Problem with picking up back feet

Question
I have just purchased a 5 year old Canadian Gelding, his previous owner told me that he was stabbed with some sort of farrier tool and now whenever I try to pick up his back feet he tries to kick out or tucks them up and under. Is there anything I can do to win his trust? He lets me brush down them no problem but if you come up behind him, the ears go back and sometimes he'll pick up his back foot as if he might kick out.

Answer
Hi Natasha!

Not allowing a person to pick up his hooves is not always fear....sometimes it is just plain ole' "MAKE ME" disrespect and occasionally it is distrust.  Whatever the reason...the solution is the important thing.

I like treats used in conjunction with the clicker method or just plain treats.  This cannot be done through force....so one must be dead clever about it. Pick a treat he just loves and now he will ONLY get it during hoof training time.  Google the clicker method and read up on it.  It works as well with horses as it does with dogs.  You want to work with Positive Reinforcement.  Short, daily, consistent training is the key.  The added bonus is spending quality time with him working on this and it will spill over naturally into other areas with him.  He will be glad to see you coming  :-)

People often worry about using treats to distract and train a horse.  Nonsense....they have obviously never heard of Intermittent Reinforcement.  Plenty of treats in the beginning during training and then treats are slowly withdrawn and replaced by voice rewards every other time the horse performs the act correctly in a training session.
Eventually, all treats are replaced with voice rewards but, if you throw in a surprise treat every now and then...the horse never knows when the treat is coming so it consistently performs correctly looking for the treat.

Be firm, be patient and be consistent.  This will happen on his timetable and there are no short-cuts.  But, once he sees you are a positive human with nothing bad to do but pick up his hoof....he'll be doing it like you're paying him cash!  LOL!!

Good luck and remember to always wear an ASTM/SEI approved helmet!

Solange