Training to hold up feet

Question
I have a 3.5 year old Morgan/Arabian gelding who is barefoot and untrained to pick up his feet.  I am wondering if you have any tricks to offer to help me train him to lift and hold his feet for trimming.  I have had him for one month and have been unable to get him to keep his front feet up for me, he will pick them up, then start pawing forward to get me to release hold.  I make sure that I am close to him and not holding his leg at an unnatural angle, I am also very gentle and patient with him.  I plan to take my time training him to ensure we get things right.  I have not even attempted lifting his back legs at all (we are still getting to know one another and I do not want to lose his trust... or get a hoof print on my face!!)

Any advise on how to get him to hold his feet up??

Answer
Hi Christena!  That's a very good question and one with which you're not alone.

I find Positive Reinforcement to be an excellent way to teach the horse to hold up its hooves for cleaning and trimming. It's very simple and easy and I even implement it with many of my first time clients!  You don't need anything except your timing and a few treats such as pieces of grain or cheerios or alfalfa pellets ... anything tiny that can be given just a couple at a time and easily kept in your pocket.

First you want to teach your horse your "BRIDGE" sound ... I find a high-pitched, quick "Good!" to work well. Simply begin to teach him by saying "Good!" and handing him a couple of pieces of grain or a Cheerio or two. Repeat several times. That's all it takes for him to begin to associate your bridge word (or, if you can tongue click you can use that instead) with the treat. Once you see that the "lights have gone on" and he understands you can begin, now, to teach him to lift his own hoof and hold it. Ask him to lift his hoof and wait for his "try" ... "click" him (Good! or tongue click) at the INSTANT he is lifting up his hoof. Not before he lifts it or when he's slamming it back down but at the very instant he's lifting it. Your timing has got to be precise. Reward him with a cheerio or two. Ask again and again, "click"/treat. Again, this will only take a few times for him to associate the act of lifting his hoof with the "click" and know that there's the reward (treat) coming. No this doesn't cause nipping or biting ... he may try to "mug" you but all you do is ignore that and keep focused on the lifting of the hoof. He'll quickly learn that he must "earn" his click/treat.

Once he's repeatedly lifting his hoof for you now you can use what's called an "intermediate bridge" meaning you will hold his hoof and tell him, "Hold it! Hold it! Hold it!" and when he's relaxed in your hand with his hoof, "Good!" ... and treat. Be sure you don't release his hoof, if you can help it, until he's relaxed and "given" you his hoof. Start with the holding for just a few seconds. Don't ask or expect too much all at once. Little bits at a time. You'll find that in a very short time, he'll be offering you his hoof before you even bend down to pick it up ...merely point at the hoof you want and tell him "Up!" or whatever cue word you use. He'll be picking it up and holding for you.

Once he's learned this really well and he's giving you 100% compliance then you can withdraw the click/treat and only use it sporadically or when needed as a "reminder".

A couple of websites to further explain:  http://www.theclickercenter.com  http://www.kbrhorse.net and if you're interested in online courses about this or other teachings, go to www.horsecourses.net.

If you have more questions, please do not hesitate to ask. I hope this was helpful to you.

:) -- Gwen