# My horse hates spray bottles, PLEASE HELP???



## Dave Singleton (May 3, 2007)

Could you tell if it was a reaction to the spray or the bottle?


----------



## joseylovesrain123 (May 23, 2007)

umm...well when i walked up to him he didnt mind, but when i sprayed it he freaked! but then when i showd him just the bottle he got scared of that too. so i guess it could be both.


----------



## Dave Singleton (May 3, 2007)

hmm possibly a negative association thing... this takes patience to solve! It maybe an idea to look at other fly prevention methods in the meantime such as garlic and rugs. 
As far as the re-training goes, let me think on that one! It's 4 am here and I think I can just about risk going 2 bed at this time and not get a hangover (in theory anyway)!


----------



## DesertGal (Apr 28, 2007)

> It's 4 am here and I think I can just about risk going 2 bed at this time and not get a hangover (in theory anyway)!


LOL! Good luck!

For fly spray, I started out with just water. I did a nice spritz on hot days until she got the hang of it. Never near the face, just on the chest, shoulders, back, side, butt, legs... Once she discovered the cool water felt good, I went to fly spray. I never spray her face, and I made sure none of the spray went toward her face. I started with her legs and worked up, then the chest, shoulder, neck, back, butt... 

Some horses just hate the smell, and have a really hard time dealing with the spray. Another method is to soak a wash cloth and wipe them down. I use this on the face anyway, so when it is really windy, I just wipe her down instead of spraying. 

The fly spray I switched to for this summer has to be wiped on anyway. I still use a spray bottle to give her a little cool spritz now and then of water.


----------



## joseylovesrain123 (May 23, 2007)

lol sounds good i'll work on it.


----------



## savepitbulls (Jan 2, 2007)

A lot of horses _really_ don't appreciate being sprayed. It usually doesn't matter what is coming out of the bottle - just that the spray sounds and looks and feels weird. I always start really slow if a horse is afraid of being sprayed. Don't actually spray the horse at first. Stand away from him and spray away from him, but let him see what you are doing. He will probably still flinch a little bit that's okay. Keep doing that until he seems to calm down. Then move a little closer and do it again. When he's okay with that, spray it onto your hand and then wipe your hand on him. He will probably jump at first when you touch him, but keep doing it until he calms down. Then start spraying him slowly and lightly. Stand really close to him and pat him while you do it. If he gets too jumpy aim the spray away from him again, but don't move away. Eventually he will realize that it's not hurting him. Save his legs and face for last. And actually if you never spray his face, I'd be fine with that. I don't expect my horses to stand still for that - I sure wouldn't. Good luck with your boy! Hope this helps.


----------



## joseylovesrain123 (May 23, 2007)

thanx, need some tips on what to do. it's strange i've trained other peoples horses just fine but when it comes to training my own horse it seems so different.


----------



## brooklyn07 (May 17, 2007)

joseylovesrain123 - let me know how your training goes - i have exactly the same problem with my TB - he HATES spray, water, anything wet basically! He goes beserk if i try to spray him - i've tried standing next to him with the spray and then eventually he lets me spray him on his body and stands still - the next day he's totally forgotten and goes mental again!

He doesnt even like the slightest bit of rain - even if he has his rug on - he stands in his shelter and refuses to move until it's passed!

Tried giving him a bath on the weekend using a DAMP sponge - even that was too much for him!!

SO let me know how your training goes - i'd love to know what methods you use so i can give it a go aswell!


----------



## joseylovesrain123 (May 23, 2007)

brooklyn07 said:


> joseylovesrain123 - let me know how your training goes - i have exactly the same problem with my tb - he HATES spray, water, anything wet basically! He goes beserk if i try to spray him - i've tried standing next to him with the spray and then eventually he lets me spray him on his body and stands still - the next day he's totally forgotten and goes mental again!
> 
> He doesnt even like the slightest bit of rain - even if he has his rug on - he stands in his shelter and refuses to move until it's passed!
> 
> ...


I'll be glad to let you know how it goes. right now rain is out to pasture so he can grow and relax and be a three year old. 

another method of washing your horse is to hot rag him. when you dip a towel in steaming hot water, ring it out and the rub the horse with it, then you wipe the area with a dry towel. how old is the horse?


----------



## QH_Lover09 (Jun 18, 2007)

savepitbulls said:


> A lot of horses _really_ don't appreciate being sprayed. It usually doesn't matter what is coming out of the bottle - just that the spray sounds and looks and feels weird. I always start really slow if a horse is afraid of being sprayed. Don't actually spray the horse at first. Stand away from him and spray away from him, but let him see what you are doing. He will probably still flinch a little bit that's okay. Keep doing that until he seems to calm down. Then move a little closer and do it again. When he's okay with that, spray it onto your hand and then wipe your hand on him. He will probably jump at first when you touch him, but keep doing it until he calms down. Then start spraying him slowly and lightly. Stand really close to him and pat him while you do it. If he gets too jumpy aim the spray away from him again, but don't move away. Eventually he will realize that it's not hurting him. Save his legs and face for last. And actually if you never spray his face, I'd be fine with that. I don't expect my horses to stand still for that - I sure wouldn't. Good luck with your boy! Hope this helps.


