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Discussion on Fly spray
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Member:
Lorrieg
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 28, 2004 - 2:47 pm:
Any suggestions on fly spray and getting my horse used to being sprayed with it? She is a pretty calm mare for the most part, but really gets bent out of shape when it comes to fly spray application. Any suggestions for making this less stressful for her would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Lorrie
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Member:
Leilani
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 28, 2004 - 3:13 pm:
Lorrie:
I am using a sprayer filled with water to get my 3 year old mare used to the sound. She doesn't mind the liquid touching her, but the sound...
I also fly spray my older mare when they are standing next to each other. I try not to overwhelm the young one, but spray once then back off, spray again, etc. Seems to be working.
Leilani
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Member:
Dres
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 28, 2004 - 4:03 pm:
fly spray is soo wasteful.. and expensive.. what i do is put an old cotton rag/towel in a plastic container with lid, i moisten that with the fly repellent and wipe it on the horses... better application and no fuss for the young ones... i wear rubber gloves that i store on top of the container, just to be cautious...
sorry, but no spray for my horses to deal with..
Ann
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Member:
Goolsby
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 28, 2004 - 4:22 pm:
I like ultra shield. It has worked for me better than anything eles Ive tried. There are also lots of homemade fly sprays on the internet.
My appy used to flip out when sprayed. I would hold her lead and spray away from her just letting her hear the sound. I would let her move slightly away, stop spraying, talk gently, reassuring her then spray again actually letting the spray hit her. After repeating this for awhile, she eventually stopped moving away when she heard the spray, then stopped flinching. This took awhile, but eventually she figured out the spray bottle would not hurt her. She still does not like it. You could also use a wipe. That is what I uses on their faces. I also carry wipes on rides to reapply.
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Member:
Terrilyn
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 28, 2004 - 4:30 pm:
Too funny! A discussion about fly spray in the midst of snow and freezing cold, windy, miserable weather is like hearing Christmas music in July.
One of my horses is super sensitive to sound. He freezes at anything that sounds "weird," even got flippy the other day when leading him from the barn out through crunchy snow to the pasture...
Desensitize your horse just as Colleen describes above...eventually it will not be a big deal; my guy still doesn't like it, but is no longer terrified and will stand for it, and we accomplished it in the same way. Now if someone can tell me how to get him past his fear of crinkly plastic grocery bags....oh my GOD. We've been working on that for two years!......
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Member:
Lorrieg
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 28, 2004 - 4:34 pm:
Thanks everyone for your responses. I totally forgot about the option of wipes. Duh!
I think I would still like her to be used to spraying noises though, so I'll try the water bottle technique, with lots of patience of course.
Also liked the idea of another horse that is already accustomed to it to add reassurance!
Thanks to all!
Lorrie
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Member:
Lorrieg
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 28, 2004 - 4:41 pm:
Hey Terri,
Glad you got a kick out of a flyspray discussion
in January!
I live in Corpus Christi, TX and I'll tell you!
We never know what to expect weatherwise. One day it's 80 degrees the next it's 40 degrees, but it seems like the flys are always there no matter what!
By the way that was not a complaint about the weather, I know how lucky I am to enjoy the weather that we do.
Thanks for your response,
Lorrie
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Member:
Sunny66
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 28, 2004 - 4:45 pm:
Terri, I know the answer to your plastic bag issue!! Feed him carrots from it so he has to put his nose in to get a carrot. All the horses in my barn get carrots that way (;) -- Now they LISTEN for that bag and WANT to investigate(;)
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Member:
Terrilyn
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 28, 2004 - 5:05 pm:
Aileen....thank you! I had actually thought of trying to associate the bag with a treat, but hadn't gotten that far. He is really a bad nutcase about those bags.
Lorrie--while you are at it with the pump spray bottle, it's a good time to get her accustomed to aerosol sprays too. Some of the sprays I buy with a higher concentration of pyrethrins come in large aerosol cans at the feed store, and there may be other products you'll want to use down the road. That sound was harder for my sensitive horse to tolerate, but he is ok with that now also.
