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Member
Posts: 47
| At what age do you first start trimming your foal's feet? Have heard lots of varying ages, from 3 weeks up to a year. This is our first from scratch colt and want to make sure he's getting everything done right! He's 5 months old now, and he's never had them done as hes been a little wild baby until a few weeks ago when we brought him home. He's settled down really quickly and halters, blankets, leads, loads now but seems to be a bit unstable when trying to pick out his feet. Doesn't try to rip them away, just seems that his balance isn't great on 3 legs just yet. At what age does everyone have their colts first trims? What are some other milestones, in your opinion, that you like your babies to hit at any certain ages? Pretty excited about him and want him to have the best start possivle 
Here he is! http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/red+jess+flying+colt
Edited by Tundra 2016-10-08 4:34 PM
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
  
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Awww hes a pretty young man, get him use to bathes too and just keep working on picking up his feet, he'll learn to stand on 3 legs, get him use to you handleing his feet as much as possible so the farrier wont have to much of a hard time with him, get his feed trimed as soon as possible. if they need it. |
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | Congratulations, very pretty boy! |
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 Reaching for the stars....
Posts: 12708
| I've found that if you put them up against something solid (side of barn, side of truck or trailer) and let them lean against to help balance that will help. I have started trims as early as a few days (wind swept colt had to have special work to help the leg), and as late as yearlings. Just depends on the situation. We laid the 2 day old colt down to work on. |
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  Ms. Marine
Posts: 4642
Location: Texas | Babies are going to have a hard time getting their balance on three legs, so don't expect the world of them. We've always worked our foals immediately on picking up all four feet independently and we gradually work on keeping them up for more than just a few seconds. Until they need an actual trim, we introduce them to a file so they get a feel for having their feet worked on and it won't be such a culture shock later on. Also they don't get a trim until they really need one. |
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 Expert
Posts: 3782
Location: Gainesville, TX | We start picking their feet up day 1 so they are comfortable with it. I think we started doing a little rasping on their feet this year around 4 mos old. They are now comfortable and confident with the file at 6 mos old. |
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