Footie, please.

The Cisco Kid doesn't like me to try to pick up his back right leg. It always sets him off. Today we were in the roundpen, I would step toward the leg, he would step away, just side stepping with his back legs and letting his front hooves make round holes in the dirt where spun around. I kept walking toward that leg, but he kept stepping. Pretty soon we both got dizzy and he stopped. He almost lifted it for me, then he was spinning off again. If I turned my belly toward him, he would stop and I could rub his rump and his leg, but if I turned towards his back we were back to rotation. I didn't give up until I had a small measure of success.

This evening though I made great strides. He was in his personal pen. I put his hay in the feeder, then drug it under the fence so he could see it, but couldn't get to it. I had a half full #10 can of sweetfeed. He was hungry. I asked for the front foot and rewarded him when he gave it to me. I asked for the back foot and he started into the rotation. I turned and walked away. He went and looked at his hay, then he came back to me. I had to ask and walk away about four times before he decided we could compromise. He started lifting his foot up when I asked, at first just a tiny bit, then almost up to his belly. When his willingness to try was crystal clear, I poured the grain in his grain pan and pulled the hay trough back in.

When I first got Loretta, she was the same way about both of her back feet. Three weeks of daily hoof treatment using positive reinforcement got her to the point of being really good about what ever I wanted to do with them. Loretta wasn't quite as athletic and not so prone to panic, so she wasn't as dangerous as Cisco. I am predicting we will have this problem solved in another two weeks. I have to get a shoeing stand and get him interested in putting his hooves on it. It won't be long before the Kid realizes that his human is relentless and resistance is futile.

Yours,
Patricia