Helen Hansen

Hold Your Horse Safely For Your Farrier

How many of us have old-reliable that we tie to the tree, or can drop the line to the ground in order to groom, tack, and pick out feet? Most horse people can tell you of one they have or have had. However, a lot of horse people can’t. Some horses won’t stand tied for whatever reason.
     Some horses will stand quietly in crossties, and that’s all right, if, you have enough room to get out of his way if he spooks. Put some horses in the cross ties and they will try to commit suicide. I bet you’ve seen a few of those, if you haven’t its not a pretty sight. And it’s downright dangerous to be around.

What I want to address here is how to hold your horse safely for your farrier, in a way that keeps you safe, your farrier safe, and your horse safe.                                                  [back to top]

The Handler's Job
When you were taught to lead a horse for the first time you were taught to lead from the shoulder, right? The same principle applies. At the shoulder you have control of the horse, forwards, backwards, and side to side through the lead line. Most importantly, it is your safety zone. Imagine a 180-degree semi-circle in front of your horse, from shoulder to shoulder this is the danger zone. The same is true if you draw an imaginary semi-circle from shoulder to shoulder around the hindquarters. At the horses shoulder he cannot strike you with a front foot, bite you, or kick you without you being in position to avoid injury or discipline him for unruly actions.
     As a farrier it is necessary to work in these areas in order to trim or shoe the horse. It is your job as the horse handler to control and discipline your horse for the farrier. It is not the responsibility of the farrier to discipline your horse. Most of the time when a farrier must intervene to discipline a horse. it is out of survival. Shoeing horses is dangerous and he or she who looks out for themselves will survive. The handler obviously has no control over the situation when the horse they are holding is dragging them about or running them over. They are not looking out for the health and well being of their farrier. The handler is too busy trying to stay out of the horses' way. And, can you imagine what is happening to the farrier, while the horse is having his way with his handler? It often leaves the farrier no choice but to intervene in order to survive. Some handlers are O.K. with this, others aren’t. If this sounds like you then pay attention. Because the most important person involved in shoeing your horse is YOU!
     The person holding the lead is the person in control. It is the responsibility of the handler to keep the farrier, themselves, and lastly the horse safe. If a farrier gets hurt they’re out of work. Ain’t no such thing as workmen’s comp for a majority of us. So in a nutshell, POSITION is everything. If you get out of position, you or the farrier will get hurt.                                 [back to top]

The Front Feet
Shoeing a horse requires teamwork. Your position as the handler is at the shoulder; this is where we will work. When I am working on the front feet I like for the handler to position themselves on the opposite shoulder of the foot I am working on for several reasons.

• First, this leaves the handler in a position of control where the chance of getting hurt is minimal.
• Second, this allows the handler to keep the horses mouth off of the farriers behind, back, neck and head area, through the use of the lead line.
• Third, it enables the handler to be in position to be able to pull the horse's head toward them, which pulls the horses body off of and away from the farrier if the horse acts up.
• Fourth, and my personal favorite, is it allows the handler to help me shoe the horse. Yes, I said help. After all, shoeing horses is a team effort.                                            [back to top]

