"The habit she has is leaning very heavily on the farrier/vet/me when she needs her feet seeing to. She's quite happy to pick them up but then feels she has to Lean her whole weight on the one foot being held."
This horse problem is surprisingly easy to fix. In a nutshell it goes like this. Don't give the horse anything to lean on. No butt, no elbow, no shoulder, no thigh, no part of your body. Don't be standing so close that you're in constant contact. By the same token, don't stand so far away that it's an unnatural stretch for your horse either. This should take care of most attempts to lean.
And if the horse still tries anyway? Let her lean a bit and a bit more and hold her weight like you're going to be there as her fourth leg convenience (don't put your back out doing this). And then bam! Drop her hoof. A few goes of this and she'll get the idea that if she wants to stay standing (and she does), she better hold herself up on 3 legs.
Photo by Duanekeys
This horse problem is surprisingly easy to fix. In a nutshell it goes like this. Don't give the horse anything to lean on. No butt, no elbow, no shoulder, no thigh, no part of your body. Don't be standing so close that you're in constant contact. By the same token, don't stand so far away that it's an unnatural stretch for your horse either. This should take care of most attempts to lean.
And if the horse still tries anyway? Let her lean a bit and a bit more and hold her weight like you're going to be there as her fourth leg convenience (don't put your back out doing this). And then bam! Drop her hoof. A few goes of this and she'll get the idea that if she wants to stay standing (and she does), she better hold herself up on 3 legs.
Photo by Duanekeys
