How to make life easier for your hoof care provider
Warming up the horse and doing some gentle stretches before a hoof care appointment can make the entire process much easier for both the horse and your chosen hoof expert.
A warm up walk and some gentle stretches can go a long way in making the life of your hoof care provider easier (and healthier).
I am in no way an expert when it comes to hooves, but I'll bet you anything that every hoof care provider out there appreciates a horse that stands well and is able to pick up his legs during hoof care. And while things like teaching your horse how to be polite and cleaning his legs before the hoof care provider arrives, should be a given, here are some other things you can do to make the procedure easier both on your horse an on your hoof expert.
Some horses have a hard time lifting their legs and keeping them up for a longer period of time. This could be due to chronic issues like osteoarthritis, tightness in the soft tissue or even imbalances in their musculature. If the horse knows he will be asked to do things that are uncomfortable, he might become increasingly fidgety when the hoof care provider arrives and they might »misbehave« in anticipation of discomfort. A good hoof expert will allow your horse to rest in between the procedure, if necessary, and this might be enough to reassure your horse that his concerns are being heard. But wouldn't it be even better if we could minimize the discomfort in the first place?
An easy thing to do is to walk your horse for 10-20 minutes before trimming his hooves. This warms up the tissues and makes them more pliable. This is especially important for horses in stalls. You wouldn't be too happy if you got out of bed and had to do a standing split or a one-legged squat. A warm up can help immensely. Another thing to do is to try some simple massage and stretching moves after the warm up walk. Here's how. Since most horses have bigger issues holding up the hind legs, I will be focusing on what you can do for the hindquarter.
Lift your horse's leg to wherever he is comfortable and do some gentle circles with it. Keep the circles small and do them in both directions. Then put the foot back on the ground. Pick it up again and gently bring it forwards. It's not a competition in flexibility and it does not matter how far it reaches. Go as far as the horse finds it easy. Hold it there for a few seconds and put it back down. Repeat three times on both sides. Then pick up the leg again and gently bring it back. Again, don't overdo the range of motion. One hoof length behind the contralateral hoof is enough. Gently try to lower the leg backwards, so the horse's toe touches the ground. Hold the leg there as long as the horse is comfortable. This is a great psoas stretch. The psoas is often the offending muscle when horses have a hard time holding their leg for the farrier. These stretches should be very gentle and at no point should you fight against your horse. If any of this is difficult, reduce the range of motion and try again. Your horse needs to be comfortable with this, otherwise we are doing more harm than good. If you have trouble even with a reduced range of motion, you need help from a professional to assess what kind of issues your horse is having.