Correct leg pickup

Picking up a horse's hind legs correctly can be a bit of a struggle. 

In the picture above you can see me working with Kirby, a young Arabian gelding who had lots of trouble with giving his back feet.

Although I more often experience this kind of behavior in mares, Kirby was pretty unsure about people around his hind end and would always try to run away or kick.

It took me three solid weeks before I finally began to see progress. My knees looked like this for quite some time, it would have been a lot worse if I hadn't been able to avoid most of his kicks.
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So what is the "correct leg pick up"?

For some people it's all about technique, while for others it's about trust, respect and boundaries. 

This brings me back to the way Parelli does it. By squeezing or if necessary pinching the horse's chestnut (on the inner side above the knee) until they move their weight/lift their leg.

During my work with abused horses however, I found that they experienced this way to be way too invasive and I think also a bit rude. 

The picture below is a still from a video (click on the picture to watch full video) where I work with a severely abused Arabian gelding. 

As you can see, a light touch from my hand (along with the right energy) is enough for him to lift his feet. No squeezing or pinching required!! 

Experiencing the differences between wild, domestic and abused horses made me realize that more often than not, it is not about WHAT you are doing, but HOW you are doing it.

In the beginning it might not even be about lifting their feet, but about getting them comfortable about you being around them, behind them, touching them. Good experiences will open doors to what you eventually want, but if you rush it, your hard work goes right out the window.

Tinderella, standing perfectly still while giving her hind leg without being tied, after working with her for about 15 minutes

If you'd like to see how I asses a new horse at Love This Horse Rescue (including picking up all 4 feet), watch the video below! At the end I'm doing some bodywork on the horse to get him to relax his end, a simple exercise to ask them to relax, shift their weight and eventually lift their leg.

​Love, Zoe