Freaked out at shots?

[suen]

I recently bought a pregnant, 13 yr old mare. She's a little bit of a grouch right now, but who can blame her? She is due middle of next month. We went in to give her a tetanus shot, she saw the needle, and came UNGLUED!!! Had a hard time putting the halter on, she reared, tried to bite, bucked, and this was all before we actually tried to even give her the shot! Normally she is a VERY quiet slow mare. I have never seen her like this... We tried our best to talk quietly to her and keep her calm, but every time I started to give her the shot, she would do the same thing. Finally got some in, hope it was enough to do some good. Have never had to twitch a horse and hate to start now, but when she has the foal I wonder how I am going to give her the shots she will need. Any ideas on how to get her over this? Of course shots are only once or twice a year, and maybe its not worth worrying about? Since that episode she is back to her loving self, wanting all kinds of attention, brushing and treats.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

I have the same problem with my QH gelding. He's always had this phobia and even associates our vet's truck with shots!

It's gotten so bad that we have to halter & tie him before the vet pulls up, we brush him and get him calmed down. After the vet arrives we gently place a towel over this eyes and he is fine for the shots. He is a very calm and willing boy but I must admit he is ALOT like his momma! If I see a needle, I'm out the door before you can blink!

In all honesty I can't blame him so I have just learned to deal with it

 

[eagles ring farm]

We have a gelding who when we bought him we were warned he was horrible

with shots.

after 1 horrible try with the vet rearing mostly not alot of nasty stuff but still impossible to give a shot to

we found a great way with him and this has worked with him now for the past 5 years

with 2 people 1 holds a bucket of grain with plenty in it for him to eat and the other gives the shot

the vet can even draw blood for a coggins every year this way. Maybe worth a try

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

Hard to explain, and probably harder to believe, but the best thing to do is not let them know they are getting a shot.

Never let them see the syringe.

Always alter the routine so they can't learn it.

Be extraordinarily calm. If you are worried, they will clue in even if they don't know why.

Last resort, tie them short to stiff wall (and ask the owner to step back, I can usually get the job done better without help rather than a nervous/excited owner).

Dr Taylor

 

[chandab]

Nerves can make or break a vaccination session... I hate doing shots, but its necessary, so I find myself taking a few deep breaths before giving shots, and it does seem to help (as long as I can calm down).

 

[Sandee]

Dr. Taylor, excellant reply and I totally agree.

Now what do I do if it's the vet that has the problem. My vet had a horse related accident about a year ago. It was a big horse, in fact, her own horse. Now she seems to have misplaced her confidence. She had no trouble giving any of my minis shots. The vet that filled in for her ( and the one time I tried to do it on my own) has my mare so crazy that it's hard for anyone but me to get near her rear. (I prefer the shots in the hip as she has gotten swollen and sore in the neck thanks to fill in vet). How do tell this nice lady that it's her "air-aura" that makes us have to use a twitch on my mare.

[side note : This mare has had work done on her teeth without sedation and never even tried to move away.....dentist was very confident and capable]

Also makes me worry about breeding her as I don't know how we'll help with delivery!!

 

[RhineStone]

We have a fairly easy way to handle this. First, don't let the horse see the needle. Have the handler cover the horse's eye (on the side the shot is to be given) with their hand as the person giving the shot is approaching. Then, *** the horse gently in the spot where the shot is to be given, and quickly in rhythm with the jabs, give the injection, like "***-***-***-shot". The horse gets the shot before they even know what happened and the jabs help "dull" the area where the shot is given.

 

[suen]

We've done the ***,***,*** shot thing on all of our big horses through the years and never had a problem. THis time it was a tetanus under the skin, so was a little bit different. Will try the next shots with the cover the eye thing and see how that goes...just hate to twitch.

We have a fairly easy way to handle this. First, don't let the horse see the needle. Have the handler cover the horse's eye (on the side the shot is to be given) with their hand as the person giving the shot is approaching. Then, *** the horse gently in the spot where the shot is to be given, and quickly in rhythm with the jabs, give the injection, like "***-***-***-shot". The horse gets the shot before they even know what happened and the jabs help "dull" the area where the shot is given.

 

[Minimor]

I had a Morgan that hated shots, and fortunately at the time I also had a vet that was a good hand with horses--he could grab that gelding by the halter, stick the needle in & give the shot while flying across the barn aisle with the horse!

I have never quite mastered that same technique--if I tried it I would likely spray the vaccine all over the place by pulling the needle out as I pushed the plunger in on the syringe!

I've never had any luck with having someone cover the eye--my horses are smart & know that if someone is trying to cover their eye, there is a shot coming!

I do have a couple Minis that are not great about needles; I generally snub them up to a stout post, then try to act like they are not getting a shot--distract them with a handful of grain, scratch them a bit to distract them, don't let them see the needle...I get a good skin pinch & stick the needle in & give the shot as quickly as possible. It generally goes okay. It does help to be confident about giving needles.

