDelete