My horse has a needlephobia!!!

biggingerpony

biggingerpony

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 March 2009
Messages
899
Visit site
My old girl is a complete donkey 99% of the time! But as soon as she even gets the smell of the vet she freaks out and starts rearing, spinning round etc. She has had intermittent lameness (for those who haven't read my other post its a long story!!) and has had to have extensive vet treatment. However the vet is unable to even find out where the lameness is coming from as she gets so worried when they try and nerve block, they've tried numbing cream, mild sedation, she had 4 people trying to hold her down at one time.
She is just genuinely scared and actually falls to the floor when they try and insert the needle!! They are unable to give her a lot of sedation as they need to trot her up directly after, and she rears up if the vet even gets the twitch out!!

Bless her I just wish she could understand we're trying to make her better!!

She is a nightmare come vaccination time!!

Does anyone have any tips or experiences for a needle/vet phobia??

I've tried bribery, feeding Rose her favorite treats, it works for a while but then as soon as the vet gets the needle out she turns into a different horse.

Sorry for the long post :)
Milly
 
xmillyx said:
My old girl is a complete donkey 99% of the time! But as soon as she even gets the smell of the vet she freaks out and starts rearing, spinning round etc. She has had intermittent lameness (for those who haven't read my other post its a long story!!) and has had to have extensive vet treatment. However the vet is unable to even find out where the lameness is coming from as she gets so worried when they try and nerve block, they've tried numbing cream, mild sedation, she had 4 people trying to hold her down at one time.
She is just genuinely scared and actually falls to the floor when they try and insert the needle!! They are unable to give her a lot of sedation as they need to trot her up directly after, and she rears up if the vet even gets the twitch out!!

Bless her I just wish she could understand we're trying to make her better!!

She is a nightmare come vaccination time!!

Does anyone have any tips or experiences for a needle/vet phobia??

I've tried bribery, feeding Rose her favorite treats, it works for a while but then as soon as the vet gets the needle out she turns into a different horse.

Sorry for the long post :)
Milly
Click to expand...

Hey Milly

My mare is EXACTLY the same :( Im afraid to say when the vet pulls up (a good distance away) I pop the twitch on her, she goes to sleep and the vet walks over does the injection then goes. I stuggled for 10 years fighting with her when it was injection time. One of the girls at the yard suggested twitching at first I was totally against it. But seeing tessa so calm made me think for 2 minutes every year it isnt too bad. Put it this way the vet used to be at the yard at least an hour, this year had been and gone in 15 minutes with doing my other two horses too!!

My tip try twitching before or just as the vet arrives so she hasn't noticed
 
So does my lad, and he can spot a vet at 10 paces. He is okay if he is ill and needs a vet eg colic or when he had an abscess but when it is time for vacs or sedation for EDT ( he loves the EDT but she is around 5ft and he is 7ft when he waves his head in the air, so need sedation) he goes loopy, needs twitching and fights as soon as he sees the vet coming. We believe he was gelded late, he is a rare breed and they try to keep as many registered stallions as possible and that he remembers it. Maybe Rose had a very bad experience too.

No advice, we just have to twitch and get him injected asap, unfortunately he is a big horse (17-3hh) and a rearer, who when twitched still doesn't fully relax, stays surprisingly alert. Our usual vet knows to come in with needle ready, basically runs in, injects and gets the hell out of his stable, before Caps can get at him! He hates vets!

Will follow this thread closely because have been trying to solve this problem for years!

FDC
 
Last edited:
I had a native pony called Honey for 10 yrs and she also was a lady, until the vet came!
She once broke a stable door in an effort to get away from him. Another time i called them said she was hopping around on three legs, refused to put the other one on the ground, until the vet came, she pulled the rope out of my hand and galloped away!! Took us ages to catch her.
Wonder if blinkers would work on yours, like some of the racehorses wear.
 
Thank you guys for your thoughts :) I've tried twitching her myself and it has no effect on her, she lets me do it but still looks so tense I know she'd play up if the vet was there!!!
I don't know what to do!!
 
