Horses, very similar to humans, are justifiably averse to getting any kind of shot of any kind of drug or vitamin or whatever. Even those bred right out of a domesticated environment will still react using an animal’s natural fight or flight reaction. Leave pony riding and equestrian training for a moment; and work on training your reliable steed to learn to put up with needles.
Your mare will never like being pricked by that needle each time she requires a shot, but she will be able to better handle it if you make the time to coach her for it. Like in equestrian training and practicing complicated dressage routines, patience and praise will perform miracles.
This training is a mix of mimicking the motions of giving the shot, applying your usual pony praise after every improvement (even if the pony did nothing but refrained from regressing). What you do is approach your mare much in the same way you would if you were giving her a shot. Remember to utilise a snaffle bridle on her if a halter affords little control. Hold up a dummy syringe too—play the effect to the maximum for optimum results. Then you move to the spot where the shot goes, and pat the spot forcefully 2 times. Stop before she reacts (some react negatively even to motions implying that a shot is immanent), praise her, and walk a few steps away cueing for her to follow. Repeat the process until you are sure she’s used to it on each side. After the pats comes the pinching. There might already be a unfavourable reaction to just the action of pinching, so try and pinch truly gently initially and progress to firmer pinches at the horse’s pace. Try to break down the steps to the littlest parts feasible to stay safe—some equine patients would kick and buck at the ‘pats ‘ stage.
With the pinches, do the same thing. Pinch for a while, release, praise, and stroll off cueing her to follow. Pinch a bit longer, let go before she reacts, praise, walk away , have her follow. Pinch longer still, let go, praise, walk away , have her follow. Sort of like teaching a dressage routine isn’t it? The same steps apply to the subsequent and most critical part… the prick.
Simulating the prick is the final stage next to literally administering the shot. Try a toothpick or anything that may adequately prick the horse’s skin like a needle without piercing it. Naturally you’d first prick delicately, then lightly, then forcibly, then work on keeping the pricking sensation on her skin for longer, but never longer than an actual shot takes. Between pricks don’t ever forget to praise, walk off and have her follow. Also, do not forget to do each side of your mare. Regress to a comfortable stage if the horse reacts negatively before you could stop. Start over from that comfortable earier point.
You role played the motions of giving a shot so she would become used to them, did the do-this-and-praise routine so she’d become used to all the step-by-step motions, and walked away everytime to distract her from reacting further. By following these steps you are able to save both you and your pony from the frustrations related to injections… aside from giving the shot itself. Actually these steps apply to most routines in equestrian training and pony riding.
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