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Member:
Dres
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 28, 2004 - 5:52 pm:
i was going to say the same thing..put carrots in the plastic bags... they look for the crinkling bags now...
Ann
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Member:
Leilani
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 28, 2004 - 6:37 pm:
Ann:
Good idea, but my young mare is a Parker Ranch horse and hasn't, so far, shown any interest in any food stuffs other than cubes and hay. My older mare, on the other hand, wore a cardboard six pack holder on her muzzle looking for bits of stray hay that had travelled in my truck. Didn't phase her, but then very little does...
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Member:
Dres
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 28, 2004 - 8:15 pm:
Leilani, i have to teach my young/baby horses what treats are, i would bite a small piece of carrot and put a few chew marks in to release some flavor then stuff it in ones mouth.. not long they figure out what the 'treats' are... maybe you will have to do the same.. OR.. put the hay cubes in the sack at lunch/dinner time when she is hungry...
have fun chewing carrots..
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Member:
Leilani
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 28, 2004 - 8:31 pm:
Thanks Ann!
Leilani, Mele and soon to be treat-loving, Anuhea
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Member:
Frances
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Posted on Thursday, Jan 29, 2004 - 8:19 am:
Lorrie: Another version of getting your mare used to the sound of fly spray is to make the sound yourself first. Every time the fly season comes round again, I make "chfff chfff" noises all around my mare first, then gradually bring in the actual spray, just on the legs to start with.
Of course, you have to be prepared to look/sound like a real idiot to everyone else!
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Member:
Erika
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Posted on Thursday, Jan 29, 2004 - 9:21 am:
Lorrie, can you stand one more? (I swore I wouldn't add to these discussions that seem to never end!)
I empty my sprays into a garden-style sprayer, one where you pump it up for pressure, then hold the lever down to spray.
The benefits are as follows:
1. It is MUCH quieter than the squirt-pump bottles.
2. Gives more even coverage.
3. You don't have to keep cursing the darn pump sprayers that never seem to work!Okay, 'nuff said....
By the way, everyone, great plastic bag tip!
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Member:
Goolsby
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Posted on Thursday, Jan 29, 2004 - 10:03 am:
I just had to add to what Terri said about desensitizing them to aerosol sprays as well. Although wiping is easier on everyone, they need to learn to accept these sounds. My neighbor borrowed my appy for a trail ride and along the way she got a small cut. After returning he tied her to untack and pulled out the aerosol can of blue lotion to spray her cut. She went crazy and broke my leather bridle and ran around like a nut for awhile. I never thought to warn him about that.
I dont know if I would try this, but my cousin (I bought my appy from him) said he tied plastic grocery bags to her tail to desenitize her.
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Member:
Dtranch
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Posted on Thursday, Jan 29, 2004 - 11:05 am:
Ditto Erika .... I use the same method with the sprayer and am very satisfied. One more advantage though ... your hand doesen't get tired from all the squeezing.
DT
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Member:
Dtranch
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Posted on Thursday, Jan 29, 2004 - 11:16 am:
I know this should probably be another thread, but really, it is all relative. Desensitizing is important for all these things. I get my horses to walk on tarps, stand while I shake the tarps, etc. One great method I use is to tie garbage bag, or flag, or whatever you choose on a stick. I carry this over my shoulder as I lead. As the horse gets used to it, I move it a little as I walk. As we keep improving, I increase the movement. It is amazing, but the horse goes from trying to get away from it, to trying to catch it and nibble on it and just explore in general. It literally only takes minutes for the horse to settle. I use the same method for medications, fly spray, etc. First just the container slowly moving all over their body. Then add the sound and spray water away from at first and then on areas away from head. Eventually, problem solved. Same with clippers, my hat, or whatever. Time is the key ... man, I could have had a horse trained while I was typing this.
DT
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Member:
Ajudson1
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Posted on Friday, Jan 30, 2004 - 7:13 pm:
Great DT, come to my house and work on my gelding who's also afraid of spray.
Yup, I had to read this, flyspray discussion when it's -30 with windchills.
I also tie things in the stall. Milk jugs, big sheet of plastic. up high enough so it's safe of course. Lay a large piece of tarp down, feed grain on it. Then a large piece of plastic down, feed on that. Weigh down the corners and edges of course.
