i have just bought a fell mare who has never been shod and is reluctant to pick her feet up.After 2 weeks with me I have managed to lift both back feet and the near fore, but no way will she pick the near fore up.I have tried reward with the other feet which worked and now she will pick these up without reward, but still the near fore remains planted.If I lean my weight against her she leans even harder against me and lifts her off fore as if to tell me there is a problem with the near but not the off! She trots soundly and moves straight, my vet cannot find anything wrong but I am getting nowhere with this foot and wonder how she will cope with it never being picked out.My farrier had the same problem and managed to get the foot on to a low stand in order to rasp it, but the foot cannor be picked out in the conventional way.Any ideas any one.She has been blind in the right eye from birth when her mother kicked her but apart from this she is a lovely ridden mare of 16 yrs old good in traffic and a responsive ride.

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Comment by marilyn danson on August 24, 2010 at 10:53am
That is a very good idea Jackie, my first thought was that something was wrong with the weight bearing capacity of her off fore, but as the vet had passed her the week before I thought it was just something I had to work through with a new pony! Vet coming again on monday to do her teeth so will get him to check again and will try the wedge /hill idea meanwhile.Havn't come across her lying down yet despite the fact that she has settled in really well.I'm in my sixties and hadn't thought of owning another horse but would really like to avoid her leaning on me as my back is a bit iffy.
Comment by Jackie Cochran on August 24, 2010 at 10:24am
I would interpret the picking up of the off fore when you ask for the near fore differently. Once I had a colt healing from a green-stick fracture in his elbow (NOT what your mare has!) and during the lengthy healing process he would not willingly put weight on his injured leg. I had to clean his hoof of his sound leg when he was lying down. Look for a problem in the off fore leg. Consider that the navicular bone may be acting up in the off fore. I could well be wrong, but this is the first thing that comes to mind.
If there is any safe way you could elevate the heel of the off fore (a wedge, or facing downhill on a slope) before you try to raise the near fore it may help.

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