How to Groom a Horse or Foal

Video Transcript

"When grooming a young horse, it's important that you're a little bit more cautious and careful. This is a two year old, so he has had handling, but he's still new to the whole experience. So I use the same tools, as you will with any horse, you just have to be a little bit more cautious and make sure that you make slow movements that aren't going to to scare the horse. So as I go through each of the grooming steps, I want to be thorough but also keep in mind that a young horse doesn't have the same amount of patience as an older horse has, so I also don't want to make him stand here for a ton of time. So I'm going to be pretty quick. Young horses are much more likely to be a little bit head shy and resistant to the idea of you touching their heads, and so you just have to be careful and slowly work your way up their forehead. And then when you go down to do their legs, also being a little bit careful, they're more likely to be a little bit skittish so just be ready to have to jump out of the way. Then we pick their feet up, it's going to take a little bit more to make them pick their feet up, because they're not so used to the whole process. Teaching a horse to pick up their feet at an early age makes it a lot easier for the farrier and for you when you're training them at a later stage. So I'm going to do the exact same thing as usual, push and try and pick up his foot, and it takes a little bit more strength and then to practice, I really want to make him stand here and hold his hoof for a little bit of a longer amount of time. And then I'll bang the hoof kick which is a little bit like the sounds that the farrier makes with his tools, and this is a good way to get him ready for that experience."