Our horses and the deadly spray bottle....need tips

[Countrymom]

Our two year old was pretty nervous around the spray bottle at first. What we did was take an empty fly spray bottle and fill it with water. We would then hook her up to a lead and start to spray around her (Not on her at first) She would run around in her little circles and we would continue spraying until she stood and relaxed a bit. The whole idea here is pressure and release. The pressure is the spray bottle. The release (and reward) is standing still and calmly.

Once the horse was relatively used to the sound and spray of the bottle, we began spraying her with it. She did her little nervous thing, but after a few times realized what it was we wanted. She is still a bit skittish, but it will take a bit of time to get her used to it. It is definitely working though. She is so much better with the spray bottle than she was when we brought her home!

Good luck!

This is exactly how you train a horse to stand for a spray bottle and even a water hose. Repeatedly working with a horse with this technique will teach them to accept it without a second thought.

PLEASE PLEASE do not put a scared animal in a corner and force them to take the spray. That is a major wreck waiting to happen. If the horse explodes it will run anyone in it's way over. What works once doesn't work the same twice in a situation like that. And it does not solve the problem of fear in the animal. It only traps them into tolerating it.

 

[2468herdsrgr8]

Thank you very much for all the information ....I have been walking around with the spray bottle and walking with her on a lead line and she's calm.....Its so funny what there afraid of for example my daughter and hubby where out riding in the pasture tonight and of course my daughter yelled for me to bring her some water because it was hot ....so i brought her and hubby out some water in blue plastic cups.....Kansas the part Arab was fine.....not a flinch..she's the one afraid of the spray bottle....but Maybelline the draft X thought the cup was "deadly" when I went to hand it to hubby she did her OMG!!! dance .... so I walked around the pasture amongst them riding and held this cup up and hubby would walk close to me and we got to the point where she would come up to me and let me pet her and hold the cup up to drink and then I held it up to hubby to take and she stood there ....and we praised her.....

 

[jettesunn05]

I noticed with my horses and others that horses are ok with the bottle and the noise when it is been spraying on the front where they can really see where the noise is coming from and the minute I go to use it on their hindquarters and back legs that is it they dont like it. I have used the spray bottle that is pumped and it works pretty well that way all you have to do is worry about spraying and not contiually squeezing. My horses usually notice the noise when I am almost done when using the pump bottle. My horses dont really pull so I can tie them up and just kind of rub them at the same time while spraying so they kind of know what is going on but this technique is NOT the SAFEST one!

 

[Cara]

Our filly is a lunatic when it comes to fly spray. She is extremely quiet until the fly spray appears. I tried spraying her brushes and brushing it on her, to no avail. She'd smell it and panic. Even the sight of a Bronco bottle will freak her out. I'd stick with her until she stopped moving, but she was still not especially happy about it, and each time we'd start from scratch. Hoses don't bother her remotely, it's just the dreaded fly spray!

I got the dab-on kind, and she doesn't mind that at all, but it takes forever and isn't particularly effective. Then we got Endure, and its made all the difference in the world. It has a completely different fragrance, and the bottle isn't nearly as noisy. It's a lot easier to spray small amounts, rather than squirt her with the Bronco! She doesn't mind it in the least, and it is also more effective.

 

[siestadancer]

same problem with our new mare! Now I just spray on her brush and she doesnt know the difference

 

[mydakota]

This is a common problem with a lot of horses. Thankfully, it is pretty easy to break them of. First of all, STOP reassuring her. It only validates to her that there is cause to be fearful. Don't try to back her into a corner or make her feel trapped and don't tackle it on crossties or otherwise tied up. Get her on a longer leadrope out in the open. Buy yourself a large empty spray bottle (maybe 2 if you think she will be particularly stuborn--make sure the second one is close and handy) and fill it up with tepid water. You might be at this awhile, especially the first few times, so don't waste your actual fly spray on the training sessions. You can add the spray later if you think the smell is part of the equation, but in my experience this is rarely the case. This approach pretty much always works, but requires good timing. Take her in hand with a couple of feet slack in the rope and then raise the bottle to a natural spraying position, except you want the spray to fall just short of her. If she moves away, let her. Just go with her and keep her head pointed toward you. Spray slowly and rhythmically and just keep on going with her. You might be going in circles for awhile. In fact, I bet you will since it sounds like this has become ingrained behavior. Just do NOT stop until she gives you a stopping place. The very INSTANT she has all four feet on the ground at the same time and pauses for an INSTANT, STOP spraying and take one step away from her and look away from her. This is her reward. It represents a release of pressure to her, and means far more to her than your reassurance ever would. Give her a few moments to digest what just happened, and start the whole thing again. After the first few times, you will notice that it is taking less time every time for her to pause. She thinks she is training you to stop spraying when she pauses with her feet. This is what they mean by making your idea, her idea. It is "making the right thing easy and the wrong thing hard". This process might take more than an hour the first day, so allow plenty of time. If you ever stop before she gives you a good stopping place?? You will have only dug your hole deeper.

