Post by AnnB (NE) on Jun 12, 2009 13:20:14 GMT -5
The farrier was here today -- and if anyone in Southeastern Nebraska needs a good farrier, John Hatfield is your man! Reasonably priced too, only charged $48.
Mr Hatfield worked wonders with Georgia! and with Gracie!
Neither one was cooperative, but by the time he got to that last hoof, each was picking up and holding still for him!
Gracie was a nasty little witch! I never expected that reaction out of her. Mr Hatfield stayed calm, crosstied to the back of the stock trailer, hobbled her, and went on with his business and she settled right down.
With Georgia though, she has a reputation for being so unruly with farriers that he did her just standing out in the driveway on a lead. I was real surprised that he didn't want her tied.
He'd pick her foot up and I was instructed to keep her head at his hip, so that she was forced to circle around him. She danced a LOT when he did her near-side, but when he started on her off-side, she put her nose by his hip and stood like a trooper! Even picking up when he told her to.
I was real proud of her!
Mr Hatfield said he believes in training them, not tranking them. He feels that training the horse makes it easier on himself in the long run. He said that he thought that these 2 mares had definitely been properly trained at one point, they knew what they were supposed to do, just didn't want to do it and were used to being handled by farriers that instead of working past the issues, would rather take the "easy" way. In his opinion, tranking the horse may make it easy that one time, but makes things worse in the long run.
These girls just needed to be reminded that it really isn't any big deal. And if you don't cooperate with Mr Hatfield, you dance around on 3 legs while he stays calm, cool, and collected -- and after you're tired of dancing you still get the hoof worked on.
Ann B
Mr Hatfield worked wonders with Georgia! and with Gracie!
Neither one was cooperative, but by the time he got to that last hoof, each was picking up and holding still for him!
Gracie was a nasty little witch! I never expected that reaction out of her. Mr Hatfield stayed calm, crosstied to the back of the stock trailer, hobbled her, and went on with his business and she settled right down.
With Georgia though, she has a reputation for being so unruly with farriers that he did her just standing out in the driveway on a lead. I was real surprised that he didn't want her tied.
He'd pick her foot up and I was instructed to keep her head at his hip, so that she was forced to circle around him. She danced a LOT when he did her near-side, but when he started on her off-side, she put her nose by his hip and stood like a trooper! Even picking up when he told her to.
I was real proud of her!
Mr Hatfield said he believes in training them, not tranking them. He feels that training the horse makes it easier on himself in the long run. He said that he thought that these 2 mares had definitely been properly trained at one point, they knew what they were supposed to do, just didn't want to do it and were used to being handled by farriers that instead of working past the issues, would rather take the "easy" way. In his opinion, tranking the horse may make it easy that one time, but makes things worse in the long run.
These girls just needed to be reminded that it really isn't any big deal. And if you don't cooperate with Mr Hatfield, you dance around on 3 legs while he stays calm, cool, and collected -- and after you're tired of dancing you still get the hoof worked on.
Ann B
