[Caterina]

Questions first...
Do alchol wipes work just as good as the spray?
Is ACE the only oral tranq?

Finger crossed for us today.....

Mya has been well behaved for me, but if she will let the vet vaccinate her is another question.....

[JBandRio]

Alcohol wipes/spray are really pretty useless. One thing a wipe DOES do it move all the bacteria and buggie beasties around and make it easier to have one follow a needle in

I don't know if dormosedan can be given orally, but if it can, I'm sure that, like ace, it will take 20-30 minutes to take hold. Is there a reason you are looking at something other than ace?

[Caterina]

Originally Posted by JBandRio

Alcohol wipes/spray are really pretty useless. One thing a wipe DOES do it move all the bacteria and buggie beasties around and make it easier to have one follow a needle in

I don't know if dormosedan can be given orally, but if it can, I'm sure that, like ace, it will take 20-30 minutes to take hold. Is there a reason you are looking at something other than ace?

I just couldnt remember if there was another one.

My vet always uses a spray, I always figured that was norm.

[Ryle]

Ace is pretty much the only commonly used sedative for horses that can be given orally.

Applying alcohol won't sterilize or clean the area--it takes alcohol about 30 minutes to effectively kill bacteria. Most vets apply alcohol prior to giving injections to help remove surface dirt and to dampen down what is there so that it's less likely to be shifting around alot. And to make the owners feel more comfortable.

[Jenje!]

Originally Posted by Ryle

And to make the owners feel more comfortable.

Heheh... that's what I was gonna say...

Fingers crossed!

[Caterina]

Originally Posted by Jenje!

Heheh... that's what I was gonna say...

Fingers crossed!

Thanks for the crossed fingers...

Unfortunitly, for a 3rd time we couldnt get the needle in.


Last night I took her out and worked with her, she was willing, giving and never put a foot in the wrong place.

The vet was supposed to be here this morning at 11:30, I got to the barn at 10, and put her and Laredo out in the ring to run off some energy.
30 mins later I put them in stalls and then took them each out seperately and had a session with each of them.
Again Mya was a super star. I pinch, and patted her neck, I found a stick with a pointy end and poked her all over with it, she stood with a trooper and what not.
Took her back to the stall and a old friend showed up. Old friend hasnt seen Mya in almost a year, I make her go into the stall and pat her all over. Mya is like *meh*. I had friend ask Mya to move every which way, give her head to pressure and other parts of her body as well. We did this all without a halter and Mya again didnt put a foot wrong.
I then found a pointy stick and asked her to pinch and then poke her with it.
Mya again stood there relaxed and was kinda like *oh do it harder*.

12:45 vet shows up, she check Laredos teeth and then she floats a boarders horses teeth.

Mya is still haning in her stall nice and relaxed.
Vet picked some hay to give to Mya as a peace offering and when Mya saw vet immediatly tensed up. Would barely take the hay from her.
Vet and I entered stall and Mya tensed up even more.
Mya took a carrot from vet and vet proceeded to just touch her all over. Mya accepted that and stood still..... and she stood still untill vet sprayed neck with the alcohol. I caught it in time and repremanded her (she was wearing a chain). She got a firm NO and a shank. She stood and we sprayed we then rewarded and left her be for a sec.
Then the fireworks started.
My vet was immpressed with the improvement in my timing of the repremands and we all could tell Mya knew she was in the wrong. She just didnt care.
After 5 mins Mya started to get really upset. Shaking, massive rude bady slamming....
Vet finally asked me to leave the stall. So I did.
Vet then spend the next 15 mins working Mya. Mya responded well to her for the most part.
We have discovered that Mya *plots* her outbursts. She would at times pretend to be calm and then go into full fight mode. Vet called her a dirty fighter.
Anywho... she poked Mya with the capped needle all over and Mya was good. She asked Mya to give to pressure and Mya would.
Vet then walked her out of stall and back in and we called it a day.

My ACE is on order... It will be in next week.

So once again, one of my moms horses got their tetnus today.

After I took Mya out and worked her again... She was a perfect angel and gave 110% effort.

[Tami]

Good for you for putting in the effort to get her use to the vet!! A horse that is shaking the way you described is not necessarily a "dirty fighter". This is a horse who is losing their ability to cope. Vets have a scent (or something) that some horses pick up on-they think there is something to fear but not sure what. It's great the vet took some time to work with her. Sounds like your horse trusts you and feels comfortable around you. Hopefully next time it will get easier. Good luck with the vaccinations!

[Caterina]

Originally Posted by Tami

Good for you for putting in the effort to get her use to the vet!! A horse that is shaking the way you described is not necessarily a "dirty fighter". This is a horse who is losing their ability to cope. Vets have a scent (or something) that some horses pick up on-they think there is something to fear but not sure what. It's great the vet took some time to work with her. Sounds like your horse trusts you and feels comfortable around you. Hopefully next time it will get easier. Good luck with the vaccinations!

It was after the shaking that she started to fight dirty....
She was lead the vet to belive she would be calm so the vet would move closer to her neck and then Mya would throw her body into the vet and try and slam her against the wall.

[littlecelticpony]

Do you have a spare needle you can practise with? Might help. Could be the sound of the shield coming off the needle that's throwing her for a loop, too, though I know all too well how horses "know the vet" and can't stand them.

Is a twitch an option? Just a thought.

[Dawn]

This might be helpful, might not. I'll tell it anyway.

You can look back through my threads from the past few days and see my similar experience with Reno.

I've always been like, she's great for everyone, even strangers, just not the vet.

I was right, but I was wrong.

It was suggested to me that it might be the way that the vet approached her. (She does this with the farrier too, basically anyone that's coming to her to 'do' something rather than pat and say good pony.)

So I had someone that she knew and would normally let handle her in any situation to practice with.

I put Reno in the arena on a lunge line, gave her some slack. Then I had him approach her in a very straight forward confident manner with his shoulders really squared and strong, marching toward her. She flipped out. I did some work with her on a the line (keeping it short) till she would stand again. Repeated the process. Took 3 times and she let him approach her to her neck (still very tense even though this was someone that she knows). So after a few practice sessions of just approaching, we started doing the finger jab. It all fell apart again. So repeated the process until she was good with that.

By the end she was good for anything he wanted to do with her.

I find that when we, as horse people, approach a horse we generally do so in a rather relaxed, not submissive but not challenging nature. When vets approach a horse, they do it in a more 'business like' stance. And body language means everything to a horse.

Now having said that, I will be practicing giving her shots over the year, and will give her all of her shots myself next year. But I do think this is still an important lesson she needs to learn. People will not eat her!