After this is going pretty well, start doing it all again, just the same way, except let the smallest amount of water actually touch her. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Next, do the same thing only let the full spray hit her like normal. Wash, rinse, repeat.

I have had horses my whole life and have had plenty who would have liked to have made an issue of the spray bottle. I have never seen one take more than about a week of doing this daily to be totally spray bottle broke. I foster for a rescue and have done this exercise on horses well into their 20's with the behavior VERY ingrained. I have never had a single one that I couldn't break using this method. Timing is everything. You must have NO time limit when you start and you must be committed to outlasting her.

This also works for clipper breaking. Just make sure that part of your "release" includes turning the clippers off.

Oh, and all my horses (with 2 exceptions) have been Arabian of half Arabians. They can stand for spray bottles and clippers as well as any and should be expected to. All of these routine maintenace things are part of being "broke". They shouldn't get to pick and choose what they will stand for. If you say stand they should stand.

ETA-- Both of my current horses are Arabs. One is a quiet old girl and the other is a forward, high-energy youngster. Both can be sprayed quietly without even having a halter on.

 

[violetsky888]

I have found nervous horses despook faster when they are free to move around. A small paddock
or holding area with safe fencing is an ideal place to work in. The
very first thing you have to do is get yourself in the proper mindset. Horses pickup and sense your
apprehension and naturally will react to that as much as whatever the stimulus is. I live in the hot
buggy south so everybody has to get used to fly spray and hoses and do by the third lesson.
Get the noisiest spray bottle out and just start splitzitng and spritzing , don't chase the horse but keep
after him only quitting when he relaxes. You don't have to always squirt him but near and sneak one in every now and then.
I also found that if you pet their shoulder with the bottle then spray they don't feel shocked by the spray
and calm down faster. I spray them while they are eating. No spray no dinner and they get sprayed anyhow.
Most horses are economist by nature and are very wise with energy use and food intake and will usually make very logical choices.
"lets see, she's going to spray me anyhow and theres a nice bucket of grain sitting there, no tigers in sight hmm, should I run
around snorting and carrying on or just stand there and eat". If you pull back and stop spraying the moment your horse
reacts you've taught him to react. If you pull back and stop spraying the moment your horse relaxes you've taught him to relax.

If your horse is spooky about hoses watch have fast they get used to it when
YOU feel safe because you can squirt them from the other side of the fence. I wouldnt over pressure them
by doing sensitive areas like the face, but let you horse kick out when the stream hits their feet, just keep it
up until they relax then pull away. If you are working with a young horse the whole process goes a lot faster
if another horse is hanging around bored or likes getting sprayed. I got 3 yearlings to play with a hose
on their first exposure to one because the old mare and old mini they were pastured with loved being hosed down on a hot day.
The yearlings were loose in a 20 acre pasture and could run away at anytime but they wanted to see what the older mares
were up to. The yearlings were crowding me and wouldnt even go away when the water hit their face after about 20 minutes.
The mares actually rotate around on their own letting me wash them all around. The black mini is even aggressive
about getting more time under the hose. The same teaching technique works with the hose as the spray bottle and much faster because you
do not have to be close to the horse at the time you spray. Since you are not close you are not transferring your own fear of his reaction.
Also it's helpful to time yourself. A very short lesson that goes well and ends well is better than a long lesson that ends badly.


You can also do despook horses against loud vehicles by putting them in a round pen with some tasty hay and
a been there done that horse friend and drive around the round pen. I can't MAKE my horses spook anymore.
Every single time you handle you horse bring something new for them to investigate. Mine have to walk on a plastic tarp to get
to their feed or the gate bumps their but as they walk through it. All love listening to cell phone ring tones and want to check
whats in my purse. It makes for a more interesting life. Soon your horse will
look forward to whatever new curiousity you show them as long as they don't get hurt in the process.