     This is why you need to stand at the opposite shoulder when working on the front feet. If, you are standing on the same side as the farrier and the horse freaks out, the horse is inadvertently pulled into and onto the farrier and the handler. This creates a tangled mass of farrier, handler, toolbox, and horse. Nearly always someone gets hurt, and oftentimes as not it’s not the horse. So you can see that proper use of position can make or break a safe shoeing experience. And that standing on the same side of the horse when the farrier is working on a front foot is not a good idea.
     Standing at the shoulder position the handler has access to the horse, through the use of the lead and their hands and voice, to calm and distract the horse from getting any ideas that may disrupt the shoeing process. They can pet and stroke the neck and shoulder if the horse is standing nicely, not slap. Never slap, this aggravates a horse, and in turn will aggravate your farrier. If the horse is not standing nicely don’t reward bad behavior by petting him. You will only confuse the horse.
     At the same time you are holding the line, stroking horse’s neck, and whispering sweet nothings into his ear, you are also suppose to be paying attention to what body language signals the horse is sending you. What are his ears doing? Is his head up or down? What do his eyes look like? Is he alert? Does he look like he is going to explode? Is he falling asleep? Is he wringing his tail, or just switching flies? Is he shifting his body weight around? Is he shaking uncontrollably? Did a muscle go into spasm? Is he trying to nuzzle the farriers behind, or just take a chunk out with his teeth? It is irrelevant that the farrier can feel most of this through the foot he or she is holding. We are not in position to do much to control the horses actions when we have a foot between our knees. However, you, the handler, can, and it is your job as the person in control to do so, for the safety and well being of everyone involved in the shoeing process!
     You the handler need to scan the over all picture about every 3-5 seconds. I’m being somewhat generous here, because some horses won’t give you 5 seconds. That’s a tall order, but it’s very important, he who is in control is supposed to know what is going on. And the only way to know what is going on is to scan the overall picture, and to do it often. So you can see that if you aren’t paying attention, or are smoking and joking with your buds, a safe shoeing experience can deteriorate very quickly.                             [back to top]
     When a horse leans on me in the front, I usually will ask the handler to tip the horses nose toward them, or away from me. This will usually force the horse to stand more on the front foot that is on the ground, not lay on the foot that I am holding up. Now the horses nose does not need to touch his shoulder, just tip it enough so that if you were riding him you could see the inside of his eye. Some horses may need to be tipped more.
     Okay, now let’s say your horse stood well for the trimming and shoe fitting. Everybody's paying attention to what their suppose to be doing, but, the horse starts to become upset as we start the nailing process. This is the absolute most dangerous time for the horse to act up. And it can make a farrier very nervous. The reason is "the nails." "What goes in, must come out," applies here. From the time that the nail comes out of the hoof and is clinched over, it is extremely dangerous. A live nail can cut through muscle and tendons like a hot knife through butter! Imagine if you would an inch or so of sharpened steel shredding your jeans or shirt or piercing your legs or arms, not having any control from which direction it comes or what damage it may do. And that’s just one nail, now imagine eight! It would be like Freddie Kruger all over again.             [back to top]
     Not to mention when a horse acts up it makes it real easy for the farrier to quick the horse, even though we try not to. When a horse is standing quietly the experienced farmer can usually tell if they are close to the quick, by the sound of the nail when the hammer hits it, by the way the nail feels when struck by the hammer, and lastly by the horses body language. It is difficult to discern this if the horse is jumping about during the entire process. So you can see it is very important for your horse to behave, it is your job as the handler to see that he does.
     If nails are sticking out of his foot and the horse decides to act up, your only defense is to get away- POSITION is everything! This is what the handler must watch out for, because he may have to pull the horse off of the farrier in an instant, and at the same time keep himself and the horse from getting hurt. Don’t set yourself up to be pinned against a wall or fence, there must be somewhere for you and the horse to go if the horse is being unruly. The handler is the most important part of the shoeing team. So if the handler is standing in front of the horse instead of at his shoulder, he is in a position to get seriously hurt, and not in a position to control the situation and keep everyone safe. Some people complain when farriers charge more when a horse acts up when being shod. The farrier is taking a chance that he or she might be seriously injured. Now you know why, shoeing a horse is dangerous!
     Let’s say the horse stood for the shoeing but, as I go to finish and rasp down the clinches before I clinch them over, she decides to rock or climb on the foot stand. The handler needs to be paying attention here too. Pushing the horses nose backward toward his chest will keep him from throwing his weight forward, tipping his nose toward the handler will put weight on the foot he is supposed to be standing on anyway. Some horses will paw the stand. A horse can take your kneecap out very quickly so it behooves everyone to be in proper position, at the shoulder. Horses usually get upset when they knock a foot stand or tool box over, if you are standing in front of the horse someone is bound to get hurt.               [back to top]

The Back Feet
When working on the back feet I prefer that the handler stand on the same side that I am working on. I know with some of these short-coupled horses that it doesn’t seem like there is much room to work with, but there is enough to be safe.
     On the same side of the horse, if the horse tries to kick, the handler can tip the horses nose toward himself and the farrier, which in turn swings the hind quarters away and greatly reduces the chance that the farrier might get kicked. So you can see that if the handler were standing on the opposite side of the horse holding the lead, it would in effect swing the horses rump into the farrier knocking him off balance, or down for that matter putting the farrier in kicking range of those hind feet. This is how most farriers get hurt and toolboxes get knocked over. If the handler got lax and happens to be standing in front of the horse when this occurs, he will have no control of where the hind quarters go, and most likely get run over if the horse spooks.
     While the handler stands on the same side of the horse when I am working on a hind foot, and the horse decides to lean on me, it allows them to tip the horses nose toward themselves and the farrier, redistributing the weight to the opposite hind foot on the ground. This helps the horse balance better and saves your farriers back from a lot of strain. There is more strain placed on the farrier's back when doing the hind feet than the front.[back to top]

A Few Tips
You know your horse better than any one. No one, not anyone knows your horse better than you do. Tell your farrier exactly what you expect from him or her. Tell them what quirks if any that your horse may have. If your horse is ticklish in the flank, believe me it is something they want to know. It can save someone from getting kicked unexpectedly. Tell them what is acceptable to you concerning any problems that may crop up, if any. Ask them what their standard procedure is for handling problem horses "before" a foot is picked up. Don’t be talked into something that you don’t like, use your gut instinct. If it doesn’t feel right to you it probably isn’t. If you think your horse is too stressed to shoe, reschedule your appointment. It may cost you a fee, but it’s better than to risk injury to yourself, your farrier, or your horse. Don’t get so absorbed into what the farrier is doing that you forget your position. Most farriers are only too happy to take a moment to explain any questions that you may have, and show you what they are doing and why. And last but not least, talk to your veterinarian about the use of tranquilizers if your horse is a problem to shoe. I’m a firm believer in, "better shoeing through the use of modern pharmaceuticals."
     If you can make the shoeing experience safe it will not only benefit your horse, but your farrier, and yourself as well. As a farrier I am always looking for a better way to do things, it makes my job easier and yours too! And remember to stand at the shoulder so you don’t get hurt. This article was written for the average gentle horse, when dealing with an unruly horse standing at the shoulder should keep you from getting hurt. However it will not instill manners if your horse has none.

 Submitted by Helen J. Hansen. Professional farrier and owner of The Hoof Faerie, your Crystal Coast connection for quality farrier service. 1982 Graduate Kentucky Horseshoeing School. Any questions or suggestions will be duly noted.                     [back to top]         

Editor's Note: Helen offered to write this article while trimming my horse's feet. The fact my 16+hand,1200lb,  3 year old was not on his best behavior I'm sure had nothing to do with this article. I guess I better practice before she comes again.