Horse pedicure

July 25, 2019 6:51 AM

Horse pedicure on imgur, with many other interesting links from reddit. Horseshoeing on Youtube
posted by growabrain (9 comments total)

I suspect this may feel pretty good to the horse given how calm they lift their hooves and hold it there while the blacksmith works on it. Growing up around horses of varying temperaments, they all seemed pretty chill about this activity.
posted by waving at 6:57 AM on July 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

Not all horses are good about standing for the farrier. It's a real occupational hazard. In extreme cases they can be sedated (the horse, not the farrier), although with feet generally being trimmed every 6-8 weeks it's inconvenient to go that route. Trimming and shoeing isn't hurting the horse, but they can get fidgety, uncomfortable, or just flat out annoyed holding one foot up for a long time.

Consistent training from an early age is important - pick up their feet one at a time and teach them that humans want them to stand still and hold that foot up and we're the boss here and we have treats so just do it and don't ask why.
posted by allegedly at 7:39 AM on July 25, 2019 [6 favorites]

This looks satisfying but also super gnarly.
posted by sleeping bear at 8:44 AM on July 25, 2019

Oh, thank you! This made me remember New Shoe for Bill on Sesame Street.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 8:56 AM on July 25, 2019 [2 favorites]

From the links in that reddit post, I thought the illustration in this thread of what human feet would look like if configured like a dog's, a horse's, and a flamingo's was equal parts fascinating and distressing.
posted by DingoMutt at 8:59 AM on July 25, 2019 [4 favorites]

Horse pedicures are a bit violent.
posted by Bee'sWing at 9:05 AM on July 25, 2019

I bet you all miss Lincoln Chafee now.
posted by thelonius at 9:13 AM on July 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

This is what my son does for a living and I think about the dangers every day. He says the Clydesdales/draft horses are quite chill; it's the miniature ponies and donkeys that bring attitude (and kicks).
posted by hal9k at 12:07 PM on July 25, 2019 [4 favorites]

I used to do this for a living as well, and I agree that the smaller the horse, the tetchier. You don't realize you're holding the foot up higher than is comfortable for the horse because it's killing your back to hold it any lower.

But there was the one time I was working on the hind foot of a pregnant Percheron (another breed of draft horse) when she just got tired of that foolishness and the next thing I knew, I--all of me--was banging into the wall a few yards away. The flying-through-the-air part was over so quickly I wasn't even aware of it. She didn't mean to hurt me, and she didn't. She just wanted me outta there.
posted by bricoleur at 5:46 PM on July 25, 2019 [4 favorites]