Adventures in baby training: Episode 1- Baby's first hoof trim

Today was a momentous occasion in the life of the young Heliodoro. Today, baby got his very first haircut hoof trim. He was a good boy, relatively speaking... so long as your relative perspective considers the spawn of satan good. It's a miracle that between the rearing up, striking out, kicking the farrier, and attempting to trample all who got in his way, that his feet got done at all. I have to give Jason Peacock, of Jason Peacock horse shoeing, a ton of credit. He was the perfect combination of assertive and gentle. I highly recommend him to anyone with a young horse. He really was wonderful.

The main issue with Helix's behavior is that **** WARNING! APPROACHING EXTREME NERDDOM**** he wants to be an alpha Helix, and in this situation, the beta configuration is preferable (Sorry. I had to.). More simply put, Helix has to learn that people are in charge, and it isn't acceptable to try and boss them around. Towards the end of the trim session, his attitude changed dramatically. While he didn't seem defeated, he was definitely mulling over the pros and cons of putting up a fight for something so silly as a hoof trim. And let me be clear. I never want my horse to feel defeated. I never want him to lose that edge in his personality. That edge is what makes him special, and it's what will make him be great in the future, but I'd also like him to be safe to handle.

I like to think of myself as a strict parent, and seeing as I've only had him for just over a week at this point, I won't go blaming myself for his behavior just yet. This was, however, a bit of a wake-up call to just how dangerous he could be if I let him grow up without demanding respect and obedience.