None of those things were created with the sole intent being to cause a negative reaction in a horse. Why do they need to be electrified?
Well we clearly hold quite different views on what treatment is and isn't acceptable to subject our horses to. Let's just leave it at that
but it's not all about Baily it's about a horse who have been zaped by accident and who is now unhappy and an owner left to sort would could be (due to a horse's memory) a difficult problem.
)
If someone handed you a bag of 1000 M&Ms and only one had poo inside it, would you take a handful? (That is being deliberately provocative, yes)
When a horse has a regular pattern of spasmodic colics over a period of many years (17yrs) that has been investigated fully and the mild colic equates to a bit of trapped wind the best thing to do is to walk it to get rid of that wind. When you know your horse inside out and it has never rolled popping it on a walker for 20 mins is quite safe. And preferable to lunging it. Vets advice.
But the OP's horse does have trauma and hasn't forgotten about it. That's the whole point of this thread.
Correct. I have already replied to the OP. But I wasn't going to ignore someone spouting rubbish and nor would you.
But they aren't!! As I keep saying!
Thank you
I’d be making lots of use of the Shetland friend! They can be very good emotional support animals
Sorry, that they are routinely fitted with the option to shock a horse.
I know it's not funny but I do like your illustration of weighing up risk/benefit decisions
So all the hundreds and thousands of people that use walkers on a daily basis on yards up and down the country must be wrong then. Ridiculous
I’m pretty certain she has a bag of m+ms on her desk right nowI know it's not funny but I do like your illustration of weighing up risk/benefit decisions
I'm getting the munchies again
Am with you here!I love Kathy Sierra's phrase 'Movement without threat'. Horses are prey animals and flight animals, if they cannot escape from a perceived threat or are trapped with that threat, it causes a high amount of prolonged distress, adrenaline and fear in that animal.
One of the most harrowing horse videos I have seen (and wish I had not seen) was of a tied horse being repeatedly hit with a chair by a human. The horse was thrashing and in fight/flight mode for a time, before it finally went into shutdown because it had learned its helplessness in this situation and that it could not escape the threat. So the horse stood still whilst it was beaten - awful on all accounts.
The point is that freedom and agency are what make an electrified walker completely different from an electric fence. A horse can touch a fence, get a zap and decide not to touch it again after the experience. In the walker they are being chased by a perceived predator, with nowhere to go. Having been on a yard where multiple horses would sustain a box rest level of injury every time the electric was turned OFF because a leg was put through or a rug was stuck and they ended upside-down, I do actually think that electric is sometimes necessary. I'd rather that my horse got one zap and walked off than had an injury that kept them stressed in a stable for 6 months.
Nothing in domestication is perfect, for any of us. But the difference here is obvious, to the point that some of the comments on this thread feel like trolling.
OP, I'm sorry that this happened to your horse. I think the suggestions of building positive associations with leaving the stable are a good idea, and also making sure that the walker is never electrified if your horse is in it. I'd also suggest to very very slowly build back up to using it, as your horse is clearly very scared and could injure themselves if they panic. There are some good suggestions on this thread with giving treats, bringing an equine friend along for moral support etc
I love Kathy Sierra's phrase 'Movement without threat'. Horses are prey animals and flight animals, if they cannot escape from a perceived threat or are trapped with that threat, it causes a high amount of prolonged distress, adrenaline and fear in that animal.
One of the most harrowing horse videos I have seen (and wish I had not seen) was of a tied horse being repeatedly hit with a chair by a human. The horse was thrashing and in fight/flight mode for a time, before it finally went into shutdown because it had learned its helplessness in this situation and that it could not escape the threat. So the horse stood still whilst it was beaten - awful on all accounts.
The point is that freedom and agency are what make an electrified walker completely different from an electric fence. A horse can touch a fence, get a zap and decide not to touch it again after the experience. In the walker they are being chased by a perceived predator, with nowhere to go. Having been on a yard where multiple horses would sustain a box rest level of injury every time the electric was turned OFF because a leg was put through or a rug was stuck and they ended upside-down, I do actually think that electric is sometimes necessary. I'd rather that my horse got one zap and walked off than had an injury that kept them stressed in a stable for 6 months.
Nothing in domestication is perfect, for any of us. But the difference here is obvious, to the point that some of the comments on this thread feel like trolling.
OP, I'm sorry that this happened to your horse. I think the suggestions of building positive associations with leaving the stable are a good idea, and also making sure that the walker is never electrified if your horse is in it. I'd also suggest to very very slowly build back up to using it, as your horse is clearly very scared and could injure themselves if they panic. There are some good suggestions on this thread with giving treats, bringing an equine friend along for moral support etc
. Electrified or not.
