I recently bought a Belgian draft mare, 5 years old for my riding school. She has a super temperament, but is not well handled or schooled yet. She is calm and quiet enough for the kids to ride her and she is already doing some trail rides. But now summer's coming, i need to get a set of shoes on her, but she's not having any of it! She really pannics and performs when you try lifting her feet up - even to pick them out. Short of tranquilizing her to help the farrier out - I'm not sure how to te  more...

I recently bought a Belgian draft mare, 5 years old for my riding school. She has a super temperament, but is not well handled or schooled yet. She is calm and quiet enough for the kids to ride her and she is already doing some trail rides. But now summer's coming, i need to get a set of shoes on her, but she's not having any of it! She really pannics and performs when you try lifting her feet up - even to pick them out. Short of tranquilizing her to help the farrier out - I'm not sure how to teach her to lift her legs. unlike with the ponies, I can't "show her" - she is just way to big and strong and nearly kicked the farrier right across the stable yard.
H E L P !!??

Sounds like yor mare needs to go back to the basics. More ground work and learning respect for you. Any horse especially one that large should never be tried to manhandle, mutual respect and her knowing who the alpha is will solve that problem, but it is gonna take patience. I have seen miracles with natural horsemanship. I believe we learn as much from them as they do us. Good luck

I like your riding without reins and saddle.

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You will have to go back to the beginning and perform tasks that were irresponsibly left out by the folks who started her. No farrier should have to put up with an improperly started horse that won't yield her feet. Rather than prattle on about how to use your lead rope from the halter to pick up the feet in increments, I'd recommend that you pick up a copy of Bill Dorrance's book, True Horsemanship Through Feel. There are pictures which show how to do this. It will take a lot of time and pe  more...

You will have to go back to the beginning and perform tasks that were irresponsibly left out by the folks who started her. No farrier should have to put up with an improperly started horse that won't yield her feet. Rather than prattle on about how to use your lead rope from the halter to pick up the feet in increments, I'd recommend that you pick up a copy of Bill Dorrance's book, True Horsemanship Through Feel. There are pictures which show how to do this. It will take a lot of time and persistence to accomplish this at this age, but it is mandatory. If you are unfamiliar with the process of pressure/release you might want to find someone who is to take on this delicate job.

Alternatively, you can approach these foot problems by roping the foot and working pressure release while working the horse in the round pen, or when tied to a very solid post. Even better is to have an assistant release tension on a lead rope wrapped once around a fence post as the horse fights the captured foot. This reduces the shock to the horse when he's fighting both the unfamiliar rope on the foot and a sudden jerk on the halter. While very effective, these techniques should be performed by someone familiar with the process to prevent injury to both human and animal. Any time you combine a lariat with a horse you need experience!

But the point is that you MUST start back at the beginning and desensitize the horse to having the feet handled. No short cuts, or manhandling will be successful, especially with a horse of this size.