Ok, I really disagree with some of the things this poster said. *"Save his legs and face for last."* is very wrong! You must go slow, witch i agree with but legs is the very *FIRST* thing you work with the horse on. You can ruin the training exercise by starting out by spraying a horse with fly spray on his body, & you should *NEVER* spray a horse on the face with it at all! Always use a cloth you can spray it on then wipe it on the horses face. If you spray it, you can get it in the horse's eyes!

What you really need to do, & im saying this with *ALOT* of experience.

*1.* Take a water bottle, & just spray it out parallel on each side of the horse, not touching him with the water at all. Let him get used to the sound of the bottle. 

*2.* Then turn it to mist spray & do it again parallel on each side of him, this time the water is going to mist over his sides slightly if at all. 

once the horse is ok with the sound start with the legs *FIRST* & then move slowly from there, up, *NEVER * do the body first!


----------



## itsyourhorse (Jun 17, 2007)

where did you spray him at first?


my suggestions:
have someone hold him for you so you dont have to focus on that.
do not make it seem like its a big deal, or that you ar anticipating them to be frightened. just act normal and like you are just taking things really slow. if you are confident the horse will feed off of that some.

start by holding the spray bottle (just filled with water for now) and let him be curious and look at it. 

rub the bottle on him (not spraying, actually rubbing the bottle on him)

if he seems ok with that, walk a few feet away and spray it and walk back over and see if he will let you touch the bottle to him again.

if he does, spray the bottle standing next to him (not actually spraying him) 

rub the bottle on him again.

spray into your hands and put the water on the lower legs with your hands. 

if he is still ok, spray the lower leg (just one leg). then stand up and scratch his favorite spot. repeat this with all 4 legs, one at a time.
repeat the legs until he seems comfortable with his lower legs. then do this to upper legs. if the legs goes well, do the chest/lower shoulder area. then move to the belly then rump. neck should be last. do not spray your horses head. use a cloth to apply anything to your horses head to avoid getting it in their eyes or from them inhaling it.

if any of these steps seems scary to your horse. go to a step prior until they are comfortable with it. and then move on. if your horse seems somewhat unsure of any of the steps, you can repeat it until they seem OK.


----------



## QH_Lover09 (Jun 18, 2007)

itsyourhorse said:


> where did you spray him at first?
> 
> 
> my suggestions:
> ...


Very good, as long as she is getting across that legs come first *NOT* last! _*Good Posting!*_


----------



## joseylovesrain123 (May 23, 2007)

i sprayed him on the legs first *always do* and he starts to freak out when he sees the bottle. i'm starting to think that his last owner did something to him with a spray bottle before because his former owner is known for being ruff and sort of mean to horses. thank you for all of the tips everybody i'll work on them as soon as i return home.


----------



## QH_Lover09 (Jun 18, 2007)

I wish you the *BEST* of luck & please be careful! Nothing is more important than safety! :wink: If you need anything else donâ€™t hesitate to ask, we all have great advice to give, all we are looking for is a question!


----------



## BulletsMama (Oct 27, 2006)

I have been working with my yearling with fly spray. Things are going slow but moving along ok. What I use is a lavender/eucalyptus scented bar and rub it on him. It works great and he smells wonderful! 
Here is where I purchased it from...
http://www.enchantedpotions.com/store/affiliate.asp?aff=8040 

Just another idea....


----------



## WLD (Dec 1, 2006)

I certainly agree with some of the posts, almost all horses are afraid for something that moves, sqeaks, and can touch them. I might add do not forget pressure and release. 
Use water in bottle to train

spray to the side, when the horse moves, keep spraying until he stops. Then stop spraying immediately (do this on both sides)

Then standing at a 45 degree angle from his left shoulder (most horses are left handed) spray towards the ground, continue to spray until he stops moving (repeat on right hoof and leg.

Move to his hind leg, (turn his head towards you as you spray the ground and then the hoof and then lower leg, that way if he moves or panics to kick, he will move his hind quarters away from you, you also can pull on the lead line turning his head and moving his hindquarters away. Repeat on opposite side, if you time your release of pressure by continuing to spray until he stops and stands still, he will learn to stand still, and look for that release of pressure. 
At this point you have a safe foundation to build upon. Repeat the process, always having your horses head turned to the side you are on, and spray, moving a little higher up the leg and then back down. Ever expanding the desensitizing area.. Please note, watch your horse as you do this, at this stage if your think he will move at 5 pumps of the spray spray him 4 times and then give the release..

I have seen many people actually sensitize thier horses to fly spray by stopping spraying because their horse shied away. What they were doing was teaching the horse to move when they saw or heard the spray bottle. So the horses instinct to be concerned of the spray bottle was reinforced by person spraying him, teaching him that if he wanted release from the spray bottle then move away.
This is a simple technique that works and in the first session will have your horse stand still while you spray his body. That is if you are willing to spend a complete hour helping your horse get over this fear of squeeky spray bottles.

Your horse will not care of it is fly spray or water if he is desensitized to the bottle and trained to stand still and trust you when he is concerned or frightened.



Every horse is looking for a leader, someone they can trust to keep them safe and look out for them, whether it be a mare, stallion or human. That same horse though will test you to be sure that you are strong enough. Because if you do not lead him, he will surely take the lead and lead you.


----------

