HELP!!!! :)

[brindlerainbow]

It certainly sounds like her manners need sorting!!!!!!! For the farrier I would use Sedalin which you can get from the vet or online. Depending on how she behaves for her teeth sedalin may not be strong enough in which case you will need the vet to sedate her for the dentist!!!

[junetimp]

Be careful once you start sedating for the farrier it could be the start of things to come.

I would work hard on her manners. I make my filly pick her feet up and I knock on them with a piece of wood everyday and she can’t have her leg back until I say so. Then when we are finished she gets a hug and carrot.

This she understands and so far she has been really good with the blacksmith. I also get him to attend to her feet every six weeks even though I know she doesn’t really need it BUT she does need the experience.

[GinaGeo]

I'd go with the above. I'd prefer to not sedate unless dangerous, and would prefer to instill manners. Pick all her feet up everyday, making a fuss of her afterwards. If she snatches them away then, you pick it straight back up again, until you put down, without her being rude. I'd then practise having other people doing it. A male figure as well.

As for the dentist I would be inclined to have her sedated by the vet this time. It won't be a bad experience then, and you can work on her manners for next time.

[rubydoo]

for gods sake dont give her domosedan ! i gave my cob this when clipping and he was heavily sedated he nearly fell on me a few times !
i personally wouldnt sedate for farrier i dont think its fair asking a horse to lift its legs while sedated it more likely to loose balance .
id just work on picking up feet a few times a day , you could use a rope to hold up the leg and dont let go until she is being co operative .

[jeanslater]

I have a two yr old filly that will not let you anywhere near its back end, its fine if you approach with caution to a point but at any time could lash out, although you can tell when its coming. Shes 16hh now and has been well handled every day since a baby foal, and gawd forbid a stranger comes into her box, yet she goes out into the field catches like a dream leads back in , but can sometimes - depending on her mood, be a bit iffy about going back into her stable, once in she ties up , gets her rug on - no hassle. We used sedalin - a whole tube, when the farrier came and it made not one bit of difference apart from she sweated. We are hoping she grows out of it. We accept shes not going to be easy.

[brindlerainbow]

Giving sedalin will, as WC says take away the anxiety so the horse realises it isn't stressful. I had a young RP who didnt like being trimmed but after a few times of being sedalined he accepted it and was fine to do without being doped. My cob didnt mind being trimmed but was petrified of being hot shod so had sedalin every 6 weeks for shoeing and was fine and never had any trouble standing on 3 legs when doped. You have to get the dose right though, you just need enough to take the edge off the animal. It isn't the farriers job to teach the horse manners or to put himself in danger with an animal that hasn't been taught any manners!!!

[ashleigh19]

I would just practicing picking up her feet etc everyday....and being realy strong when she trys to put it down....This is what I had to do when I got my mare and she used to try and barge and squash me against the walll...now she just stands still for trims or shoes....its just time and patience. And she may suprise you with the dentist... I thought my mare would realy play up but when he put the gag on she handled it well. I just kept reassuing her and rubbing her neck...Trust is key I think!! If your filly trusts you then you should be enough to settle her nerves....Short term, for teaching her some manners you could try a dually halter or something similar, good for strong, stubbern horses...

[rubydoo]

it might be a good idea to ask other people on the yard to occaionally pick her feet up once shes used to u , it may get her more familiar with lifting her feet for strangers .

[auntiebarb]

At the request of my much loved equine dentist, I got some domosedan for my 15.3 appaloosa last year. He is a feisty powerful horse, but usually very well mannered. I cannot remember now why she wanted this change in our usual routine, unless it was that she had recently had a baby herself and did not want to be pulled about.

I got the domosedan as requested, which did work to be truthful but I will never let him have it again. He became so floppy, I thought he would fall over and it took days before he was more himself, in fact I don't think he has ever had the same bounce he had before.

I would never use domesedan again unless it was a matter of life or death, for the horse that is.

[ashleigh19]

You can train a horse to behave for the farrier/vet/ dentist or whoever so I personally wouldnt use any sedatives....When I first tried to clip my mare she went mental and people suggested I had her sedated.....but I just gradually built her upto it...she can be a very tense stressful mare but I just work through it its not easy but its what its all about, getting that bond with your horse so that it can trust you no matter what

[dazycutter]

Try picking her front legs up in front of her rather than in the traditional way (as if she had her foot on the farriers stand). There is a thought that young horses panic if they can't see where there leg has gone. My farrier told me this

My youngsters used to try and pull my farrier about but 1) he refuses yo let go and 2) he starts by pulling them out in front. They are as good as gold now. Good luck

[sarahp]

Sedatives do have their place. I have a brilliant farrier, and the first time we did very nervous ex-hill pony she was sedated and we just did the fronts. Second time we did all four without any sedation! She just needed the reassurance really, she doesn't have a difficult bone in her body.