Horse dangerous around vet - advice please!

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aoifemcd

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My mare is absolutely terrified of vets (any vet) and constantly throws her weight around with lots of rearing. She doesnt quite kick out but I wouldn't be surprised if it did happen. As a result I'm very reluctant to get a vet out to her. We have no stocks in the yard and twitching doesn't work for us.

I put it down to an injury she had as a 5yo that resulted in LOTS of vet visits and injections of antibiotics, anti inflammatories, etc in a very short space of time. If you come near her with a needle she has the same reaction as if the vet is around. She is genuinely terrified and no amount of trying to calm her seems to work.

Unfortunately, she needs vaccines and I really want her to see the dentist but she needs to be sedated for it. Has anyone any advice about how to try to get around her? I can't see her standing still long enough for the vet to give her IV sedation and because we've no stocks my only place to bring a vet to her is in the stable.

It's a shame because on a normal day with no vets she's the sweetest, quietest mare to be around.

thank you!
 
Discuss with your vet and ask him to give you some Sedalin (or something similar) that you can syringe down her throat before he arrives.
 
If you explain to vet they are usually very good, they sometimes waltz up, casually say hello to horse and pat it then stick it when it is unawares, it may even be easier if you are not there if you get stressed so will your horse. You could also practice with needle in hand (with guard on) and treat and pat etc to get used to it.
 
What about cupping your hand around the her eye, the side that the vet will inject? So she can't see it coming? Or asking the vet to feed her a titbit or two, and pat her for a bit, before they start doing anything, so she thinks of them as positive thing? You can get syringes, and (without needle) pretend to inject her, perhaps even pinch her skin briefly (like the needle going in), until she trusts you, maybe give her a treat every time she lets you do it.
 
thanks for the replies!

unfortunately once she sees the vet coming at all she starts to freak out, even if they're in the next stable. I think she associates the smell with pain. I will definitely try with a dummy syringe though. If I can get her over the needle phobia, that'll be a major step! thanks!
 
aoifemcd said:
thanks for the replies!

unfortunately once she sees the vet coming at all she starts to freak out, even if they're in the next stable. I think she associates the smell with pain. I will definitely try with a dummy syringe though. If I can get her over the needle phobia, that'll be a major step! thanks!
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What if they were to come in with a bucket of feed in their hand?
 
Glad I'm not the only owner with a mare who hates the vet!!

Try Domosiden gel (bad spelling probably). It is a very good sedative, that you adminster like a wormer but it goes under the tongue. I use it on a 17hand ID and a tube sends him into ga-ga land. Have to allow 40 mins for it to work, but I rate it very highly. Yet to use it on my mare mind, only because we haven't needed the vet yet! I've got a tube waiting and a good deal with the vet to keep swapping it so it stays in date until it is used. (costs about £30!! = but worth it!)




If your mare is anything like mine, then NO amount of dummy needles / covering eyes / buckets of feed will make any difference at all. A vet is still a VET. The VET shall be killed, for they are there to do SOMETHING. My mare is 19 now, was as bad at last vet visit as she was 15 years ago!
 
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aoifemcd said:
We tried this before and it made no difference. She's always been like that though, if she gets worried at all she forgets the feed is there. I'm genuinely at a loss at how to get around her. :(
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Try giving her Gomoso Gel, before the vet arrives, it's stronger than Sedalin, it goes under her tongue. It takes approx. 40 mins to work. Make sure you don't get in your eyes or breath it in though, as it will knock you out.
 
Fools Motto said:
Glad I'm not the only owner with a mare who hates the vet!!
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I'm glad I'm not the only one too! It's so frustrating!!

I've heard of that gel alright but haven't tried it. I might say it to my vet and try to get a tube. It would be amazing if it worked well enough to get her teeth sorted!
 
Just out of interest is your vet a man, we had a mare,, and when the vet came he could not get any where near her,she needed her vaccinations so I asked a lady vet , I was told to bring the horse out of the stable and as I took the wrapper off a packet of polos
as the vet had asked the horse was vaccinated.
My friend also had a mare that was classed as dangerous by the vet who could not get any where near her ,but a lady vet went in stable and vaccinated her .
 
Original vet was a man and he was fantastic but he could barely get near her. She isn't fond of men at all so I did think this could be the problem in the beginning but the last vet to see her was a woman and the dentist is too and she reacted horribly to both of them so I don't think that is the problem anymore. We are using a new Vet practice at our yard now though and haven't met all the vets yet so not sure if she might decide she likes one of them! I live in hope!!
 
I feel for you as I have been in a similar situation. I've tried various forms of sedation and found that nothing worked, even if I could actually get him to have it. I got a new Vet along that he'd never met and she didn't give him any clues that she was a vet. I distracted him with a carrot and she was super fast and jabbed him before he knew what was happening. He's now vaccinated and has had his wolf teeth out. Yay! :) Whether or not he falls for it again is another matter.
 
