Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2007 9:43:35 GMT 1
It sounds like some of the poor souls have got some issues with leg handling due to having previously been tethered. And who can blame them!
I was talking to my friend Jo about scars the other day. She's got scars on her arm from having it pinned following a bad break last year. I've got a big scar on my tummy from a major op about three years ago. We were saying how, even after time, these scars can still sometimes be painful. I'd say, then, the first thing with scarred legs is to work on the assumption that there may well be current pain as well as remembered pain.
There is also, of course, the added mental trauma of having had that leg trapped. For a flight animal, it must be one of the worst things that can happen.
So, if you think about it, by trying to pick up a hind leg that's previously been tethered, we're probably going to that horse's most vulnerable spot. The general principles of pressure and release, and leg handling, apply but I'd say with added caution. More than otherwise, I think you'll need to thoroughly desensitise that leg to being touched until the horse completely accepts that human touch causes no pain. I would then, again more than otherwise, try and work with a leader to have the horse pick up its leg for you, rather than you lift it, so making it the horse's choice to give you his leg. And finally, be aware of how you are holding his leg. Avoid the scar site if you can, just in case it does still hurt.
I appreciate that feet may need trimming and in some cases they may be urgent. However, if you can spend the time to get the horse completely happy first, it will mean that you avoid the association between farriers/EPs and fear in the future.
I was talking to my friend Jo about scars the other day. She's got scars on her arm from having it pinned following a bad break last year. I've got a big scar on my tummy from a major op about three years ago. We were saying how, even after time, these scars can still sometimes be painful. I'd say, then, the first thing with scarred legs is to work on the assumption that there may well be current pain as well as remembered pain.
There is also, of course, the added mental trauma of having had that leg trapped. For a flight animal, it must be one of the worst things that can happen.
So, if you think about it, by trying to pick up a hind leg that's previously been tethered, we're probably going to that horse's most vulnerable spot. The general principles of pressure and release, and leg handling, apply but I'd say with added caution. More than otherwise, I think you'll need to thoroughly desensitise that leg to being touched until the horse completely accepts that human touch causes no pain. I would then, again more than otherwise, try and work with a leader to have the horse pick up its leg for you, rather than you lift it, so making it the horse's choice to give you his leg. And finally, be aware of how you are holding his leg. Avoid the scar site if you can, just in case it does still hurt.
I appreciate that feet may need trimming and in some cases they may be urgent. However, if you can spend the time to get the horse completely happy first, it will mean that you avoid the association between farriers/EPs and fear in the future.