P.S. Credit where credit is due: Smokeyjoe, one of our trainer/farrier members, gave me the idea for the block of wood. If you have a heavy horse that wants to put weight on that hind leg, the Fortex feed pans may "give" under the weight and can be disconcerting for some less trusting horses.

Thanks, rancher. Seems to work for a couple of the hock-issue horses. Since your mare has hip issues, windy, even bringing her hind legs forward, one at a time, may not be easy for her. Another thing I've done, on occasion is have the horse stand on the edge of a cement pad . . . and dug out the dirt in the front under the front of the hoof. I have to work on my hands and knees to do the trimming/rasping (don't let your kids see you do this . . . it's one of the "do as I say, not as I do" type things) and takes a long time . . . but if you are committed to your mare, you are the kind of person willing to make crazy sacrifices like that. I've also stacked a couple or three of those flat rubber Fortex feed dishes and flipped them upside down and set the toe on them with the foot tipped up, or put them under the horse and brought the hind forward. If she was a mini, you'd be all set . . . just put her on a picnic table and let her hang a hind leg off the edge . . . That's the kind of horse I'll be working with in another 20 years . . . and I'll be using toenail clippers and diamond dust nail files . . . :-)

Holly, very good suggestion. Kinda like pulling up on a 6x6 block with one tire so you can change a flat on the other axel of a trailer.

Hi, Windy, I also have a few older horses with arthritis and/or hock issues. I have also tried propping the hind legs on a jack or even just setting the tip of the toe on the ground so I can try to trim with the bottom of the hoof showing . . . but it's really tough to get the nippers around the hoof that way. One thing that works best for my 33 year old is if I bring his hind legs forward underneath him and set them on a piece of 6x6 post or something sturdy that isn't very high off the ground. It's not ideal, but doesn't seem to hurt the horse, and I can nip from the front of the hoof and rasp from the top to take his toes off. One friend told me, "at this point in his life, who cares what it looks like?" As long as his toes are cut back and he can breakover easier . . . and it doesn't hurt him . . . seems to work well at this point. Take care and be safe. Holly

Thank you for all your suggestions. I will try them and hopefully some may work.

Along with what Horsechic said, you may consider exercising her before trimming. remember to take it slow at first, then build up to a light to moderate workout. Getting the blood circulating will help her when preassure is put on her joints. don't give her much time to cool down, before she's trimmed.

Try Equine Touch therapy. We have used it on our rescue pony who has stiff hind legs due to barbed wire damage. It is amazing the difference in him after the session. He was able to completely stretch his hind legs afterwards. Michelle (pearlgirl)

Windy, The main reason an older horse jerks that back leg is because it HURTS. If you watch the action of lifting the hind leg into position it moves up the hip into the spine and you can see motion happening all the way up the withers, it is also putting a lot of pressure on the other leg. One thing you can do that really helps is to learn to stretch your horse out prior to the farrier coming. Whole body stretches are best, but at least the legs if you can't do anything else. (this is great for ALL horses but esp the older ones.) The word stretching is kind of inacurrate though as YOU won't be doing any stretching of the horse... all you will do is put the horse in position to allow him/her to stretch themselves. Never pull or make them stretch, just offer up the opportunity with encouragement and wait for it. Also, when that leg is picked up and it's tense... look for muscle spasming. Little twitches of the skin or deeper muscles and work them out with massage, lowering the leg untill it is ready to be picked up. giving your horse 'rests' every minute or so helps also. Most farriers are more than happy to work with you. Ask them to start with the leg very low to the ground and only bring it up into position as the horse relaxes into them. Some can do the whole trim with the foot just cocked and resting on the floor. (Be sure to recongnize though that this means your farrier taking more time with you, which lessens his profit and while most won't charge you extra, a tip is nice or at least acknowledging their extra help goes a long ways.) Sometimes it helps to give your horse a wall to lean on, on the off side, or even a human. One of our older geldings would literally fall over if a back foot was picked up and we made a sling to help support him during trimming. There are a lot of things you can try to help out your horse. Just remember to work with him where he/she is comfortable and you will accomplish a lot more. God Bless

Try giving her some Banamine the morning of trimming her.

I have a 32 year old Arab mare that is quite arthritic in her hind quarters. I can trim her front feet without much of a problem. When we get to the rear feet, that's another story. Part of the problem is she won't relax and keeps jerking her leg. She gets to the point of almost falling over. I have buted her and it doesn't really work anymore. I know it is painful for her to hike her leg to be trimmed. I use a hoof jack, but she refuses to put her weight on the jack. It is not feasible to have the vet come out everytime she needs to be done. I am looking for suggestions to make this process easier on her and me.