I'd take some bugs n flies right now if I could exchange this nasty weather we've got for them!!!
BTW, I tied milk jugs with a small amount of water in, on my mare once cuz she was freaking out when I tried to put a canteen on her. Just about lost my saddle and my fence. Never did solve that problem.
There is a regular pump horse sprayer, I don't recall which catalog I got it from. Think it was about $15.00. Works great,makes no noise at all, but my gelding still freaks when he hears it. Can't figure why he's so afraid of it, almost like he can feel the spray hit him, or his hearing is better than mine.
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Member:
Paix
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Posted on Friday, Jan 30, 2004 - 11:27 pm:
His hearing, his peripheral - yep much better than ours and our canine friends, too.
Off point (I promise to segue) - I love to watch my horses ears prick to a sound (I cant hear), then I look to my dog, wait for him to hear it and then I am I certain where to look for the "monster."
If its dangerous - Im telling you, my horse knows - not my dog. My dog will GO for the danger to seek it out (like coyotes) - my horse will stop. Being deaf - I trust my instinct and what I read off my horse - when he "stops" vs when he is in "alert" mode.
This is my second horse with this nature about him. The one before, I had into his mid thirties. He knew when there was danger, too. He made me VERY aware, "this is not safe." Dead stop vs "Im not sure abt this noise..."
Salem, my 24yo QH, now, has stopped a few times and for good reason, everytime. Twice for coyotes moving in and another time for a Mountain Lion.
Segue...
Genetically, they must be predisposed to alert at the sound of things "rustling" in bushes, snakes hissing, etc... They have survived millions of years on this disposition.
With that said. I really believe in desensitizing ur horse. I think this lets us, well, at least me, know the diff b/t a "real" danger and one we can talk/walk them thru.
I dont think "real" danger happens very often around here - like I said, for me only a handful of times in my life.
Have you tied things to him/her? Saddle, reins or halter, mane, tail. I have done this with all my horses and others Ive worked with. Maybe longe ur mare in the round pen with your canteen on the saddle?
I do use this approach after they have had significant time getting used to The "Thing." Ive touched them all over with "it" and theyve lived with "it" in their stalls. The older horses Ive worked with wld surely come near heart attack if not exposed first.
I bring a water bottle on trail, and it makes a sound everytime its opened - air sucked into compressed bottle.
I let my horse know what Im doing before I do it. I talk to him so he is focused, at least one ear, on me and is aware, "Im doing something back here." I can open the water and he goes along fine.
The times I dont get his attention - the bottle does - pretty simple test and retest I do on my own, proves it every time. A lot of people have critisized me for how much I talk to horses. But, it has made a difference.
It could be any language - its just the noise, rythum, tone and body language. I believe it very comforting to them when we are consistent. I can be on the ground or on their back and talk them thru anything.
All horses are diff and need diff time exposed to these things. Some a few minutes, some a month or more. I never force the issue and really pay attention to THEIR pace - sort of a Montessorian approach.
I think that is a key part of their acceptance. Allowing it in their time, at the same time, knowing when theyre ready for the next level of exposure.
Winter...what a perfect topic - we have more time to do these things safely in their stalls, cross ties or covered arenas. By summer, youll have it all worked out.
Good luck.
We have almost forgotten how strange a thing it is that so huge and powerful and intelligent an animal as a horse should allow another, and far more feeble animal to ride upon it's back.
~Peter Gray
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Member:
Lorrieg
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Posted on Saturday, Jan 31, 2004 - 9:24 pm:
Thanks everyone for your wonderful suggestions! For those of you who aren't lucky enough to live at the bottom of Texas in January, hang in there spring is right around the corner!
Take care & keep warm
Lorrie
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Member:
Aannk
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 29, 2006 - 2:38 pm:
Bringing this up again from a slightly different point of view.
My youngster is not afraid of the bottle, or the sound, but he hates the feel of the spray on his body.
He hasn't been taught to cross tie yet, but he ties to a lead in the aisle.
I have been trying to get him used to the spray, but in over a month have not made much headway.
