picking up horses hooves

Question
tb x gelderland, 5 years old, broken in age 4. i have just bought this horse had her for 3 weeks, shes out all day and stabled at night. the first week she let me pick her hooves out and now she wont, i managed to pick her foot up for a few seconds and she managed to get her foot free. is it because she has learnt to dominate me? will i have to do a monty roberts and gain her trust?

Answer
Hi Joanna!

Yes and no.....She has learned that disobeying you has no consequences and is testing you to see how far you will let her go.  And if this keeps up, she will begin to understand she is dominate in the relationship and will not do anything she does not like.

So....stop all her nonsense now.  Today.  Because you have owned her such a short peroid of time and she is so young, (really a baby still) she would be low in any herd.....you can get back your Boss Mare status quickly.

If you are unsure how to dominate hr, it is better to not touch her at all than to allow her to get her disrespect on with you or for you to have a useless fight where someone might get hurt.

She is young and nothing bad will happen to her while you take a minute to re-group.

Yes, I do like Monty Roberts join-up method and I think it work would well for you.  You need to think like a young mare and treat her like a submissive to you at all times.

Every single time you touch her it must be with a plan and a goal to reach.  Once she is established as a riding partner with you (in a few years) you can stop thinking about her so much and start concentrating on enjoying her.

Right now, she is a "project" not a "friend".  It is not so much you have to gain her trust....first you must dominate her, then trust and desire to follow you will come with that.  It is hardwired into young horses to follow the Boss Mare and stay close as she is their safe place.

Learn everything you can about the way your baby thinks and reacts to her leader.  Touch her with confidence and nonchalance that you totally EXPECT her to do as you ask, not HOPE or ASK her.  She will feel your authority and respond.  Do not go overboard with praise, just act like you expected her to do it and give her an extra treat in her bucket that night.

Be firm, be patient and above all be consistent.  A Boss Mare in a herd does not waffle daily about if she is Boss.  Neither can you.  Starting today, you are large and in charge for every situation.  If you do not know what to do....stop, put her away and research what to do.  Formulate a plan and then show her what you want and expect her to do it.

Ask your vet, farrier or tack shop to recommend a local trainer who has experience working with babies to come out and evaluate your situation.  Get some exercises to work on and do it everyday or at the least 3-4 times a week.

Putting the time, effort and money into her now will give you 20 more years of a wonderful riding partnership!

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

Solange