Nibbling while picking feet

[Debbie]

Blossom's moved into a major "Everything must go into the mouth" phase. This morning I was trying to pick out her front foot. Ever since Lady Bear's example (she was horribly slow about picking up her feet, and Blossom absorbed this like a sponge) , Blossom's been sluggish to pick her feet up promptly. So this morning we were working on that....along with please stand where I placed you, not walking towards the wheelbarrow.

So I had her foot up, and ever so slowly here come the lips for my jacket. I schooched my butt away so I could finish picking her foot, and she mostly left my jacket alone.

However, what do you think? Put the foot down to push the head away? Growls didn't seem to faze her, if anything, she seemed more anxious about her foot being held by something growling and I don't want her to get the wrong ideas about her feet being messed with. Ideas?

Oh yes, and I'm just doing this with her loose. Right now she's not overly keen on her hay, so I'm not sure parking her with a haynet would do the trick. ??

[zeldalithgow]

Does she tie up ok Debbie?, if so I think I might try tying her up fairly short so it's difficult for her to nibble, another thing I've read about is to fix something prickly ie old grooming brush to where she would nibble so that she gets a prickle when she trys

[knight]

Sounds very familiar Debbie, luckily Knight mostly just sniffs now instead of tastes. I pick up feet loose also but admit I used the haynet approach with him, and you know that nothing comes between Knight & his hay. Is it her front feet espectially that she's slow to pick up? If so she's like Knight then and my farrier had a good point about why. Knight's very base narrow in back so giving you the back foot is easy & he does this right away. But it's harder for him to balance when you pick up the front because his triangle of support now has a narrow base. Knight still takes a little time before giving you a front foot and I do think he's trying to work out his balance before handing the foot over, so I just go with it and accept that he will probably always be alittle slow to give the fonts but he will give them so it's OK.

[Debbie]

Good ideas, and I've certainly got to begin loose tie ups with her anyways. I don't think she's ever been tied hard, so I'd want to start her longish and loose with it not really knotted.

I think I may have to take the approach of breaking these tasks into smaller and smaller bits for her, and just get her to focus on promptly giving the feet again. Its such the shame as when she arrived, she was foot perfect! Mr Ireland had done a fantastic job with her to give her little feet. She quite literally watched Lady Bear be sluggish with me over her feet, and decided this must be the way to be.

I also know what you mean about them standing triangular, and go to great lengths to make sure she's squared up before I go to lift her feet. No sense picking up a foot only to have her fall over!

As for the nibbles, I guess I'll just have to keep working on it. Wish they made a pony sized dummy!!

[harleydales]

I tied a metal curry comb to my elbow!! Then when H came to chomp, the elbow moved out and he pricked his nose. Think he got it full on once and that was it!!

[greydales]

Cherry is a b*gger for this, I have to watch her like a hawk when she is being trimmed, as her muzzle goes onto the trimmer's back and I know the teeth would come out soon after!!

She doesn't usually try it with me any more as she gets an elbow in her face!

[shirlnjazz]

Good old elbow in the face does the trick, firm enough but not direct so they dont realise you are doing it too them

[bellajack]

The Parelli answer to this is to kick your own backside a few times so that you create a commotion and hopefully make them turn their head away, without having to stop what you are doing or frighten them too much.

[greydales]

LOL, just trying to envisage kicking my own backside - don't think it is physically possible now ;D