This message is from: Heather Baskey <cavy_l...@yahoo.com> I just received my Parelli e-Newsletter - and lo & behold, a question about needles/shots came up ... sharing with the group - as it was a busy topic as of late.  Heather  QUESTION Okay, I am at a total loss with my 3-year-old mare who recently tried to kill our (relatively savvy) vet and a trainer when they tried to inject her with tranquilizer. I was not there - maybe that was a mistake - but she apparently struck the trainer and caused both to think she was unmanageable vis-à -vis shots. Her first shots were given by a vet who used an ear twitch; I put a stop to this the second time and she has gotten over any ear problems long ago , but the needles are still a battleground. I did the toothpick desensitization, pinch-poke game, lots of praise, carrot bite at the time of injection, treats...but she knows the difference and if it's a needle, she freaks. Last time (out of desperation; she couldn't go to trainers without vaccines) a nose twitch seemed to work fine, and she is still okay with me playing with her nose afterwards, so I guess it wasn't too traumatic. But I don't like relying on that. I really want to get her over this. Any ideas? She has done really well with all the groundwork, except this. âClaire ANSWER This is a very serious situation especially as she's been through so much trauma. I would be doing a lot of Friendly Game, plus developing the overall relationship of trust and respect via the Seven Games and Patterns. When it comes to the simulations, you need to make sure the mare is truly relaxed and not at all tense. Treats are not going to help here â they are for incentive once a horse is bored with repetition. In this case you are dealing with intense fear. And it's not about the needle as much as it is the whole trust thing. I would be doing more needle simulations and then actually using a needle (without the injection part). You want her to become so relaxed, so trusting, that even a little pin prick cannot upset her. She knows without a doubt that you wouldn't hurt or kill her - which is really how prey animals think about predators! What Level would you say the mare is? I'm concerned that when you talk of her going to the trainers that something happens to her overall trust of people. Is your trainer using natural approaches and putting the relationship first? If she is not treated this way by every human it is to be expected that she will always have trouble when it comes to anything potentially threatening a human might ask of her, such as taking a needle. When we got Casper (Pat's gorgeous black stallion) he was lethal about things like needles and pastes - we were aptly warned! But it didn't take long before you could do almost anything 'to' him and he would trust that it was all going to be okay. Now Pat is a master, so a couple of months is all it took him and that means it will probably take people like you and me a lot longer than that - many months of dedication to building infallible trust and respect. Canada Toolbar: Search from anywhere on the web, and bookmark your favourite sites. Download it now http://ca.toolbar.yahoo.com.
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