CAYUGA, Ind. — Horses are “flight” animals, and their first reaction to pain, noise, motion and other stimuli is usually to try to get away.<br>
But if people can understand why a horse reacts the way it does, they stand a better chance of controlling its behavior and restraining it when needed, according to Cliff Shipley, DVM, of the University of Illinois Veterinary College.<br>
“Most horses are large, quick and can be dangerous. But usually, when people get hurt loading, handling or riding a horse, it’s not the horse’s fault. People get hurt because somebody did something stupid,” Shipley said during a Feb. 9 livestock seminar in Cayuga.<br>
Being able to restrain a horse properly is crucial, whether you have it mainly for riding, showing, breeding or simply as a pasture pet. Shipley recommended imprint-training young foals shortly after birth.<br>
“Typically during the first day, you expose it to anything or everything you want it to do,” he said.<br>
That includes exposing the foal to noise, touching it over its entire body and, typically, halter-breaking and leading it within a few days of birth. It’s also important to teach the animal that its owner is the dominant animal, Shipley said.<br>
“Reward it for good behavior and discipline it for bad behavior. I hate it when animals come into the clinic and have never heard the word ‘no,’” he said.<br>
Horses that weren’t imprinted as foals can still be restrained successfully using several simple methods – for example, when they need to see a veterinarian or have their hooves trimmed by a farrier. Shipley said the twitch is a good tool that doesn’t hurt the animal when handled appropriately, even though it’s frowned upon by some people.<br>
“The reason why the twitch works is nothing other than endorphin release,” he said. “You put it on and then wait for it to take effect. A lot of times you can actually see the horse almost go to sleep on you.”<br>
Another technique that causes endorphin release is a lead shank placed underneath the horse’s lip.<br>
“It’s a technique I really like,” Shipley offered. “You can put as much or little pressure on there as needed and it really gets the horse’s attention.”<br>
A lead shank can also be used over the nose, under the chin and through the mouth, and it’s a tool all horse owners should have on hand, according to Shipley.<br>
For short but potentially painful procedures, there are several other ways of distracting the horse. Grabbing hold of some skin on the horse’s neck and twitching it takes good grip strength, but can be effective for a short time, just like a skin pinch can disguise the sting of a vaccination.<br>
Shipley also shared a lesser-known short-term distraction technique that has become one of his personal favorites: Using a thumb to apply mild pressure to the top of the horse’s eyelid.
“If you do it properly, you’re not going to hurt the horse or make it head-shy,” he said.<br>
A former barrel racer and horse owner with 40 years of experience, Geraldine Sowards of Terre Haute, Ind., said the seminar reinforced some knowledge she already had about restraining horses.<br>
“When you work with horses, you adjust your handling techniques to the individual animal,” she said. “Some-times you just have to guesstimate whether the horse is not responding because he’s being belligerent or scared. You’ve got to learn to read the animal.”<br>
The seminar was part of the Bi-State Livestock Conference, sponsored by the extension services of Purdue University and the UoI.