If a horse is not sufficiently confident when separated from other horses, he may desperately attempt to retain communication with or physical proximity to his buddies. What your farrier has to deal with is a horse that screams, paws, swerves sideways, defecates repeatedly, and in general, pays more attention to where his buddies are than to the farrier working on him. If young horses are routinely kept in separate pens or stalls or periodically tied alone to a hitching post for several hours at a time, they soon accept separation and begin developing a healthy self-confidence. One of the underlying obstacles in getting any horse to stand still is the fact that horses are born wanderers. When the nomadic tendency is thwarted by excessive confinement or improperly applied restraint and embellished by excessive feed and inadequate exercise, vices such as pawing, weaving, and pacing can result.
Regular exercise is essential for the horse's physical and mental well-being.
A fresh horse, even if well-trained, might get antsy when asked to stand still for shoeing. An exhausted horse is not the answer either. Such a horse will probably be tuned out, unresponsive, and will likely lean on the farrier. Some horses learn these lazy habits because a timid owner doesn't know how to encourage the horse to cooperate. Most horses can be taught in a simple and non-aggressive way to pick up their feet and hold them up without leaning.