 

[kelsey2017]

This is a common problem with a lot of horses. Thankfully, it is pretty easy to break them of. First of all, STOP reassuring her. It only validates to her that there is cause to be fearful. Don't try to back her into a corner or make her feel trapped and don't tackle it on crossties or otherwise tied up. Get her on a longer leadrope out in the open. Buy yourself a large empty spray bottle (maybe 2 if you think she will be particularly stuborn--make sure the second one is close and handy) and fill it up with tepid water. You might be at this awhile, especially the first few times, so don't waste your actual fly spray on the training sessions. You can add the spray later if you think the smell is part of the equation, but in my experience this is rarely the case. This approach pretty much always works, but requires good timing. Take her in hand with a couple of feet slack in the rope and then raise the bottle to a natural spraying position, except you want the spray to fall just short of her. If she moves away, let her. Just go with her and keep her head pointed toward you. Spray slowly and rhythmically and just keep on going with her. You might be going in circles for awhile. In fact, I bet you will since it sounds like this has become ingrained behavior. Just do NOT stop until she gives you a stopping place. The very INSTANT she has all four feet on the ground at the same time and pauses for an INSTANT, STOP spraying and take one step away from her and look away from her. This is her reward. It represents a release of pressure to her, and means far more to her than your reassurance ever would. Give her a few moments to digest what just happened, and start the whole thing again. After the first few times, you will notice that it is taking less time every time for her to pause. She thinks she is training you to stop spraying when she pauses with her feet. This is what they mean by making your idea, her idea. It is "making the right thing easy and the wrong thing hard". This process might take more than an hour the first day, so allow plenty of time. If you ever stop before she gives you a good stopping place?? You will have only dug your hole deeper.

After this is going pretty well, start doing it all again, just the same way, except let the smallest amount of water actually touch her. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Next, do the same thing only let the full spray hit her like normal. Wash, rinse, repeat.

I have had horses my whole life and have had plenty who would have liked to have made an issue of the spray bottle. I have never seen one take more than about a week of doing this daily to be totally spray bottle broke. I foster for a rescue and have done this exercise on horses well into their 20's with the behavior VERY ingrained. I have never had a single one that I couldn't break using this method. Timing is everything. You must have NO time limit when you start and you must be committed to outlasting her.

This also works for clipper breaking. Just make sure that part of your "release" includes turning the clippers off.

Oh, and all my horses (with 2 exceptions) have been Arabian of half Arabians. They can stand for spray bottles and clippers as well as any and should be expected to. All of these routine maintenace things are part of being "broke". They shouldn't get to pick and choose what they will stand for. If you say stand they should stand.

ETA-- Both of my current horses are Arabs. One is a quiet old girl and the other is a forward, high-energy youngster. Both can be sprayed quietly without even having a halter on.

I very much agree with this person and use this method for SO many things. You can convince a horse they are the reason the 'scary' thing went away. Like they chased it 'off'- can't be explained in a few sentences but builds confident mounts. It takes time and variations of ground work and controlled exposures to get there, but is super fun for the people and the horse. This is a language the horse knows well- we need to speak it if we wish to help and understand our horses.

 

[RamblingCowgirl]

As some else said some horses do not like the smell of the spray. We have a mare that will stay well out of reach if she smells citronella or Bronco, not a big deal for me cuz I can't stand the smell of it eather. Even tried to wipe her down with it.

Some horses never get over the fear/dislike of being spraid. Others like my 7yo mare stand happy and quite in the mild of 40 acers, cuz she is smart enough to know that it is worth it.
But I like to stand with a loose lead and just spray it around me, and the calmer they get the more sprays I will "bounce" sparys their way. Until I hit a foot, then a knee, and so on. If it's a more nervous horse I'll stop, put the bottle in plane site come to them and pet them for a while. Sometimes I also lead a horse while spraying in rhythmic manner on both sides of me. 90% of the horses I've handle were young and had little, no, or poor handling, but I find with all slow and easy works best. For me ANY sign the animal has relaxed is worth soft praise. Not a fan of putting anything in a corner eather.

All the arabs I've ever met were nothing like other horses. But they we very easy going. Held a colt for a trim, and the whole time he had his nose on mine.

 

[secuono]

Fill a spray bottle with water and just keep spraying until the horse stops moving, then stop spraying and pat. Repeat until there's no response.
My pony wasn't desensitized to sprays either, after a week of constant spraying, he couldn't care less.