Desensitising pony to the hose - tips and tricks?

[Sprogladite01]

I have a lovely little Welsh A who I adopted from Redwings just over a year ago. He is horribly afraid of the hose - to the point where he will throw himself to the floor and pull all your fencing down in his panic to get away if he's tied up. Buckets of water and a sponge aren't much better, lots of shuddering, eye rolling and dancing around. So far the closest to cooling him off/washing him we've gotten is water on a body brush, which he isn't a fan of but at least it doesn't send him into a blind panic! We groom him thoroughly but he's quite itchy at the moment so I think a bath would help him.
Redwings don't have his history because he came from another sanctuary but he has obviously had a rough start - he was in a sanctuary by the time he was 3 and was the most nervous little thing when I first got him (he still is extremely nervous with strangers). Any ideas on getting him accustomed to the hose/water? I don't want to just do it and further traumatise the poor boy!

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

How is he if there is food in buckets??

Coukd you pick a bucket to use consistently and feed him apple slices out of it then once he’s fine with that add some water? Get him bobbing for them then eventually work up to brushing him daily with it then bobbing and sponging alternatively.

Also cut a length of hose and work inhand with it, rubbing it all over him and getting him used to you having it then pair it together, have the horse running whilst your groom then sponge then start with him touching the water etc.

It’s a long process but that is what I would do with a horse wihh the so much fear.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Whatever you do don't do what one person proudly they told me they did to their 2yo aggressive Colt - tied it tight to the back of a stable and power washed it over the door so they could take it to a show ? Definitely not your pony BTW! This was a few weeks ago and they still have it at the moment.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Whatever you do don't do what one person proudly they told me they did to their 2yo aggressive Colt - tied it tight to the back of a stable and power washed it over the door so they could take it to a show ? Definitely not your pony BTW! This was a few weeks ago and they still have it at the moment.

Wow ??

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I got my first pony used to hose by hosing another horse next to him. Lots of treats and praise were involved. Walking him over it , resting it on fence etc just to get him used to it without it being on.

 

[black and brown]

Can Redwings give you any advice on how they would approach this?

 

[Landcruiser]

I'm working on this very thing with my 3 year old. She is generally bold, but has obviously had a trauma with water/hose and also clippers/sprays. I can throw a tarpaulin over her, but go near with a hose with even a trickle of water and she was terrified. Initially she was rearing/circling desperately. After lots of sessions she's now at the point where she will stand still for me to play the hose over her torso, but she still freaks a bit when it's on her legs. Massive improvement, and I do think we are more than half way there now.
I started with a sponge and bucket of water, just squeezing the sponge out on her neck, her back. Drips on her legs were a horror to her..but persistence and repetition had her calming down. When I felt I could I started with the hose with a tiny trickle, and started again with pressure/release. The hose went away as soon as she stood still, and stayed on while she ran round. After a few sessions it remained on just a bit longer when she stood still, then went away...and that's where we are. I managed to wash her tail - 8 months in (but I've only been doing this work in the hot weather). I never tied her, and had her on a 12 foot line so she could go round and round me if she needed too.

 

[Horseysheepy]

I got my first pony used to hose by hosing another horse next to him. Lots of treats and praise were involved. Walking him over it , resting it on fence etc just to get him used to it without it being on.

This!
Just breaking it down into chunks, you'll get there in the end, but stay safe!

My two year old won't go near the water buckets while the hose is filling it up!. But we had a break through yesterday, he stepped tentatively over the hose on the ground! Bless him, he's trying!.

 

[Lois Lame]

You'll get there in the end, but only if you don't care how long it takes.
It makes sense that he will panic if tied up. Anyone would (if afraid of something). Much better to have him on a lunge rein. Make sure you have the lunge rein held in a safe way.

'We groom him thoroughly but he's quite itchy at the moment so I think a bath would help him.'

This thought is setting a time limit, so you will be better off forgetting about cooling him off this summer. Aim to be ready for next summer if you want any hope of being ready for the remainder of this summer.

 

[fidleyspromise]

I would lay the hose down and walk him around and near it. if OK with that put it on the smallest trickle with it lay on ground. Once he's OK with that hold it or get a second person to hold it and just have it trickle out while near him. Gradually bring closer to him starting at hoof and once he's confident working up the leg.
Any point he's unsure go back a step.

My mare was scared of the horse and I had her years before got it near her. I can now hold her in one hand and hose her all over.

 

[Sprogladite01]

Thanks everyone, some really useful bits here. We aren't in any hurry, the comment about being itchy was more the reason why it would be nice to be able to (eventually) wash him off, but we won't risk traumatising him to get there. He likes a good scratch with a hairbrush so we've been quite obliging with that haha! I've been in touch with Redwings to see if they have any ideas too and am waiting for a response.

As for power washing over the door....crikey don't think my little man would ever let me near him again! Can't imagine being proud of something like that. People are quite amazing in how wildly they vary

 

[TPO]

I'd do "acceptance", rather than desensitising, work with the pony.

As he's OK to be groomed probably starting with a small rag/towel then gradually unfolding, then a plastic bag onto a feed bag.

Simultaneously working with a small flag pole/schooling stick and ropes to make sure he's accepting of being touched all over and having things dangling around legs. Probably also an idea to have horse OK with being towelled all over given that might be needed after a bath.

Then small rag/flag/bag at the end of stick and again making sure OK to have flapping around legs and belly etc

Would also make a start having hose running near horse, while filling up buckets etc, and have have horse be groomed on scratched whatever he enjoys.

Once he's OK with stick and flag all over introduce a slow running hose to a front hoof. Remove immediately and horse is regarded by removal of "pressure" (hose) of you use treats, clicker, voice or scratch use it then. Then just keep building from there gradually holding hose on longer and then reduce the time as you move higher up before building time there too.

The key is to make sure horse is OK all over prior to hose/water training starts and that when you start you always remove the hose before horse has a chance to say no and raise his adrenaline.

I've always found that once they are ok with a poly bag flapping about their legs and rubbing up and down water is a doddle.

I wouldn't worry so much about bathing but I'd want to make sure I could hose all 4 legs. Needing to cold hose a leg for whatever reason is pretty common so much better to practice before it's a necessity/emergency.

I'm like a broken record but highly recommend Joe Midgley Good Horsemanship Channel. Think its 5.99 a month, you get 2 trial days free and cancel any time. He's got good videos working with youngsters as well as training articles that might help too. He does a lot of flag work too (& sells flag poles and flags if you wanted one)