How do you deal with a horse that is needle shy?

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Permalink Reply by Ginny Cassil on November 22, 2010 at 3:59pm

I have had a only few horses over the years that were truly needle phobic and would be totaly irrational about any shots. they have gotten better. One of the veterinarians at the clinic I use is especialy good and quick and both my difficult horses tolerated vaccinations from this one vet with minimal upset, having tried his technique and attempting to perfect it I can now give my own shots to these 2 horses.
First I never give more than one shot and wait for a week or 2 for the next one. I nolonger tap or pat or stroke the site as this warns the horse and she starts tensing up and dancing about. I quickly roll up a small bit of skin just below the site and dart the needle in as fast as I can, withdraw a bit and inject. Most of the time I get a minimal head toss or flinch and we are done. Keeping the skin very tight does lessen the pain in the shin and perhaps works as a mini twitch
Most horses are less reactive if you stroke or pat the injection site prior to the shot, but the truly phobic ones see that as a warning of bad things to come, also prepping the site with alcohol will set the phobic horse off, (my vet assures me that the alcohol we dab on their necks doesnot do much to prevent injection site infections) I have not had any injection site infections skipping the alcohol prep on several horses over many years. Realy anything that gives the horse an idea the shot is coming just sets you up for a wreck.
Never tie up the horse prior to the shots, If possible be in an open area with room to move. Tying will only set you up for a huge wreck
While the neck is not my favorite injection site for most horses it is for the difficult ones, I drape the lead line over my arm and am ready to go with the horse if they have to move. They are less likely to strike or fight if they can move their feet
The less production you make of it the better. Leaving a significant time between shots gives them time to forget and not be suspicious of your intentions next time.
My worst horse, a Morgan mare I've owned since birth now can be vaccinated with hardly any reaction at all, of coarse it took several years,.and for her I do no advance prep at all, I just walk in and dart her in the neck I hauled her in to the clinic for her shots probably till she was 4 or 5 because it was not worth my life or temper to do it myself. I just gave all my horses their Rhino/flu boosters this weekend with out any trouble at all. THis is the horse in my picture and is now 13 years old and the love of my life, my other worst horse was her mother, her 2 year old son however has never given any trouble for his shots so while I thought it might be hereditary I'm not so sure now.br/>
good luck
ginny

Permalink Reply by May S on November 23, 2010 at 3:33pm

The first step is you need to realize it's not the little pointy metal thing they're necessarily reacting to. It can be the presence of the vet. It can be the change in your body language from soft/caring to goal-oriented. It can be the vaccination steps are triggering a memory of a time they were terribly mishandled in the past, and they really don't know if a beating will follow the vaccination this time or not. It may just be the horse is sensitive and in the presence of a person feeling anxiety about giving shots, the horse's own emotions are going up. Without assessing the individual horse & getting his history, it's hard to give a specific answer -- and it might benefit a person who feels "unsafe" to bring in a good trainer to help them solve this problem.

There are some general things one can do:

A big one is counter conditioning. This means every time the parts of the vaccination process appear, GOOD things happen instead. If you bring the horse somewhere specific for the vet that the horse isn't normally in, condition the horse to feel better in the area: feed or groom him there. If you believe the horse doesn't like hands or objects moving towards his neck, slowly desensitize him using first your finger and then a needle-less syringe: slowly move, touch, and gently poke the neck on both sides but do something GOOD the whole time (treats? eating grain? scratching a really itchy spot?). Then move to the needless syringe: get him used to seeing it, then seeing it move towards his neck, then have it gently poke him -- but the important thing is the whole time this is happening, he is relaxed and something good (dinnertime perhaps?) is happening.

You can change the environment to make vaccinating safer. I feel that doing it inside a tiny stall is asking to get accidentally pinned against a wall. I prefer a larger open area and I have one person controlling his head, while the other works on the vaccination.

Some people may disagree with me, but I don't think that adding a chain shank, harsh twitch, strong corrections (punishment), or sedation solves the root of the problem. It may for the horse to stop moving his feet for a moment, but it doesn't teach the horse that shots are not dangerous to him. Sedation shouldn't scare him, but it also may not keep him still enough. Some people believe a heavily sedated horse doesn't learn from these experiences, so he may continue to act upset subsequent times.

Once you've got a calm horse in a safe environment, the last piece of the puzzle is the injection itself. There are many theories on what hurts less: tapping the spot, pinching or twisting the skin, whatever. Do what works for you. Have the first few experiences getting the injections done by a confident & skilled person so the experience is as easy and fast for the horse as possible.


If you're still not sure what to do, one approach I've found effective and safe for all horses is clicker training. This combines the counter conditioning with a reward-based reinforcement system. You let the horse work things out for himself and he gets rewarded for the smallest effort towards the good behavior. You can also train towards keeping the head down (believed to be a calming signal) and standing in place.

Permalink Reply by Nancy W. Ryan on November 28, 2010 at 9:00am

After making a botch of a job when I was just 19 on a young gelding I had raised from a foal and making this little fellow kick whenever he was patted on the behind (and he lived to 36 years old in the same home!) I had the vet right beside me and had him show me how to do it correctly I never really had a problem. Some horses from the track would be a little skittish but I really think it is the smell of the alcohol that they finally associate with a needle. So in those cases I cleanse the area to be the injection site and then give them lots of good pats in the area but not right on it. A small piece of Krunch or an apple piece keeping the needle well hidden by the side of you leg farthest away from the horse (capped for safety until the moment you decide your horse has relaxed). Stroke and pat close to the area (having a friend holding the horse's head and making soothing noises). The cross ties is not the place to do this until your horse is finally desensitized Finally when he is relaxed and is accepting your pats without anxiety the pats get gradually stronger until you just quickly uncap the needle keeping it attatched to the syringe and pop it in without being tentative about it. Ask you vet what the smallest gage needle you can use for the drug. If it isn't real viscuous a very fine gage needle can be used. As long as your horse is well prepared it will take you less and less time to reassure him you won't hurt him. It may seem sneaky hiding the needle but some horses are like little kids. They see that big needle and they have had a bad experience with a big gage needle and it takes a little finessiing to reassure them. Unfortunately many of the drugs that can be mixed with the food taste bad and they won't eat it. Some times a drug just can't go thru the digestive system as it becomes denatured and looses it intended action. Some people will take a hold of the horses nose and gently squeeze it (not a twitch) to distract them just as the needle go in but this takes quite a bit of coordination. I prefer to do it the gentle way and eventually cure the horse from being needle shy.. Of course your horse should get a little treat after the whole procedure is complete and perhaps a nice grooming in the spots you know he is particularly appreciative. I hope that has been of help.
Another thing to do is take a needle on a siringe and practise on an orange to get that quick jab to be a nice confident motion .When you are confident your horse will trust you more. Keep patting him after you have given him the needle and rubbing the area to disperse the drug in the muscle .Nancy Ryan RN