I start by letting him look at it, then spraying away from him, then rubbing him. As soon as the spray touches him, he wigs out. He swings his butt from side to side, pushing me up against the stall door in the process.
I am not sure how to handle this. My gut tells me to just do it day after day and reward when he stands still, even for a second. However, this doesn't appear to be working.
He also doesn't like his mane pulled, but we are making progress with that, as well as with bridling, saddling, leading, etc. It is just this spray that bothers him. It is pretty clear he is ticklish.
Any suggestions on this particular reaction to spray? Not spraying is not an option. He will be a show horse and will need to get used to coat polishers at least.
Thanks,
Alicia
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New Member:
Dawson
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 29, 2006 - 5:50 pm:
I started using white hand towels soaked in warm water to clean off the sweat after a ride, feels good! Next we just put the fly spray on the warm white towel and massaged all over. Occasionally I forget myself and just spray away, at this point everyone is use to my movements so they just let it go, but its clear they want the rub downs to continue.
Does anyone use the fly pellets in their horses feed? Dr. O I'm new here and would be very interested if any internal damage has occured, and what you think, thanks!
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Member:
Lhenning
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 30, 2006 - 2:33 pm:
Alicia,
To desensitize my horse to fly spray I held his lead rope in one hand allowing him to move freely around me. I then started spraying very low at his hoof and lower leg. When he jumped and moved, I let him, but continued spraying. At first, he almost ran around me but I kept spraying low until he slowed. Stop immediately, wait a moment and praise. Start spraying low again and stop but each time try to get a little more relaxation. Never move the spray upwards until the horse can stand quiet while spraying low. Then move the spray up the leg, wait for quiet, and keep moving up slowly. It took me three sessions to get my horse to stand still and accept the spray, with the lower leg taking the longest. Never remove the spray while he is fidgeting or you will have to start over again. By the way, this method also works for spraying water from a hose. The key is allowing the horse to move away from what they perceive as danger, timing the stop, and asking for a little more calm each step. Sometimes they regress, and then you have to start back at the place he accepts it. Sometimes it seems they get so agitated there is no point of relaxation, but it is OK to allow him to move around the circle quickly. After a period of time he will see the spray does not hurt and it takes too much energy to keep moving.
Hope this helps.
Linda
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Member:
Lorid
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Posted on Friday, Mar 31, 2006 - 7:45 am:
Hi everyone. Linda, I think it is a very good idea to try to desensitize your horse to the spray bottle (and ALL those other scary things we humans do, LOL), but with my Morgan, it just absolutely fries his brain! He is SOOO afraid of the spray bottle that he runs into the corner of his stall, head first. Every so often he will peek at me, as I am quietly reassuring him. He will then turn around to smell the bottle and look at it, but as soon as I point it in his direction, he's off into the corner again! LOL. So as not to be cruel to him, I spray the fly spray onto a rag and rub him down with it (of course after his inspection with his nostrils)and he LOVES it! Sometimes it just isn't worth it! So we turn a rather stressful moment into a happy "feel good" moment.
He's afraid of the water coming from the hose too, but not nearly as bad as the fly spray. Once I run it on his feet for awhile, he likes it and stands better, albeit nervously. However, when the rubdown starts, he relaxes and enjoys that too!
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Member:
Aannk
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Posted on Friday, Mar 31, 2006 - 10:37 am:
Linda,
I never thought about starting low and working up, I will try that. My trainer says I need to make it a training session as opposed to trying to do a little each time I groom him. Today the plan is to work on something else, but the next time I work on spraying, I will try just doing the feet and fetlock and will keep at it until he gives.
By the way, he is not scared of it, he just doesn't like the way it feels.
Thanks for the suggestion, I will try it!
Alicia
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Member:
Green007
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Posted on Friday, Mar 31, 2006 - 10:49 am:
Although it isn't the most helpful thing in the world when training under saddle, I find that clicker training is wonderful for ground work. I use it sometimes on my young horses in the barn.
There are several good books about clicker training for horses out there. If your horse likes treats, it could be a great way to help convince him get over his fear in exchange for that "click."
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