If the visit was just for basic vacs it may be worth really thinking outside the box. All animals learn to associate certain environments with certain outcomes. Ie, stranger who smells odd, coming into the box with something in their hand means nasty jabs.

Take away the environment, put the tack on and ride in the school perhaps and let the vet jab him, a prevac T goes in very quickly and the horse might not notice what has happened. Likewise jab on the lorry, I had a naughty horse who hated the vet but loved going out on the lorry. The excitement of loading distracted him and the vet was in and out in a nano second.

Obviously the above is only possible for annual jabs. For invasive treatment with a difficult horse I would be taking it in to a hospital for the safety of it and the vets. After all, despite how frustrating it is, why should we expect our vets to risk their lives with rude or difficult horses.
 
My youngster is like this due to so many vet treatments in the space of a year :( that gel stuff sounds fab and may be an option next time he needs anything!
 
Make sure the horse is used to lots of different people coming to visit her, male and female. How is she with "strangers" in general.

Make sure the vet isn't wearing "vet" stuff eg head torch/overalls but is dressed normally. Maybe wearing a riding hat - camouflage...

Try being 1st call of the day when the vet will smell of home and not vet stuff.

Get some hibiscrub and use regularly so it's not a new smell.

Make sure vet knows what she's like and is willing to work with you to help- some are more impatient with difficult horses than others.
 
As Wishful ^^^^^.

Also, borrow a set of used overalls from the vet and hang them near her water trough, nearer each day. It could be the smell that triggers the fear. As a wise old lady once told me, "Nothing can remained frightened forever".
 
Take her to the vet and use the stocks?


It is worth trying different vets as some people just have a better way with horses. Ask around for recommendations. For the same reason I would use a dentist for teeth. My mare was bad with the vet for teeth even when sedated but i was persuaded to try a dentist who had been successful with another difficult horse on the yard. He was aware that she was normally difficult. He did her when I was away but he prefers the owner not to be in the stable. I arranged the YO to be there and for a fellow livery to keep an eye on things. Apparently he went into her stable, whistled to her stroked her face popped the gag on and she stood like an angel. He has done her 3 times since and it works every time.

I have seen him do a VERY difficult vet phobic pony in just the same way.
 
Thanks all for the replies. We have tried a few different vets and all have gotten the same reaction.

I currently don't have a box so can't travel her to vets to use their stocks.

I'm going to get on to my vet about the domosedan and hopefully that will take the edge off her for the visit then. If she had enough good experiences of vets I think she might be easier but unfortunately there are not many "nice" visits from the vet.
 
Sedalin doesn't have much effect on this horse.

This is him on Domosedan. It took three hours for him to come round. You have to get it under the tongue, or it won't work, so if your horse is difficult with wormers it might be tricky.
8ed3254d-5e0b-46e6-8565-c5409a6e888b_zpsbojylhqi.jpg


He used to be very vet and needle shy, due to a cock-up when having initial vacs as a three-year-old. He has got over it, but it has taken a while (he is nearly 22) and some excellent vets who are very good at hitting a moving target! :D
 
My lad is the same following a spell at the vets. He will not even let them touch him never mind anything else. We gave up with trying all tricks to get his vaccines in him each year...too traumatic for me and him. I now give him Dormosedan Gel prior to the vet arriving and he is a poppet for his jabs.
I do worry about anything serious happening to him, although he lets me do things, the vets never allow you to take over treatment! My lad is happy for me to mess with his mouth so it is easy to give him the sedation. Have you tried getting a horse dentist out to do teeth rather than a 'vet'. My lad is happy with my horse dentist and is a saint for his teeth.
 
PS the Dormosedan Gel does not just take the edge off them, it makes them a dope on a rope, even the most petrified. My lad is a big strong welsh cob who throws his weight around, but with the sedation he is too dozy to do anything but stand with his head down.
 
Beausmate said:
Sedalin doesn't have much effect on this horse.

This is him on Domosedan. It took three hours for him to come round. You have to get it under the tongue, or it won't work, so if your horse is difficult with wormers it might be tricky.
8ed3254d-5e0b-46e6-8565-c5409a6e888b_zpsbojylhqi.jpg


He used to be very vet and needle shy, due to a cock-up when having initial vacs as a three-year-old. He has got over it, but it has taken a while (he is nearly 22) and some excellent vets who are very good at hitting a moving target! :D
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Can I just add to this advice, best not to leave them resting on the door for long, the pressure is on the wind pipe.
 
My old pony never had anything done more than vaccinations and teeth but he knew the vet was coming as the car pulled into the yard. He wasn't dangerous but life was a lot easier with the female vets.
 
AA - I didn't leave him like that for long. I took the pic whilst I was waiting for my assistant to help me get his head off the door. He had managed to zonk out over the bolt and trying to lift his head and back him up whilst he was that out of it was best done by two people.

Trying to stop him from throttling himself wasn't easy - as soon as he was off the door, he wanted back on! :rolleyes:
 
Domosedan gel will be a god send in this type of situation.

I can even get a half body clip done on a dangerously clipper phobic horse using a tube of domosedan
 
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