Fear Factor

by David Farmilo
Accredited Master Farrier, Oakbank SA
PH 0418 835 186
www.horsefarrier.com.au

It is a perfectly normal human emotion to be fearful of that which has the potential to hurt us or cause us pain and injury, however when we unwittingly allow this emotion to enter the task of hoof care and horse shoeing, the consequences can be very dangerous to both man and beast.

When I was much younger I had absolutely no fear of any horse, I could take risks and most times get away with it and bounce off those flailing hind legs then get up and carry on; in hindsight however, I can now see quite plainly that all those frightened horses were trying to do was to teach me respect.

It took a potentially fatal accident and many months of hospitalisation and pain for me to experience real fear and to learn real respect for the horse; as my mother often said, I was an accident looking for a place to happen. Now many years later I can look back and understand how that experience helped me to recognise the very early signs of fear in the person which causes fear in the horse. It is so important to understand that Action Causes Reaction.

The reason for choosing to air this subject of the fear factor in relation to the hoof care industry is because negative results have become far too prevalent over the past two decades.

There are now more and more people handling horses who are not natural horsemen with horse blood in their veins so to speak. Many are embarking on a horse career at a later age in life, and while they may seek tuition at riding they are lacking tuition in horsemanship which should always include handling the legs. A favourite bush terminology for them would be that they are ‘haunted’ about handling the legs and this transmits fear to a horse which creates a very dangerous situation.

I would be a liar if I said I never felt fear around any horse. However, when around horses it is necessary to transmit confidence. I found many years ago that horses cannot decode whistling, and whistling has saved me from many potentially dangerous situations.

At my courses I tell the participants to always introduce themselves to the horse, saying that they wouldn’t go up to a filly in the local mall and just pick up her leg without introducing themselves first. This always provokes a laugh, but people do tend to ignore good manners when around the legs of a horse and hopefully this will change their attitude in future.

Novice horse owners take riding lessons where they learn to sit correctly, and it is important to realise that picking up the legs takes just as much teaching and understanding to achieve mutual cooperation and respect. There are many positions for correctly handling the legs which I cover in my courses, and it is not just a matter of standing anywhere and expecting the horse to cooperate.

If the horse’s leg is held in its Happy (comfortable) Spot, the horse will not move, as it is balanced and comfortable. The Happy Spot is a small area maybe 300 mm in all directions, and it is important to find this spot, which varies from horse to horse, and may be quite low in some horses for whatever reason, but it is far easier to work within this area than to insist on a position that is out of the horse’s comfort zone.

When standing at the back of the horse, it is necessary to stand facing inwards at an angle of 45 degrees across the back of the horse to put the leg on the knee. I often see people facing outwards at 45 degrees in the ready to run position just in case the horse kicks, which in fact makes the horse feel unsupported and causes it to kick or retract its leg which is in turn wrongly interpreted as a threat to kick.

Many people do not react appropriately when under the horse, and yell or even scream as soon as the horse moves, expecting the horse to kick which in turn makes the horse jump when all he really wanted to do was to put his leg down and rebalance. Yelling will not stop the horse from kicking, so save the breath and keep the voice soothing and comfortable.

When approaching a horse with a bad shoeing record I listen intently to all the negative comments put forth by the owner which would make most people fearful to proceed. I approach the horse, introduce myself to the horse in a friendly manner and explain to him that we have never met and I am not going to do anything to cause him pain, and I don’t expect him to cause me any pain. I approach him on an equal basis and afford him the respect that I also expect from him in return. Most of these horses become soft and pliable and cooperative, often yawning, licking lips, dropping their head and going to sleep. People attending horsemanship courses understand this when dealing with the top half of the horse, but promptly forget about it when handling the legs.

Learning to handle young foals’ feet is a great way to learn how to handle the legs, gaining valuable experience for yourself, as well as preparing the foal for a lifetime of hoof care. At this age the horse is innocent with no preconceived ideas of violence and no bad habits.

Calmness begets calmness, violence begets violence. Hence leg restraints including hobbles, sidelines, spider hobbles and twitches are taboo in my world. Many novice horse owners would not consider such outdated methods of restraint, but equally as bad in my book is the long lead rope used by many horse owners to supposedly control the horse. This is not appropriate for hoof care which requires either the owner or the farrier to be under the horse, which is dangerous. The horse needs to be under control, preferably within the confines of a shoeing bay, and halter tied with baling twine to the rail so that it can get away in a worst case scenario, but is contained and under control from the hoof carers point of view. A ten foot lead rope allows the horse to do exactly what it wants, turning a full 360 degrees. No respect created there.

Verbal violence to the horse is as damaging as physical violence and will alarm him equally. People who display verbal and physical violence are using it to cover an inherent fear and this fear needs to be rechannelled into respect and thereby control their violence.

The higher the IQ of the horse, the more important it becomes to treat him as your equal and not to treat him as a horse. Reason with him and explain to him and ask him to do things, but never insult him by forcing him. This will help you to understand his feelings more accurately.

It is a fine line to turn your fear of the horse into respect for his instincts. No matter how domesticated and humanised you may think your equine friend is, the horse is a flight animal with a vivid imagination. Another of my favourite phrases is that “you never know when an Afghanistan Climbing Camel is going to come walking around the corner and say HeeHaw and frighten the wits out of your horse”. At a course last month at DeGrey Station in WA, a young pet camel kept finding its way out of its pen and arriving at the most inopportune times, and, predictably, alarming the more skittish horses.

At the risk of littering this page with clichés, it will stand you in good stead to remember Be Prepared; That which you fear most will always happen; and The only thing you have to fear is fear itself.

I recently had a station horse that initially savaged me though fear of mishandling, and 50 years of experience allowed me not to react. The horse then allowed me to shoe all 4 legs peacefully. Horses are generally very reasonable, and if a horse is fearful of having shoes nailed on, or fearful of men or fearful of lifting the leg or whatever, it almost certainly indicates a previous bad experience. It takes time and patience to win back the confidence and respect and to teach him that everything is going to be OK now.