3 year old with water phobia..

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NellRosk

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Hi, I'm having such a dilemma with my 3 year dappled grey Irish Draught that hates water. She will be shown this summer but I don't know how am I ever going to bath her.

Tried everything, from distracting her with treats whilst trying to sponge her, to just going ahead and throwing a bucket of water on her hooves in the hope it will desensitize her. Each time she goes crazy, rearing and snapping whatever string she is tied up to. Twitching doesn't work either, has no effect. Also given her a full tube of sedalin which did nothing. Please does anyone have any tips as in a few years she'll be completely white and bathing with be essential :(
 
I'd put her in the wash box with the hose running (but not touching her). When she stops going radj, run hose on her hoof. Don't stop if she freaks, just keep going, just on her hoof until she calms. She will, eventually. And then so on until you can squirt her all over.
She's probably learnt that when she fights back the water disappears. So don't stop if she freaks, but start small (hose running but not touching her) so she doesn't completely lose it.
 
We don't have a wash box at the yard, just a wall with a tie ring! I've always had to chicken out and stop spraying her with a hose before because she's either got away or is rearing/ kicking so much I'm scared she's going to do herself an injury
 
Hmm the dry sponge is fine but as soon as a water molecule touches it she'll start spinning round and trying to kick/ rear on my head! She's a big girl and unfortunately uses her size/ strength against me!
 
No, don't have someone hold her in a bridle as if she rears, you'll damage her mouth, and panic a frightened horse further. Unless you think that forcing a scared animal is the way forward (I don't)?

I'd go for a gentle approach, and aim to habituate her.

I think you have to start by getting her to associate water with pleasant things - feeds. So feed her and have the hose running next to the bucket. When she's calm with that, hold the hose up. When she's ok with that, run it over her hooves (on low pressure). Do a step further every night while she has her feed. Slowly raise the hose higher up her legs. If she freaks out, ignore, but keep the hose where it is until she stands quietly, then turn it off and reward her.
In time she'll get used to it, and this way the cure will be permanent.

If you try to strap her down with bridles, chifneys, 'heavies' hanging on to her, you will just increase her stress and her 'fight/flight' reaction.

S :D
 
I posted a similar thread over the weekend as my filly tried to kill me over a damp sponge, got some really useful tips just have a look at my started threads you'll guess which one it is.
 
Clicker training has worked wonders for me for: a youngster who would seriously try to kick your teeth in if you so much as looked at his legs; a pony totally objecting to his bit who'd had to be ridden in a head collar for a year and an uncatchable head collar-shy older horse.
All three of these horses had had their particular issue for quite a while and were pretty much phobic with their 'thing'.
There'll be better advice on here about clicker training itself if you search for it - I learnt mine from dog training so adapted it but there are more horse-specific ways, I think.
I found it helped to be prepared to break the hated task down into tiny incremental steps so the horse could 'win' with it a lot. I also rewarded for an absence of phobic behaviour (ie pony had learnt head tossing as one of his bit evasions so when he was not doing that to evade, he was rewarded). I also prepared myself to be really patient for it possibly taking a long time/several short sessions especially where behaviour was entrenched but was always pleasantly surprised how relatively quickly it does work.
I think it's been more effective for the three I've used it on mostly because the click sound and timing of treat is so clear and easy for them to understand what behaviour you want from them. I'd tried most other things with all 3 to no avail and come to the conclusion that the clicker just makes it easy for them to do the right thing. It also seems to snap the brain out of panic mode, very useful for a flight animal! It's also more targeted than straightforward food bribery and seems to engage the curiosity better, making it more like a fun game.
Good luck - I will be working with it on disliking water/sprays next myself!
 
Shilasdair said:
No, don't have someone hold her in a bridle as if she rears, you'll damage her mouth, and panic a frightened horse further. Unless you think that forcing a scared animal is the way forward (I don't)?

I'd go for a gentle approach, and aim to habituate her.

I think you have to start by getting her to associate water with pleasant things - feeds. So feed her and have the hose running next to the bucket. When she's calm with that, hold the hose up. When she's ok with that, run it over her hooves (on low pressure). Do a step further every night while she has her feed. Slowly raise the hose higher up her legs. If she freaks out, ignore, but keep the hose where it is until she stands quietly, then turn it off and reward her.
In time she'll get used to it, and this way the cure will be permanent.

If you try to strap her down with bridles, chifneys, 'heavies' hanging on to her, you will just increase her stress and her 'fight/flight' reaction.

S :D
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Thanks for the advice, I'll start doing this tonight! And yeah exactly, don't want to end up psychologically damaging her and ending up with even more of a problem horse by trying to force her down!
 
Clicker training is an interesting idea, never heard of it being used for horses but I'll do some research into it! Thank you for your advice, I'll invest in a clicker and start the slow steps towards getting her used to it!
 
Get her to teach you to take the hose off her.

I'd start with a hose, it needs to be long enough to follow her. I'd put it on a little bit and put it on her shoulder, she will protest and leap and do whatever she does and I'd keep it on her in a calm way so her protesting gets her nowhere (make sure you have a hat on) and make sure the water stays going on her (if much leaping you might loose if for a second but put it straight back on).

