My New Minis

[Abby P]

semi up to date

People definitely have a lot of different opinions on what this could mean. Of course it varies a bit how often each individual horse might ideally need trimming. I do Rowan's feet myself and I usually end up doing it about once a month, he lives on relatively soft ground and I take off a fair bit of toe at each trim. Especially if you notice a difference in how he stands and/or moves after a fresh trim, I would err on the side of more often than less often for this guy and really for any horse still growing/maturing. It will also maybe give you an indication of how much of his stance behind is nurture, and how much is his conformation.

 

[Taz]

Everything Abby P said. If you can work with his feet before he gets trimmed so it's easier and there's no reason for a farrier to get rough with him that would be great. I wouldn't worry about that if he was mine and he wasn't going to be doing a lot of driving. Most draft horses are somewhat cow hocked, it's supposed to make it easier for them to pull from what I've been told but I don't know if I believe it. Oh, now that you have 4, if you want to get a good rasp you could keep their feet in good shape yourself if you have the time and want to do it. It's much less expensive than a farrier and you can do touch ups every couple of weeks.

 

[elizabeth.conder]

Sometimes I will improve some with age and better nutrition. I would not think they will ever be 100% normal though. A good corrective farrier, not just any farrier, can REALLY help. Cowhockedeness is not usually a sentence to being lame, but it is definitely something to stay on top of so it doesn’t get worse. I bought a colt from a breeder that ended up being cowhocked. I did geld him partially due to that as well as several other conformational faults. He ended up getting locking stifles too. But with a bit of age, better nutritio, exercise, and a really good farrier, he did improve a lot.

 

[Cayuse]

I think once his feet are sorted out (and I imagine it will take a few trimming cycles and then keeping up with his trims on a schedule) age appropriate exercise will help a little. Also, he's young and not done growing IIRC? Sometimes things improve a little as they mature, you will still have the same basic conformation but sometimes as they develop it "smooths out" a little. It's good that you've taken photos, now you can document changes with each trimming.

 

[Laura&HerMinis]

Everything Abby P said. If you can work with his feet before he gets trimmed so it's easier and there's no reason for a farrier to get rough with him that would be great. I wouldn't worry about that if he was mine and he wasn't going to be doing a lot of driving. Most draft horses are somewhat cow hocked, it's supposed to make it easier for them to pull from what I've been told but I don't know if I believe it. Oh, now that you have 4, if you want to get a good rasp you could keep their feet in good shape yourself if you have the time and want to do it. It's much less expensive than a farrier and you can do touch ups every couple of weeks.

I actually do feet myself too, with my dad’s help. We’re not professionals but we can get it done good enough so it doesn’t hurt them, and we are learning how to do it better every time

 

[Taz]

I actually do feet myself too, with my dad’s help. We’re not professionals but we can get it done good enough so it doesn’t hurt them, and we are learning how to do it better every time

There are a few of us here who do our own feet and some who are even good enough to do others if you have any questions. I love doing it myself

 

[Laura&HerMinis]

There are a few of us here who do our own feet and some who are even good enough to do others if you have any questions. I love doing it myself

I like doing it myself too, super satisfying! I’m not good enough to do others lol, my gelding Baccardi can be a real brat to do, as literally every 2-5 snips he starts acting up, trying to “rear”, even though he has balance on all of his other three feet. Any tips to help him not be such a brat?

 

[Abby P]

This may have some helpful info:

https://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/threads/trouble-with-picking-up-back-feet.139823/#post-1645551
Specifically for the rearing thing - I think it's as simple as rewarding him for holding the foot up nicely, and not giving him a chance not to. So, if you know he'll go up after three or four snips, do two and put his foot down and give a reward of some kind (could be a scratch, a treat, or just giving his foot a break). Set him up to succeed and reward him when he does, and pretty fast you'll have tricked him right into being a good boy.

I'm working on this right now with Rowan with bringing his feet forward onto the hoof stand. He would immediately stand on the post and pick his other front foot off the ground. I've only worked a little bit on it so far but he seemed to get the idea pretty fast that I wanted him to rest his foot nicely up there and if he did, he got hay pellets. I don't give him treats too often so this is like a big jackpot for him - for things that are easier for him I use scratches, because I always have them, and he likes them a lot. Initially it's a little harder because you have to be super quick with the reward - he won't wait up there for very long at ALL and it's really key to getting your point across to ONLY reward when he's doing exactly what you want. If he's even just starting to be a punk then it's too late!

 

[Taz]

I give all of mine something to eat when I'm trimming. Hay works great. I think they like having something to do instead of standing there bored wanting to do something else. They only get it when their foot is up. I also keep their feet really low where it's comfortable for them. You could try clicker training if you want to spend the time getting that started, it helps you not have to be so fast pairing the reward to the behaviour.

 

[Dragon Hill]

With the right trimming, proper nutrition, and good physical conditioning, you will be amazed how different Arrow will look a year from now.