My youngster hates injections, and I'm blaming a young female vet who gave him his flu+tet when I first got him. She tried to be all 'softly softly' with him, putting the needle in first then trying to attach the syringe as he was spinning and rearing. She tried this about 5 times, all the while going "awww I know, poor boy, shush shush" as he bounced around snorting making the needle pop out again, in the end I had to tell her to stop, and I gave him the jab myself (not that I was telling her how to do her job, but I'm a nurse so am quite capable of giving an injection, especially to my own horse when he's being difficult). Bless her, I know she was only trying to be nice and gentle with him, but he is much better with the older male vet who gives him a slap on the neck, whacks the jab in quick and we're done before he knows what's happened.
On the other end of the scale, my mare loves the vet, as it means she gets a polo!
Also when we bought my mums gelding we were told he hates jabs and would probably need twitching, but he barely even flinched when he had his booster last month!
I'm not really sure what to suggest, but when it comes to vaccinations/routine IM jabs, if your horse won't let the vet near her, your vet might let you do it (under their instruction) like mine did with my youngster when I said "he's had enough, I'm a nurse, let me do it!". x
 
Both my youngster and friend's older boy are bad for vet. We have varying lengths of drama filled battles to get a needle anywhere near Roo over the last couple of years for his initial course of 3 jabs then two annual boosters. Today we finally had a totally undramatic booster - I went in to stable and put on headcollar, my EDT followed me in and very quickly and professionally twitched him - within seconds he sighed deeply, vet went in and within seconds the whole thing was over. We iv sedated him for the EDT, mane pulling and annual jab - get it all done in one go.
So much better than spending 20 mins fighting with him. Don't like twitching per se, but once a year for less than 5 mins it is definately the best way to do it.
Unfortunately my friend's older horse is awful - can't twitch (he will rear and box at you) and can't do anything - to get his last booster in they had to put him in the lorry and pin him between the partitions - and he still kicked a hole in the side lining....
 
Hate to say it, but after over 11 years my mare is never to be trusted with the VET. She will go to all levels of strengths to kill anyone within a yard of her at THAT time. It is her only real fault.
I just make sure that I've warned the vet, wearing a hard hat and gloves and the horse is on a bridle for extra control. Fingers firmly crossed that annual jab time is the only time we see the vet!!!
 
Great link fburton .... suggesting what I would do... counter conditioning.

When you have fear of things that will predictably occur - even if its only a few times a year ( bit like fireworks ;) ) - then it makes sense to me to prepare the horse in advance rather than wait and react with sedation /twitching. Neither of those options removes the fear whereas counderconditioning usually does ;)
 
Have you tried someone ele holding her? My boy was needle phobic after a colic op as yearling. For about 12 years he was awful. Then,one day my daughter asked to let her try,and he was absolutely fine. We wondered if he was picking up on my anxiety,as I would get quite wound up,expecting problems. Since then,as long as someone else holds him,and vet is quick,touch wood,he behaves. I have not held him,yet, so I don' t know if its a fluke,or if he has overcome his fear should I have to take him. It does worry me,as being older should he need to be pts,I have little choice but to have him shot,and although that is what I may well prefer,a choice would be nice.
 
Hi, I have had the same problem with my mare every year at vaccination time. The vet wrote on her notes "needs twitch". Last year when the vet came I warned him that she was very difficult (she is perfect to handle in any situation except injections) and I was just getting my hat and gloves on when he went in to her stable. He bent down and lifted one of her front legs, I told him there was nothing wrong with her leg and he said he was just distracting her. Before I had even got into the stable he had jabbed her in the chest and she never even noticed!! Last month when a different vet came to do her boosters she jabbed her in the chest too and she was fine. I think the problem is when they approach her neck and start trying to find the vein and then jab the carrier in she knows what is coming. When they jab her in the chest they do it all in one go without putting the carrier in first and it works a treat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top