Phobia of Sprays - How to Solve??

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smirnoff_ice

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Molly is just NOT a spooky horse. VERY little will bother her. We've had her for 7 years now (since she was 3) and she has always been TERRIFIED of sprays (fly repellent / mane & tail conditioner, etc.) I know it's not the end of the world, because she's fine in every other way, but i'd love to get to the bottom of it!
She used to be scared of clippers, but she's fine now (full clip today, including face and she was perfect), but this spray thing is ingrained!!!
We've tried de-sensitising her to the noise, which works and she'll stop reacting, but as soon as she feels the spray touch her, she flips. We've tried coughing over the noise, but the same thing happens. We've tried ignoring her and just carrying on spraying her while she's running round us, but she wont stop!
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She's fine if you cough over the noise and spray her tail because she can't feel that, but anywhere else and she's goes off on one!!!

Any ideas??
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Or is it just something that she's always going to hate?
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Lou. x
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Mine hates sprays, except for the tail, so I just spray whatever it is eg fly spray onto a sponge and sponge him with that. I've given up basically and gone for the easy life.
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Our pony is the same with fly and coat spray , we do tiny bits at a time then give him a treat straight away and he just about tolerates it , Im quite glad ( not in a horrible way ) that others are like this, I thought it was just our's ! , in the summer we just use fly gel and wipes now because he just goes mad when you spray him , cant clip him either , he really is the biggest wuss!!
 
Meg hates sprays as well. I spray onto a wipe, or my hand and transfer it to her that way. I can just about spray her tail, as I hold onto that whilst she walks round me in circles
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i sympathise !! mine used to be terrible with all sprays but now is ok for fly repellent its just her tail she really freaks out. i have to distract her with a molasses lick or hay etc and use the quietest spray i can find...or do it as quick as i can with her doing the tango. she is 14 but as soon as the spray comes out acts worse than mosts 4yr olds!
 
my big chap is also scared of sprays. I dont think its the noise but the sensation of the product hitting his coat. I think hes just so ticklish he cant stand it. When the stuff hits his body he shakes all over and tries to get away. Like everyone else has suggested, at the mo its safer to wipe on a sponge.
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Atty doesn't like sprays and as with yours it's not just hte noise that worries him it's the sensation he hates to. Can now do his tail ok as he doesn't feel it.

Thing is if you do spray him is shakes uncontrably and growls at you
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Thank you everyone.

[ QUOTE ]
You need a pump action hand plant srayer, totally silent and fine misting.
just keep usingit with plain water in every day and she will accept it sooner or later.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll try this and what stinkbomb has said. If that doesnt work, i give up! We'll just have to stick to sponges, cloths and wipes!

Thanks again.
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I dunno if this is a safe or sensible way but I had a Welsh Sec D who was very spooky and he HATED sprays.

what I did was to put him in a small pony stable, pop my hand on his nose and pull it towards me and then spray his body. Because he was in a restricted space and his head was pulled towards me he could only go round me in a circle. I simply kept moving and following him round, still spraying, until eventually, after a couple of minutes, he realised it wasn't going to kill him and stood still.

This is just a single experience but it worked for this horse. After a few sessions as long as you went slow and kept your hand on his nose, he would accept the spray whilst tied up in the yard. he had very very bad sweet itch so being able to fly spray him was pretty vital.
 
My two are very much like that aswell, although my WB has got much better with it, my cob mare just wont have it! I've owned her 5 years now and like yours she is perfect in every other way just cant seem to accept the spray (even the silent ones as soon as she sees the bottle shes off!)
 
I have a pony (aged 21) and ex racehorse (aged 24) and they are both pathetic when it comes to sprays. I can tie the pony up and spray hima dn although eh hates it he has to deal with it! The horse is a bit more awkward but he'll stil get done whether he likes it or not! However, my two others couldn't give a monkeys and I'll spray them loose in the field and they don't budge. The older two can spot the spray coming from miles away and no coaxing of food will make them come near (and they're both extremely greedy).

They just amuse me now - they are the leats spooky of all of them yet a fine mist (and I use a v v quiet one) is the scariest thing in the world! You canget roll on fly repellents and gels so, if your horse is REALLY petrified then suggest use these or if you can tie her up and spray her without her breaking off then just persist. Alternatively (and only if you knoe the reaction isn't going to be severe) have you tried spraying it whilst mounted? Some horses are better behaved when you're on board than when you're on the ground that's all. But obviously don't attempt if you think her reaction could be particularly violent!

I know my older too wouldn't do anything silly really but that's them and I know them well think they're just daft!
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It's daft isnt it! Of all the things they could be scared of, it's the one thing that i cannot think what could have made her so scared! Unless someone sprayed her with acid!!

Southwestwhippet, we haven't tried that, so will gove a go and see what happens. Might need some steel toe caps!
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