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Teaching A Draft to Lift for Hoof Work Without Breaking Your Back....

Most of the drafts purchased at low end sales have little or no hoof handling experience. A VERY experienced farrier explained to us that many work horses have their feet trimmed with a cold chisel, just chopping off flared sections that are breaking. Their hooves are, quite literally, never lifted off the ground. Others who are trimmed are done only in stocks with extensive restraints.

Nearly every draft we have brought into Crosswinds has had exceptionally BAD feet due to lack of what "mainstream" horsemen would consider normal care, and lack of natural range conditions for them to wear their feet down on their own. For many, soundness issues start -- and often also end -- with badly damaged hooves.

While most light horses can be "muscled"  into lifting a hoof, and the leg can be held onto if he struggles or fights, a draft horse in the same situation will nearly always win against any but the most experienced and strongest of handlers.  Mike Cross of Crosswinds found a method of adding leverage to the handler's strength to help both lift and keep a hoof lifted while the horse learns what behavior is expected of him/her.

Tool needed:  one 24" long section of soft but very strong cotton or similar material rope, knotted together.

Steps: (Note: the horse shown is a 2000 lb belgian with an attitude; the handler, a 130 lb female with former wrist surgeries and limited wrist strength....AnnMarie.)

	Tie the rope securely. You won't be using a hoof pick at all your first half dozen or so lifts, as all your efforts should be on convincing them to lift, to hold the hoof without trying to put it down, and to rest with you. Don't get distracted, worrying about cracks or mud or even thrush for now. Stay focused on safely lifting and lowering the hoof.
	Having played with the horse's legs so he isn't panicked by your touch below his fetlock, gently slide the rope around his  ankle.
	Slip one end through the other portion of the rope.  (UPDATE: If you slip the loop through the knot end, you can later use the knot to more easily undo the rope, instead of slipping the knot through the loop as shown in this picture.)
	Gently pull the loop tight. Now use your normal processes to ask the horse to lift, pulling on the rope as the last resort. This way, the rope is a tool, a helper, not a regular part of the routine.
	And the hoof is lifted! Over time, use the rope less and less to support/suspend the hoof, and soon you won't be using it at all!
SAFETY NOTE: When working with hind hooves for the first times, be sure to stay well out of the cow kick zone. Stand far enough away, or forward, of the horse so that he cannot kick forward and sideways to kick you. Remember, these horses are not used to having their hind feet handled AT ALL, so this is new and scary!  Take your time, be patient, and reward even the slightest progress, and in a short period of time you'll be lifting and cleaning hind feet like a pro!