 

[Riverrose28]

some of these responses are funny, my husband bought a colt, now gelded that is a bear to give a shot to. He rears up, strikes out, just horrable. To make matters worse he is blind in his left eye, so I thought I would try last fall to give the shot on the left side so he couldn't see what I had in my hand, as soon as he felt the pinched skin, he knew what was coming, bad boy. I waited two days, then tied him up, didn't pinch just jabbed, put it in and ran like h--l. he got his shoot. This horse is the biggest pain, it took me forever to get him to take wormer, I had to put it in his food for a while, but finally got him to accept it in his mouth by just rubbing his muzzle with the syringe and then sneaking it into his mouth and putting it in. I wish my hubby had listened to me and not bought this horse! Iam sure alot of us have at least one horse that is unco-operative when they want to be. Oh by the way a twitch won't work on this guy, it took four adults to restrain him to get him gelded.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

Dr. Taylor, excellant reply and I totally agree.

Now what do I do if it's the vet that has the problem. My vet had a horse related accident about a year ago. It was a big horse, in fact, her own horse. Now she seems to have misplaced her confidence. She had no trouble giving any of my minis shots. The vet that filled in for her ( and the one time I tried to do it on my own) has my mare so crazy that it's hard for anyone but me to get near her rear. (I prefer the shots in the hip as she has gotten swollen and sore in the neck thanks to fill in vet). How do tell this nice lady that it's her "air-aura" that makes us have to use a twitch on my mare.

[side note : This mare has had work done on her teeth without sedation and never even tried to move away.....dentist was very confident and capable]

Also makes me worry about breeding her as I don't know how we'll help with delivery!!

Hip is not better than neck and likely worse. If you were to get an abscess it won't drain. Rump may be better, but other than foal I almost never use it. Horses kick. I probably would refuse your request, but suggest the pectoral or tricep.

No way you can get a horse to relax for a rear end shot.

I also do not like the thump, thump, thump, *** technique. I think horses can count. It also produces excitement, not calmness.

I prefer a dull pinch with a vibration and a slow insertion of the needle.

To increase your Vet's confidence, ask her how she wants to do it, do exactly that and stay quiet.

Dr Taylor

 

[iowa]

Yes, I have found that the few slaps where they are going to get the shot alerts them to the fact that it is coming and they try to move away. If I have a problem one, I put it between two gates so they can't move side to side and push me over, and give it as quickly as I can.

 

[Blackwater Farm]

Both my minis dont have any problems with shots but whats funny is they hate having their blood drawn! When I take them to the vet she will have me back their tails into a corner and she uses a little clamp twitch on my gelding and that is like insta-calm to him! My new little filly just had her first coggins done not long ago and once we backed her tail into the corner she threw a minor tantrum and it was hard to get the vein but overall she did well!

 

[Shari]

Makes me wonder why people don't teach their horses that it is ok. Mine see the needle coming but they have been taught to think of it as a treat.

I walk out in the pasture with all of mine, they see the needle and walk up to me to get it. No halter, no fuss no muss. I make sure I do a quick in and out, and right after they get a nice itch and a bit of massage. They love it.

I would start by just rubbing your horse for a bit, get him/her to relax, then start scratching as hard as they like it. When they are not expecting it, very quick in and out with the shot and continue scratching.

And remember if you are worried, they will be too.

 

[Eagle]

I had a Morgan that hated shots, and fortunately at the time I also had a vet that was a good hand with horses--he could grab that gelding by the halter, stick the needle in & give the shot while flying across the barn aisle with the horse!

I have never quite mastered that same technique--if I tried it I would likely spray the vaccine all over the place by pulling the needle out as I pushed the plunger in on the syringe!

I know the type, My vet does this to our" human eating" Mule. He goes in the corral all arrogant then I see him fly out a few minutes later

When I ring him to tell him her vacc.s are due I can almost hear him sigh.

 

[Sandee]

Yes, I have found that the few slaps where they are going to get the shot alerts them to the fact that it is coming and they try to move away. If I have a problem one, I put it between two gates so they can't move side to side and push me over, and give it as quickly as I can.

That's how we started when we tried to do shots ourselves. My stallion clamped his tail and put his butt on the floor; ended up sitting on the needle. And he's normally good about accepting people to work on him!

 

[midnight star stables]

Great post guys! Lots of tips!! Anyone ever give the shots for the vet? (Supervised?)

 

[love_casper]

Best way to teach a horse to accept shots is to NOT wait until your vaccines are late.

The horse is not trying to be bad, he's trying to survive. The instinct of the prey animal depicts that when a predator tries to force something into them, they should fight tooth and nail if they want to live through the experience. What we must do then is not continue fighting with them, but instead teach them the scary procedure is actually pleasant, and there is no need to react negatively.

When you've got the time to be patient, go simulate it with a toothpick. Rub the neck with it, poke them with it, and only remove it when the horse is calm. For my more extreme ones, I'll poke the toothpick into them and immediately give a treat, until it's no longer an issue for the horse. Even my stallion who was absolutely awful for his last owner with all vet/farrier procedures stands quietly on a loose lead for all his shots.

So suen, what I personally would do with your mare, if she's so scared that she reacts at the sight of the needle, is show up with the needle and do the opposite of what she expects. Judging by her age, she has had shots before. Young horses can be frightened simply because they don't know what's going on. So a bad experience made her the way she is, and a positive experience should fix that. I would go out to her with an empty shot syringe and ... give her some food. In fact, every time you go out to feed her bring it with you. Once it stops bothering her at a distance, rub all possible injection sites with the syringe while she's eating until that doesn't bother her. Start touching her with it, if she moves go with her, and take it away the second you get what you want which is a calm response. I'd do that before progressing to the toothpick simulation actually.

Good luck with your girl!