But not just yet.
The farrier was out yesterday, the last time he came out was the day I was operated on. Since I wouldn't be there I just asked for Coriander to get a trim. I wasn't comfortable about Gwen getting worked on when I wasn't there. So as you can probably imagine she really needed a trim by yesterday. For safety, and to ensure that all her feet were done, I arranged to have the vet sedate her for the farrier. (This is only Gwen's second all-around trim ever.)
I got to the barn right on time and found her already sedated and the farrier on the third foot. Freaking early vet! She was good for the two feet I was witness to, though I was told she was twitchy about her left hind- the injured leg, which doesn't surprise me one bit. I'm going to try foregoing the sedation during the next trim, hopefully she was awake enough to remember that everything was fine and that the farrier is nothing to flip out about. That would make the third trim the charm!
Coriander was naughty. He was bad about that right hind again, trying to pull his old falling over trick. Maybe this time was his last ditch effort to see if it would work? Because it didn't. I hope he gives it up permanently from this point on. The farrier didn't seem too worried about it. He says that my boy isn't scared of getting his feet done, he's just impatient. Any tips out there for teaching a horse patience?
I am not sure if this is appropriate but it worked for a dog I had (for 17 years!) that hated having her annual physical and vaccinations. She would squirm and resist and loose her patience to the point of snarling. So, when the vet was going to give her a shot, I would stand in front of her snapping my fingers, changing her focus. Or I would rub one part of her body or scratch her ears while the vet was examining the another part, again replacing the negative with a positive. If she stood quietly for an extended period, I may give her a treat. Over time, vet visits were not as traumatic.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, you just brought up a memory...
ReplyDeleteMy old arab used to "chew" on my hand when he was having his feet done. I'd hold my palm flat under his muzzle and he'd just scrape his teeth over it the whole time he was getting worked on. He never bit me and it kept his mind off what was happening with his feet.
I bet you're right and I can find something like that to keep Coriander's mind off it. Now I just need to figure out what that could be. Maybe an ear massage?
Gem LOVES have the inside of his ears lightly scratched. His eye glaze over. :-)
ReplyDelete