How To Train Horses To Receive A Needle

Horses, much like humans, are justifiably averse to getting any type of shot of any sort of drug or vitamin or whatever. Even those bred right from a domesticated environment will still react using an animal’s natural flight or fight reaction. Leave pony riding and equestrian training for a moment; and work on coaching your trusty steed to learn how to put up with injections.

Your mare may never like being pricked by that needle every time she needs a shot, but she’ll better handle it if you make the time to train her for it. Like in equestrian training and practicing difficult dressage routines, patience and praise will do wonders.

This coaching is a combination of pretending the motions of giving the shot, applying your usual pony praise after every improvement (even if the horse didn’t do anything 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 employ a snaffle bridle on her if a halter affords little control. Hold up a dummy syringe too—play the effect to the maximum for best results. Then you move to the spot where the shot goes, and pat the spot forcefully 2 times. Stop before she reacts (some react adversely even to motions suggesting that a shot is immanent), praise her, and walk a couple of steps away cueing for her to follow. Repeat the role play till you’re sure she is used to it on each side. After the pats comes the pinching. There might already be a negative reaction to just the action of pinching, so attempt to pinch really lightly at first and progress to firmer pinches at the horse’s pace. Try to break down the steps to the smallest 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 off have her follow. Sort of like teaching a dressage routine isn’t it? The same steps apply to the subsequent and most imperative part… the prick.

Simulating the prick is the final stage next to administering the shot. Try a toothpick or anything that will adequately prick the horse’s skin like a needle without piercing it. Naturally you’d first prick very lightly, then lightly, then strongly, then work on keeping the pricking sensation on her skin for longer, but never longer than a shot takes. Between pricks do not forget to praise, walk off and have her follow. Also, remember to do both sides 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 mimicked 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 of the step-by-step motions, and walked away each time to distract her from reacting further. By following these steps you can save both you and your pony from the hassles related to injections… aside from giving the shot itself. In fact , these steps apply to most routines in equestrian coaching and pony riding.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about horse rugs.