I bought a set of stocks to use on horses that folks have never trained to be trimmed. I thought they would keep me from getting hurt! Yesterday A guy brought over a trailer full of drafts needing a trim. I trimmed one and started on another and after the 1st hoof something happened and I end up missing a finger. I am unsure of what exactly happened. I was trying to get the front right hoof secured to the stocks and the horse yanked its hoof back ! oddly I still have not found the finger! The timing is really crappy as I am in the middle of hay season and it will take quite a while for the stump to heal over.

really big bummer Dave :-( sorry that happened to you.

janet

Sorry to hear of your accident. I have shod horses for a living for 17 years now and have had more close calls with horses in stocks than out of stocks. An old draft farrier told me a long time ago stocks aren't for untrained horses... they are to make your job easier by not having to hold them up. I tend to agree with him.... a horse has to be broke to a stock the same as any other piece of equipment or task. Hope you have a speedy recovery. Wish I were close enough to help

Man, I am so sorry to hear about your accident. I hope you heal and get your mental game back. I'm sure that would be pretty devastating, but physically and mentally. Good luck and get well soon.

Wow, that really sucks!

WHAT HAPPENED?

Ouch. That sucks. I guess you never know when something like that is going to happen.

I hope you have good neighbors who can help you, Dave. Whereabouts are you?

Sorry about your accident. Hope you mend quickly.

Sorry about the accident Dave. Hope you are on the mend with a speedy recovery. I had a similar thing happen to me. I have an 18.2h percheron gelding that I bought and was having trimmed in a stock Somehow he jumped through the gate and just stood there until I opened it and he walked out, I just knew the angle iron was going to cut him open but thank God it didn't. After we got him back into the stock I had my hand on the right hand rail and the horse pitched a fit and my finger got smashed like a grape! Ended up with 15 stitched and a broken bone on the tip!

OUCH, makes me hold the finger I mangled in a bailer 2 decades ago. Told the dr how I was going to finish
making hay and he tried imobilising the hand so I
couldnt even shift my pickup to get home. After a big
fight I got enough mobility to shift but it ruined hay season.

what finger was it?

Oh, so sorry to hear that. We all take our digits for granted until they aren't there anymore, I think. That will take some getting used to.
Horses have to be trained to stocks like any other piece of equipment. As you now know, they aren't a shortcut. Very few shortcuts work with horses anyway.

All of these horses had been trimmed before in stocks . I always prefer to trim without using stocks but this group of horses will not let you trim them that way. The finger that I lost was my pinky on my right hand. I will get used to it ... it is just bad timing! but then when is it good timing to get hurt ,thanks everyone

This is a wonderful example to show that it NEVER pays to work on anything but well trained horses. It just ain't worth it. I'll bet the owner felt bad for about 4 minutes and then started wondering who he could call to trim them next time. If you have a pig of a horse, that is YOUR problem and not the farriers.

Hope you get better soon. Not many get through this life unscathed.

Sorry to hear of your injury Dave. It sounds like your finger got btwn a hook and the stock. I know many times they try to reattach the finger if you can find it soon enough but the results seem to be mixed. A friend lost his index finger in a post splitter at the cedar mill (stayed in his glove). Even with all the good dr's working at it, the reattach never took.

If there's any positive - at least it was your pinky and I'll bet it still hurts good.

In shoeing horses, it's not if you get hurt, but when. I've never met any horseshoers who do not have painful stories to tell.

Makes me appreciate what horseshoers do. Sorry about your bad luck.

Dave, so sorry to hear of your accident. Not a good thing. You'll adjust to the missing finger, but I wish for you that it hadn't happened.

My right pinky finger is in a permanent "crook" thanks to a horse. 2 surgeries later it will never straighten out. However, being bent is better than permanently straight.

Speedy recover to you.

Wow that's bad hope you recover fast. It only takes a second to get yourself hurt in the oddist ways.

Sorry to hear of your accident. I lost part of my thumb and you do adjust to it. All I can say is don't rush your recovery. I got mine infected and abscessed and more had to be taken off to get it cleaned up. So just relax until it is fully healed.

Since using stocks on untrained horses appears to be more dangerous then not using them, how does one trim the hooves of an untrained horse? I take it that it means getting her trained. How does one do it and how long will it take? I received a 10 year-old Percheron mare that is broke to harness, but for whatever reason (or history), she will not stand still for a farrier. I have worked with her several times, but she still gets pretty wound up. Her hooves need trimming real bad. I have thought to just hitch her to a fore cart with one of our mules and maybe carefully walk her long enough to wear them down to a safe place until such time that she will submit to a farrier. Any suggestions out there?

Dave, sounds like you got your finger between the rope and stocks when tying the foot up? Yep, no good time to lose a digit. At least it wasn't your trigger finger!!
Folks, stocks are tools, tools are patient. They wait for us to be complacent or make a mistake or the timing be just right and BLAM, they hurt us.
Missouri Woods, put her on a forecart and trot down a black top. Does a good job of rough trimming. Handle her feet daily (before and after each use), if only to get her to pick it off of the floor. Over time she will learn you mean no harm, length of time lifted off of the floor will eventually increase (she is 10, it ain't gonna happen overnight) to the point you or your farrier can work on her.

Training an older to pick up and hold a foot can be a long drawn out process . One way I like to start is with a foot rope and get them to give to pressure. This can be done with a good helper holding the lead line or in a round pen. I use a lariet and rope a hind foot at the pastern , move directly behind the horse a safe distance and gently pull on the rope to get them to pick it up. Sometimes this is where it gets real exciting..... Some kick violently and try to run over/around the handler others just kick. Don't try to hold the leg to keep them from kicking just keep enough pressure on the rope yo let them know it's there. When they quit kicking release the pressure. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO HOLD THIS PRESSURE UNTIL THEY STOP KICKING. If you release the pressure while the are still kicking you teach them to kick and the pressure will stop, just the opposite of what you are trying to accomplish. Wait a few seconds and repeat ...holding the foot up longer each time before you let it down, Repeat on the other side. Works the same front and rear...starting on the rear seams to them help get the idea and makes the fronts go easier. It is easier for me to do than explain.Wish you were close to SC and we could get together and I'd show you.May not be the very best way but has worked well for me and no one has got hurt yet.

If i get one that i can't handle i use cattle trimmers...

Just throw her down and trim the feet dont worry about her. do anything to them you want to do. then keep trying to pick up her feet before the next trim if you cant pickem up throw her again they eventaly let you pick up ther feet. I trim all there feet one way or the other. when I decide to trim feet all get trimed at that time. Ive never used stocks dont know any thing about using them. have had some it was easer to ride or drive down the oil until the feet are trimed enough.