Horses must be trained to stand for trimming and shoeing. They are more likely to stand still for the farrier when they have a favorite companion nearby.

Horses are living animals so they will inevitably move around while the farrier is working. This can be very frustrating to farriers who do precision work. A lot of movement makes a difficult job even more difficult. Ideally, horses should stand relatively still for the farrier as they work. Some horses do a better job standing for the farrier than others. This has to do with how the horse is trained, environmental circumstances, breed type and discipline and overall disposition of the individual horse. Farriers appreciate horse owners who do all they can to get a horse to stand still.

Many horses today are not properly trained. There are probably more “expert” horse trainers or so-called “gurus” today than there were a hundred years ago, and yet a lot of horses are not trained to stand for trimming or shoeing. A lot of the focus of clinicians today has to do with riding. It is more exciting to watch a trainer get a horse under saddle than to watch them pick up the horse’s feet! For this reason, a lot of foundational training for horses is not done. Many first-time horse owners are not aware that horses must be trained to pick up their feet. They assume that all horses should automatically know how to stand on three legs. This is dangerous to the farrier. An otherwise trained horse can become wild and unpredictable as the farrier goes to pick up the feet to work.

Some horse owners think it is the farrier’s job to train the horse to stand for trimming and shoeing. This is not true. Horse owners are responsible for their own horse’s training. A farrier may offer to train a horse for a client but he or she should be compensated for the time to do so. Farriers’ time is valuable.  A farrier could be working on well-behaved horses (and getting paid) rather than taking time to fix someone else’s problem. Farriers have to learn to say no when it is evident that a horse is not trained. It is simply too dangerous. The farrier can explain to the horse owner that the horse needs professional training (not just running the horse around in a round pen for five minutes!) or chemical restraint from a licensed veterinarian to continue the work.

Some horses are trained to stand for the farrier but still act up due to environmental circumstances. For example, an otherwise calm horse may become restless and move around when companions are not in sight. Horses are social animals. Most horses do not like to be alone. Some horses become concerned when they are separated from their buddies to get trimmed or shod. This is simply remedied by bringing a friend for the horse to keep it calm during the trimming or shoeing.

A few years ago, a horse was donated to Butler Professional Farrier School. This horse would move constantly while being trimmed or shod despite reassurances from the previous owner that the horse was perfectly trained. The horse seemed anxious and impatient the entire time the students would work on him. We tried bringing in horses from the same pen that he was kept in but none of those horses seemed to do the trick. One day a miniature horse was brought in at the same time this particular horse was in and the horse calmed down immediately. Something about the miniature horse settled him down. After that, the horse was good to work on as long as a pony or miniature horse was nearby. We have heard many stories of horses that would stand better if a vacuum cleaner was running or a tractor was nearby or the horse was worked on outside versus inside a barn. Every horse has a unique disposition and each responds to environment differently.

Farriers can help horses to stand still by improving their technique and speeding up their time. Almost all horses get impatient when they have to stand for longer than a couple of hours. They get even more impatient if the farrier is holding their legs up too high or in an unnatural position. Horses usually stand still when they are comfortable. Farrier’s can accommodate horses’ comfort by learning the proper stances and techniques.

Finally, some horses are restless because they are bred to be so. Competitive athletic horses like race horses and show horses are bred to be “hot-blooded.” This is what gives them a competitive edge to win. Farriers working with show horses and athletes should be aware that these horses may be more jumpy by nature. Even with proper training and adapting the environment to encourage the horse to stand still, these horses may still move around. Experienced owners may be able to help with restraint. Some of these horses must be sedated by a veterinarian in order for the farrier to work safely around them.

Horsemanship is critical in farriery. Understanding the nature of horses and how to help them to stand still for trimming and shoeing should be the goal of the horse owner, veterinarian and farrier.