The second she stands of stops even for a millisecond I'd take the hose off her but leave it on and move it behind your back to take the worry about the hose away, tell her she's good (and click her if your going to do that) and give her a few seconds to think about what happened.

Then I'd repeat it, they tend to learn pretty quickly that dancing/protesting doesnt help but standing still teaches the human to take the hose off. Normally a few goes and they will stand (but still look worried!) and have the hose on them, the key is to not leave it on for too long to start with, just a second or 2 of hose on and if no protesting and then take it away and praise. Then slowly build it up.

Make her think that she's teaching you to take the hose off by standing, then with some practice and by the time you have done this a few times the hose being on shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Reading it back I'm not sure if I have explained it very well!!!
 
Many young horses are scared of the hose ime. I tend to have help ideally, I would never tie up or trap horse in a small space like a washbox. Hold horse and stand with hose, then move hose along the ground, not splashing from a height and allow horse to move, follow - without chasing - with the hose and just patting, talking quietly to horse.
After a few sessions horse will realise that the hose will wet hooves, and it isn't life threatening.
Don't let horse spin or get really stressed, do a bit at a time, there is no rush with these things.
The key is not to force horse to stand, it will be calmer if allowed to move its feet.
We have a nice large yard and I am happy for a young horse to move in circles round me while I wet it's legs. After a while they just stand.
 
Clicker training is an interesting idea, never heard of it being used for horses but I'll do some research into it! Thank you for your advice, I'll invest in a clicker and start the slow steps towards getting her used to it!
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Have a look at Hannah Dawson's page (www.hannahdawsonequine.co.uk/ - look at the videos).

I know Hannah has lots of "how to" starter videos, but I don't think she has a bath one yet, so in the meantime, here's one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UwTvQLvblo4
 
I did much the same as vikkijay with a 17 hand warmblood and within 20 minutes it had had a bath soap and all. She wouldnt even go near the hose to start with but because she wasnt tied and was able to go round me in a fairly open space she didnt rear but sort of ran round in circles when she stopped I took the hose off her for a while then did it again once she realised it didnt kill her she was fine
One comment I will make is my youngster still doesnt really like the water on her legs but will stand for her body to be bathed so feet and legs can be a bit precious to them so start at the shoulder where it wont run down their legs if they dont like the water on their legs
 
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Patience and repetition basically. Have you tried just wiping her over with a damp sponge - say, on her shoulder? My youngster had been bathed quite a bit before I got him aged 15mths but was a bit paranoid about his legs and didn't like them being hosed. However, he now is the best out of the lot of ours at being hosed on his legs and all we did was just little and often and made sure the water wad just trickling at first. Now, he's just 4 and I could practically power hose him!! Just remain calm and don't lose your rag with them. I would practice some groundwork techniques with her though, asking for stand, back up etc so she doesn't just think she can push you about by over-reacting. Mine at one stage learnt he could easily snap valet twine to by just leaning back and flicking his head once. This was not when he wad scared/worried bit just if he got bored standing/wasn't being given attention. I dud ha ve
 
Aarrgh, hate my phone! What I wad trying to say was I did have to get a stronger bit of twine and it only took him a couple of times of him trying and failing with his technique for him to stop trying it! It may be yours has learnt this behaviour gets her free so I would suggest having someone hold her instead so she can't get free
 
NellRosk said:
Hmm the dry sponge is fine but as soon as a water molecule touches it she'll start spinning round and trying to kick/ rear on my head! She's a big girl and unfortunately uses her size/ strength against me!
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I think you need to go back a bit and get those issues sorted out first.

Her reaction shouldn't be to turn on you, whatever you are doing.
Run away fine, that's fear.
Retaliation/fight not good.

You need to get her, through ground work, to the point where regardless of what you are doing, you are not the enemy.

You might scare the living daylights out of her by trying a new thing, new things are scary, but you need her to trust you if you say the scary new thing is OK.

Did the same on Monday. In a field by a water trough, nowhere to tie up anyway that's safe, 12yo son to help, pony never has been bathed in her life. Though I wouldn't have started with a hose.

She ran, she stopped, she came back, repeat and keep going until "I think the hay is more interesting".
But you need to build up the "came back part".
 
Yeah she just freaks out with the sponge and pushes and barges into me! Okay, I'm working on her handling as she is a big girl and could easily become a nuisance. Yeah she definitely knows she can snap string and then avoid the situation! I'll try find a willing volunteer at my yard or hold her myself and get someone else to sponge her. Thanks x
 
She's an angel though to do anything else to! Can brush/ fuss her all day and she's fine.. It's just when I try and go near her with water :( I don't know where she's got this phobia from, took her for her first hack near a stream on sunday and the sound of running water got her very agitated. Okay I will try and work on her coming back to me, thanks for advice
 
The farmer who owns my yard gave me some advice yesterday 'put it in the cattle crush, won't be able to get away then' I don't think he was kidding as well hahah!
 
Although I'm not suggesting you do it Nell :D my OH put my unhandled cob through the crush aged 2 to get a head collar on him. He wasn't at all fazed and it significantly shortened the desensitising time, but if he'd told me what he was going to do I'm not sure I would have let him!
 
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